Though I don't rate Friends and Lovers (1931) high based on my harsh rating scale, I give credit where it is due. Friends and Lovers is a perfect example of how I feel films should have been made in the early 30s---condensed. (This comment/review, however, will not be.) The film, including titles, is 68 minutes long, yet it tells an engaging cohesive story with several locations, people, costumes, events, passage of time and action without weighing it down with the fluff that movies were full of during that period. By fluff I include but am not limited to: extended reaction shots, excessive beauty shots, far off stares (see Greta's films), eyebrow movement shots (see Norma's films), mouth and lips parting shots (see Irene's films), unnecessary walking, unrelated dialog extending screen time for the stars, etc. Yes, this movie does have a few gratuitous fluffs but it doesn't tack on an entire hour showing them. The movie doesn't feel "glossy"; instead, somehow, it feels real.The studio was unstable bankrupt great depression era Selznick helmed RKO. Director Victor Schertzinger, who had been in film since the first moving frame, pulled poignant performances from his cast and provided the music. DP J. Roy Hunt strapped to RKO through all of its phases provided believable lighting for B/W film through many types of scenes both indoors and out, as well as smooth camera movement and action. Adolphe Menjou survived the silent years to give a decent performance as obsessed, possessed, ardently pining Geoff, Larry Olivier makes his stiff and subtle Hollywood debut in a fair size role as Ned, Lili Damita also from the silent era wasn't a blazing beauty or brilliant actress but she did her part allowing her accent and body to do the rest as Alva, Erich Von Stroheim though a little cheesy made being a sadistic and evil porcelain collector seem lucrative and fun as Victor, and Hugh Herbert as McNellis, trying not to trip over his on and off again accent, bounced through the film offering humor here and there to keep the viewer's emotions connected.Film making is all about taking the viewer in, cold from the street with their own world in their mind, connecting with their emotions and transporting them to another place and time, taking them on an emotional roller coaster ride until the film is through. If at any time the coaster slows or stops, the viewer has time to realize themselves again, even if only subconsciously, and the film has lost them. If picked up again, the viewer must start over emotionally with the story. Condensing this film down to 68 minutes keeps the viewer's attention the entire time. The overall ride may be short, the sets may be cheap, the acting may not be the best, the plot may be thin, the music may be shallow, the dialog may be simple, but tell a story that efficiently and the viewer doesn't notice while watching. Should the viewer notice, it's not considered long because the next sequence is already speeding along with fresh new things for the brain to process. Plot of the film is simple on the surface though it has a few morality testing twists and turns. For what they had to work with, the plot was kept clean and cohesive, the shots were tight, the camera action was appropriate, the cinematography and lighting was believable, the sets weren't spectacular but scenes didn't last long enough to pick them apart, the tension was there, the emotion was heavy, the beauty was shown, the dialog was believable and the actors sizzled. So much happens at a comfortable pace that I never once got bored or thought about anything else other than the film. I ignored a ringing phone. I ignored portable electronics. The film was paced so well that I didn't want to look away. I was completely surprised by how enjoyable the film was to watch, unlike so many pre-code early 30s films I have suffered through. (I'm an elitist film snob, so I will watch a terrible film just so I can say w/o any doubt I hated it.) If there is so much fluff in a film that I sit there and start counting how many steps the actress is making across every single room, on every single street, up every single stair and then start counting their stares, far off looks, exaggerated baby spot lit soft shots, and on top of it listen to senseless dialog that does nothing to forward the plot but included just so that the actress/actor is getting a certain percentage of screen time, I feel I'd rather have a root canal without anesthetic rather than sit through the rest of the film. For me to sit through an entire early 30s film without moving or thinking of anything else means the film is very special in some way. In retrospect, I wonder: the novelty of the talking pictures was new, but it does make me wonder if viewers really loved the long lingering shots of the starlets or if they tolerated them. Did they expect them because they were paying money to be visually entertained? Does length equal value? According to rumor, the film lost $260k at the box office, though IMDBpro, AFI, or BFI don't offer any budget or salary info. Perhaps Friends and Lovers was shot with the same early 30s heavy fluff monkey on its back but given to a gifted editor that said NO to fluff. Regardless, this is a very rare 68 minutes that I was happy watching a pre-code film, and for anyone like me who barely tolerates movies of the early 30s because of the unnecessary fluff, give this one a watch. It's not the best film in the world, but 68 minutes isn't long in comparison to 2 hours of Norma's eyebrows going up and down.

Friends and Lovers was Sir Laurence Olivier's fourth film and first for an American studio in this case RKO. His first wife Jill Esmond was better known and RKO brought her over from the UK for a couple of films and Larry went along for the ride.He was also appearing on Broadway in Private Lives so his film work in general was an afterthought. Friends and Lovers was something that better been left undone though.I mean it is terrible, everyone in this drama is overacting completely especially the stage trained Olivier. Olivier was dismissive of all his film work before Wuthering Heights and he was hard on himself in something like Fire Over England. But here he was justified.The plot has Lili Damita apparently making a living at seducing men of property and then having husband Erich Von Stroheim show up and demand financial remuneration for his cuckolded pride. It's an upper crust English version of what we in the USA call the old badger game. Her latest victim is Captain Adolphe Menjou set to leave for the Indian frontier the next day.When Menjou arrives he finds out that an old army pal Laurence Olivier is to join him at the post. When Olivier arrives Menjou discovers he also was a victim and the friendship goes on the rocks. Friends and Lovers goes downhill from there. I suppose its Hollywood's idea about the British upper crust. The whole thing is rather silly from my point of view.I'm sure Erich Von Stroheim thought so too. He's guilty of the most overacting in the film. I think Von Stroheim thought he was taking advantage of the deficiencies of the script. Still the whole thing is pretty silly.Hugh Herbert is here also. Oddly enough with a fake Scot's burr, he's at the most restrained I've ever seen him as Menjou's orderly. A little 'woo woo' might enlivened the film a bit.Friends and Lovers is a curiosity for fans of the late Lord Olivier, anyone else be warned.

The FRIENDS AND LOVERS of a duplicitous female nearly have their lives destroyed by her wicked ways.This well-acted piece of fluff makes no attempt at serious entertainment but manages to engage the viewer nonetheless, mainly because of its unique cast.Lily Damita plays the sultry vamp who has no difficulty in enticing every man she meets. She is the female star of the picture, but her character is completely detestable. It says nothing positive about the moral discernment or intelligence level of the lead male players in the film that they are so completely seduced, for a time.Adolphe Menjou and Laurence Olivier play the two British officers, firm friends, who both fall into Damita's web. Making no pretense at behaving British, Menjou plays the debonair captain who must decide between carnality & comradeship. Olivier, who looks astonishingly young (he turned 24 in 1931) is bright & energetic, projecting shadows of the future Lord Olivier as he advises Menjou as to the proper cut of tailored lapels.Whimsical Hugh Herbert puts his gentle humor to good use as Menjou's Scots valet. Acting as a sort of Greek Chorus to the proceedings around him, he easily steals most of his scenes. Erich von Stroheim, that Teutonic master of menace, dominates the screen with a cunning portrayal of Damita's vile husband. Like an uncoiled snake ready to strike, von Stroheim slithers about the screen, alert to deliver the maximum discomfort to his victims. As always, he is a joy to watch. Alas, that his role is so brief.Frederick Kerr as a boisterous old general, and Blanche Frederici as his straitlaced titled sister provide a few moments of sparkle at the end of the film.The action during the scenes set in India takes place entirely within the walls of a rather dull fort. The Studio, Radio Pictures, apparently were unwilling to spend an extra dime on ambiance.

Aside from the fact that Damita cannot act her way out of a paper bag, I found this little gem highly amusing. Add one practically unrecognizable Adolphe Menjou (that's a good thing, mind you) in prissy mode, A young, gorgeous and very sexy Laurence Olivier in even prissier mode (nice lisp, Larry), the archetypically silly British dogsbody (Hugh Herbert, who is great), add one seriously hilarious over-the-top-but-perfectly-so performance from Erich Von Stroheim, and you have got one hell of a cool flick here!The fact that they were all fighting over this woman was lost on me - surely it wasn't for her acting skills.SPOILER (this paragraph only) My favorite part was when Olivier finds Damita and Menjou in a clandestine clutch and screams "I oughta kill the pair of ya!" while firing a revolver at them. Also, each time they mentioned the fact that Von Stroheim's character "collected porcelain," people would glance at each other slyly, as though this trait was highly taboo. Very funny!A great piece of acting by Larry before he became the "Laurence Olivier entity," if you know what I mean. A superb early performance by him that should not be missed. Recommended.