The great William Wyler wasn't known for his silent movies as much as he was for films of the mid 30's on up (starting with "The Good Fairy" and continuing with "Dodsworth" and a series of classic Bette Davis movies as well as a few Oscar Winning best pictures),but this one comes as a delightful surprise.

James Kent and Barbara Murray are delightful as a prize fighter and his waitress girlfriend whom he meets while working in an oil field, and the obstacles they encounter when Kent befriends a young orphan. The restoration of this movie is fantastic with a piano score that is outstanding and really expresses every emotion of the film, both serious and comic, adding to the already present visuals that are mesmerizing.

At just 65 minutes, this flies by, because there are no gaps in action, and the mood is consistently upbeat even in the serious scenes. Jack Hanlon is terrific as the kid, having a similar look to the younger Mickey Rooney although not nearly as cloying. Had there been supporting actor Oscars at the time, he would have been my first choice for 1929. In fact, this film is even better than many talkies that I've seen from that year, and Wyler's direction is brilliant. A true masterpiece of filmmaking that gives evidence as to why some movie fans felt that the silent era should never have completely ended.

James Murray gave a stupendous performance as John Sim - Everyman, in "The Crowd" and even though I haven't seen all his films, his performance as Dave Roberts, another "everyman" but one with a secret, is pretty high up there. It just seems that Murray's metier was the silent film or maybe talkies just coincided with his descent into alcoholic oblivion. I also loved his rapport with Clem, the street kid - his interaction was so masterful, there was no sickening sentimentality, Murray kept his scenes and acting on an adult level.

Murray plays Dave Roberts, first seen as a pool room lounger who tangles with boxer Battling Rolf after the brawler insults a local girl - but girl, Dave and Rolf are all part of a crooked scam, employed by the same manager to breeze into town and create a "situation" that will have the locals flooding to the big boxing match that is set up between Dave and Rolf. All money is on Dave to win but he is employed and paid to lose that match!! The manager's last words as Dave heads to Boonton are "try to arrange to save someone's life" but when that actually happens and he does save Clem from a nasty train accident, even though he is upset that there are no witnesses his redemption has started!! Apparently William Wyler specifically requested Murray for the role and MGM , who were desperately trying to hush up the problems they were having with their star, were happy to loan him.

Of course there is "a girl", this time she is Marjorie, the waitress at the diner which caters for oil rig workers (where Dave has found a job) and played to perfection by Barbara Kent (who had already excelled in "Lonesome" a rather low key version of "The Crowd"). Both of them believe in Dave and towards the end when a scuffle breaks out between Clem and a local ruffian, the truth comes out that Dave is a fraud. Wyler's direction of the fight sequence was magnificent and Murray comtributed enormously - the different camera angles involved the viewer. Dave was almost down for the count but the encouragement of the crowd gave him heart whereas Rolf, who was used to quick, fixed fights found his stamina flagging. The film ends - not with a hug from his girl (she is grasping the tent rope with relief) but with cheers from the crowd. If only Murray had been able to take heart in real life.

Very Recommended

I'd never heard of this one prior to the announcement just a couple of weeks back of its screening on late-night Italian TV but, obviously, I become interested in it because the film represented the earliest facet of director Wyler's career I'd ever come across; actually, while it was supposedly a part-Talkie, the version I watched was completely Silent!

Anyway, the resulting effort is charming and reasonably stylish (even at this stage, Wyler was experimenting with deep-focus photography) – but hardly the masterpiece as described by a commentator on the IMDb following its recent restoration and screening in film festivals. Interestingly, the film shares most of its plot line with two famous tearjerkers – Charles Chaplin's THE KID (1921) and King Vidor's THE CHAMP (1931) – being the adventures of a con-man boxer reformed by a spunky homeless boy; however, the latter (played by Jack Hanlon) isn't very sympathetic and displays little of either Jackie Coogan or Jackie Cooper's talent!

Incidentally, THE SHAKEDOWN features the same leading-man as Vidor's masterpiece THE CROWD (1928) – the tragic James Murray; Barbara Kent, then, who had starred in Paul Fejos' LONESOME (1928) – another highly-regarded 'city' film – appears as the female protagonist here (but isn't given much to do). For what it's worth, the boxing sequences (as well as a fist-fight between the kid and another boy) are quite well-staged; however, the film's highlight has to be the remarkable scene early on in which Murray and Hanlon get caught on a railway track between two speeding trains!