Review of Love Bound

Love Bound is a typical B picture from poverty row. The cast is impressive - names of has-beens slogging along with whatever work they could get. Natalie Moorhead and Jack Mulhall top the bill. Moorhead was a femme fatale in early sound, whose work I could never comprehend. She wasn't beautiful and couldn't act. Mulhall was too old for the role. The directing by Robert Hill was uninspired, as you would expect of a poverty row B western director who was paid to do things fast and cheap. The plot didn't make much sense. Somehow, the vamp fell in love with the fake servant after hardly any interaction with him. The vamp's emotions seemed to flip from moment to moment, which made her change to "face" unbelievable. As she walks off into the dark, I felt sure she would change her mind again by morning. The rented sets of the apartments were excellent, but the boat sets were so small they had to be used ad nauseam.

I watched the film particularly to see Richard Alexander. He is listed far down in the cast credits, even though he has the third most time on screen. Alexander worked in big films in late silents and early sound, working for De Mille, Keaton, Murnau, Milestone, and Niblo. But by 1933 he was a B western henchman for the rest of his 300 film career. I always wondered why. Now I know. In this big role, which requires a lot of exposition, he just can't act. And his weight gain leaves him a hulk, rather than a hail fellow well met. Too bad. Now he's only remembered (when remembered at all) for his Prince Barin role in the Flash Gordon serials.