''Untamed'' is a 1929 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by Jack Conway and starring

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...

, Robert Montgomery,

Ernest Torrence Ernest Torrence (born Ernest Torrance-Thomson, 26 June 1878 – 15 May 1933) was a Scottish film character actor who appeared in many Hollywood films, including '' Broken Chains'' (1922) with Colleen Moore, '' Mantrap'' (1926) with Clara Bow a ...

Holmes Herbert Holmes Herbert (born Horace Edward Jenner; 30 July 1882 – 26 December 1956) was an English character actor who appeared in Hollywood films from 1915 to 1952, often as a British gentleman. Early life Born Horace Edward Jenner, (some sour ...

Gwen Lee Gwen Lee (born Gwendolyn Lepinski; November 12, 1904 – August 20, 1961) was an American stage and film actress. Lee began her career as a model before being discovered and signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She was typically cast in supporting ...

, and

Lloyd Ingraham Lloyd Chauncey Ingraham (November 30, 1874 – April 4, 1956) was an American film actor and director. Biography Born in Rochelle, Illinois, Ingraham appeared in more than 280 films between 1912 and 1950, as well as directing more than 100 f ...

. The script was adapted by Sylvia Thalberg and Frank Butler, with dialogue by Willard Mack, from a story by Charles E. Scoggins. Made during MGM's transition from silent to

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by ...

movies, ''Untamed'' was Crawford's first non-musical talkie. It was the first role as a leading man for Montgomery, who made several silents before this film.

Plot

An oil prospector, Henry "Hank" Dowling (

), has raised his free-spirited daughter, Alice "Bingo" Dowling (

), in the jungle of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

. He asks his friend, Ben Murchison (

), to come work with him on oil wells that have made him rich. Just as Ben arrives with his friend, Howard Presley (

), Hank is killed by a transient oil worker who has designs on Bingo. At a relatively young age, Bingo has now inherited her father's company and wealth and Ben is appointed her guardian. She calls him and Howard both uncles, though they are not related. She is sassy and without refinement, hitting anyone she disagrees with. Her "uncles" decide that the wild Bingo should move to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, learn proper deportment and enter society. While they are aboard the ocean liner, she meets the young, good-looking and well-educated charmer Andy McAllister ( Robert Montgomery). It is

love at first sight Love at first sight is a personal experience as well as a common trope in literature: a person or character feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first seeing that stranger. Described by p ...

for Bingo and Andy while on the boat, but because Andy lacks money to care for Bingo, Ben convinces the two to part in New York and see if they still miss each other after a few months. Life goes on in New York, but roughly a year later, the two reunite and declare that their feelings for each other have not departed. The two begin seeing each other again. Still, because she is very wealthy and he is not, he is afraid of what people might think and tells her that he cannot marry her and live off her money. To complicate the situation further, Bingo's Uncle Ben discourages the relationship and "Uncle" Howard actually has feelings for Bingo himself. As Bingo is about to declare their intention to marry, Ben even offers Andy $20,000 to start a new life, knowing full-well that would cause him to leave Bingo. When Andy turns to second-string Marjory (

), an irate Bingo loses her temper and shoots him in the shoulder. They make up immediately after the shooting and forgive each other. Changing his mind about leaving her, Andy decides that Bingo is the woman for him and wants to marry her. Ben offers him a job in the oil wells making a substantial salary, and the two intend to live together now.

Cast

Reception

While ''Untamed'' was a box-office success and continued Joan Crawford's rise as a fan favorite, the critical reviews were mixed. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' critic

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934. He commented on the vocal talents of Crawford—her first talkie—by saying, "Miss Crawford has a good voice, but she never strikes one as a girl who has been away from civilization for most of her life. There are moments when the fault is with Miss Crawford, and then there are instances where one is impelled to sympathize with her because of her lines." Another critic, from the

Brooklyn Eagle :''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently'' The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...

, also commented on Crawford's voice with: "If ''Untamed'' does little else for Miss Crawford, it proves that she is an actress for whom the microphones should hold no fear. Her diction is clear and unaffected and while there is nothing in the lines that offers her opportunity for exceptional acting, she managed to make the impulsive heroine of the story somewhat more credible than the part deserves." Author Scott Eyman wrote, "While her acting was shaky, it was better than her singing and dancing... Were it not for Crawford's boundless energy, flashing sensuality, and popularity with the shopgirl audience, Thalberg might have given her up as a bad job."Eyman, Scott. ''The Speed of Sound: Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution 1926-1930''. Simon and Schuster: New York, 1997.

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $714,000 in the US and Canada and $260,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $508,000.

Music

In the opening scene of ''Untamed'', Crawford dances as she sings the theme song, "Chant of the Jungle." The song, written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, became a hit in 1929. She and Montgomery also sing the Louis Alter and Arthur Freed tune "That Wonderful Something Is Love" later in the film. Original music for ''Untamed'' was composed by Louis Alter,

Nacio Herb Brown Ignacio Herbert "Nacio Herb" Brown (February 22, 1896 – September 28, 1964) was an American writer of popular songs, movie scores and Broadway theatre music in the 1920s through the early 1950s. Amongst his most enduring work is the scor ...

, and William Axt. Lyrics were written by

Arthur Freed Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 – April 12, 1973) was an American lyricist and Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for '' An American in Paris'' and in 1958 for '' Gigi''. Both films were musicals. ...

and Joe Goodwin.

References

External links

* * *
''Untamed'' Photo Gallery
{{Jack Conway 1929 films 1920s romantic comedy-drama films American romantic comedy-drama films American black-and-white films 1920s English-language films Films directed by Jack Conway Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1929 comedy films 1929 drama films 1920s American films