Mantrap (1926)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Victor Fleming

Writers:

Ethel Doherty (scenario)
Adelaide Heilbron (scenario)

Release Date:

24 July 1926 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

SINCLAIR LEWIS' Latest and Greatest Novel

Plot:

A sexy young manicurist living with her older backwoodsman husband in a small Canadian town finds herself attracted to a young, rich and famous divorce lawyer who comes to town on vacation. |

Plot Keywords:

Playing Footsie | Based On Novel

Cast

Clara Bow	...	Alverna
Ernest Torrence	...	Joe Easter
Ford Sterling	...	Character
Percy Marmont	...	Ralph Prescott
Eugene Pallette	...	E. Wesson Woodbury
Tom Kennedy	...	Curly Evans
Josephine Crowell	...	Mrs. McGavity
William Orlamond	...	Mr. McGavity
Charles Stevens	...	Lawrence Jackfish (Indian Guide)
Miss DuPont	...	Mrs. Barker
Charlotte Bird	...	Stenographer

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, California, USA

Company:

Famous Players-Lasky Corporation

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood" (1995)

Clara at her best

I've had the privilege of seeing a dozen or so of Miss Bow's movies and I would rate this one among the best, after IT. I'm surprised that the current rating is only a 6.6. Clara never looked better than in MANTRAP and was approaching the peak in her career. The soon to be "It" girl, is so vibrant, uninhibited, and full of life as Alverna, the young manicurist from Minneapolis who impulsively marries an older he-man, Joe Easter, from the back country and becomes restless once they return to Mantrap. Poor Ralph Prescott, a divorce lawyer from New York who is at his breaking point from all his flirtatious female clients, decides to take a vacation to get away from everything at the insistence of his friend. Not only does he get wrestled to the ground by his heavy-set friend, played by Eugene Pallate, once they get on each other's nerves, but he gets accepts an invitation to stay at Joe's cabin to get away from living in a tent. Little does he know, that the seductive Alverna awaits him ready to flirt with him every time Joe's back is turned. I think this is a very entertaining romantic comedy from the mid 1920s. Both Ernest Torrence and Percy Marmont, as well as any red-blooded male watching the movie, fall prey to Clara's mischievous grin and beautiful, expressive eyes. I'm so glad that Paramount didn't let this one deteriorate in its vaults. 8/10