Interference (1928)
Directors:
Lothar Mendes, Roy Pomeroy (as Roy J. Pomeroy)
Writers:
Harold Dearden (play), Julian Johnson (titles), Louise Long, Hope Loring, Ernest Pascal, Roland Pertwee
Stars:
Evelyn Brent, Clive Brook, William Powell, Doris Kenyon, Brandon Hurst, Tom Ricketts
Paramount's first all-talking picture, Interference was directed by Roy Pomeroy, whose lofty status as the studio's "technical wizard" did not necessarily qualify him to be a director. Evelyn Brent heads the cast as scheming Deborah Kane, who sets out to blackmail Faith Marley (Doris Kenyon), the above-reproach wife of Sir John Marlay. Twisting the facts to suit her purposes, Deborah claims that Faith is still married to her first husband Philip Voaze (William Powell), who was presumed killed in WWI. Inevitably, Deborah is murdered, prompting both Faith and John to assume that the other has committed the crime. Accordingly, both husband and wife tamper with the evidence to throw the police off the trail, but the detective on the case (Brandon Hurst) is a bit too quick on the uptake. Only the last-minute confession of the actual killer (who has but a short time to live anyway) saves the Marlays from public humiliation and disgrace. Based on a stage play by Roland Petwee and Harold Dearden, Interference was simultaneously filmed in a silent version, which reportedly was better paced than the talkie adaptation. Years after the fact, co-star Clive Brook recalled that when Interference premiered in London, the needle became stuck on one of the soundtrack disks, causing Brook's character to repeatedly recite the deathless line "Another of those damned postcards -- another of those damned postcards -- another of those damned postcards."
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