The Valiant

A prominent debut for Muni that garnered much recognition, but plagued with some issues endemic to early talkies. The source was a one-act play, consisting of the dialogue between our protagonist and his sister, which works well enough at its sentimental appeal. The problem is that they've padded 20 minutes out to an hour, with dialogue that comes off as simpleminded and slowly delivered. Still, Muni does come off very well; an actor who knows how to express what the lines don't helps a lot.

Paul Muni gets a great monologue during his trial, but it's a cheap talking heads flick that doesn't have the script to pull it off. Ends up treading the same ground again and again.