Wild-raised heiress Bingo inherits oil company after father's death. During NY-bound civilizing mission, she loves Andy, who chooses another due to her wealth. After she shoots him, he accep... Read allWild-raised heiress Bingo inherits oil company after father's death. During NY-bound civilizing mission, she loves Andy, who chooses another due to her wealth. After she shoots him, he accepts marriage.Wild-raised heiress Bingo inherits oil company after father's death. During NY-bound civilizing mission, she loves Andy, who chooses another due to her wealth. After she shoots him, he accepts marriage.
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- Paul
- (as Edward Nugent)
- Jollop
- (as Milton Farney)
- Dowling
- (as Lloyd Ingram)
- Clubman in Locker Room
- (uncredited)
- Manicurist
- (uncredited)
- Party Girl
- (uncredited)
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Featured reviews
In her early, very pretty days, Joan eats up her scenes with energy and hilarious melodrama. The film itself is very dated, so I can't imagine anyone wanting to watch it unless they're a fan of the cast. Nowadays, it's looked at as misogynistic to try and tame a woman's wild impulses and get her to act like a "lady". But in 1929, it was very funny to watch the glamorous Joan Crawford embarrass herself in polite society. Give this movie a watch if you like her early days, and you'll be rewarded with a couple of dance numbers, as well as a song from Robert Montgomery!
Crawford plays "Bingo," an untamed girl from the jungles of South America whose father dies, leaving her with a large oil inheritance. Some old friends of the family escort her to New York where she is to live in luxury, but they are startled when she abruptly falls in love with Robert Montgomery. They convince her that there are hundred of men like him in New York; she goes there to find that she yearns for him more than ever. She finds that he misses her too and the two plan to get married, until Crawford's uncle meddles again. The end of this film is quite shocking, and there are plenty of moments to entertain throughout.
Unlike her later 1930s films, Crawford is wild and free here, sort of like a Trilby yet to find her Svengali. Her personality is radiant and she acts much more like a savage than a society girl. This pre-code film has her kicking her legs up to throw up her skirt, sleeping in a man's room, seeing him before he is dressed, drinking large quantities of alcohol during Prohibition, and condoning violence, an unladylike characteristic. Montgomery is terribly handsome in this film, a great romantic lead for Crawford. Perhaps this is the reason they starred in several other films together. The two sing several times here; neither has an outstanding voice, but the music helps add some realism and entertainment to the screen.
Overall, this is not only a curiosity, but a great early film. It does not suffer from the slow pacing, static camera, wordy dialogue, and loud silences that other early talkies did. Be sure to give it a proper chance.
Not a bad way to spend 90 minutes. Interesting to note the use of card titles in this movie, and also Joan's rather stilted emoting, both holdovers from the silent days which really were just days behind at that point. Such a curiosity in this day and age...
Despite this being "A Crawford film I hate" in my book, I don't technically hate it. I wouldn't watch it again, but if it were playing on TCM one day or I saw a copy in a store, I would probably watch/buy it.
Untamed does, after all, have an unfair advantage in my book by having Joan Crawford, who I like, and Robert Montgomery, who I also like. It's very creaky, and manages to be overlong despite only having a runtime of just under 90 minutes. But it's also the first talkie of both stars, and both would go onto better (and much worse) things. Joan definitely looks the part of "wild girl" when she's supposed to, blunders in society when she's supposed to, and has chemistry with Bob. Her character is definitely adorable. She also kind of looks like Gloria Swanson in the first thirty or so minutes of this film- did anyone else notice that? For someone who "couldn't act" She does a decent job. So does Robert Montgomery.
There are rather obvious fade to black scenes where you can tell that there were meant to be title cards, but hey, it was 1929. The stars get a chance to charm their way through the film, even with rather stupid dialogue (Joan's characterization is adorable, unfortunately Robert is stuck playing a cad even more caddish than his usual cad), sing off-key (far from the worst I've ever heard), mime playing a guitar romantically (not Joan), and get into a fight (looks kind of comical, but there you go- it was 1929).
Maybe it would be better if I viewed this film as a quaint little antique, but I don't like looking at films like this like that, and I don't like people who look at films like this like that.
I came for Joan, and I saw Joan, and I was satisfied, and that was all that mattered.
Who cares that the plot stunk?
Did you know
- TriviaJoan Crawford's first lead in a "talking picture".
- GoofsJust as Bingo's being told her father is dead, slight breathing motions are seen from the body of her father.
- Quotes
Howard Presley: [Looking at a sleeping Bingo] She's lovely. Fascinating.
Ben Murchison: Aye, just confirms what I've always said: the sweetest flowers grow in the mud.
- Alternate versionsMGM also released this movie in a silent version with film length of 1,630 m.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star (2002)
- SoundtracksChant of the Jungle
(1929) (uncredited)
Written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed
Sung and danced by Joan Crawford
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $229,000 (estimated)
- Runtime
- 1h 26m(86 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.20 : 1