SHE GOES TO WAR
Starring Eleanor Boardman and John Holland
MOTION PICTURE MAGAZINE
July 1929
The first talkie (SAG note: part talkie) of the World War owes none of its entertainment value to the talking sequences. Most of the dialogue and sound is obviously put in afterward and synchroninzed as best it could be. One one occasion, a roomful of soldiers is supposed to be singing "There is a Happy Land," and not a mouth is open. There is just enough spoken dialogue in the picture to make it impossible for the audience to accustom itself either to it or to the sub-titular periods. Talkie-silent controversy aside, however, the picture should not be missed by anybody who's on the lookout for movie thrills. The war scenes showing soldiers advancing in tanks through liquid fire are about the most exciting thing ever seen on the screen. The picture has other virtues, not the least of which is Eleanor Boardman giving a remarkable acting perfomrance. John Holland, a newcomer, is magnificent as Eleanor's leading man. There is moderatly good comedy from Al St. John, and there are moments when the old directorial genius of Henry King shines through the dull mechanics of Rupert Hughes' story.