There's an old dark house quality to 13 Washington Square, a slight but entertaining romantic comedy from 1928. The address of the title is the grand manor home of the wealthy de Peyster family whose reputation is at risk—or so the status-conscious matriarch (Alice Joyce) believes after her son Jack (George J. Lewis) falls for Mary (Helen Foster), the daughter of a shopkeeper. When her plan to whisk Jack away on a European vacation fails, she sneaks off the ship with her maid (Zasu Pitts) to face off Jack and Mary at the family home.
It becomes a comedy of mistaken identity and crisscrossing characters in the dark of what should be an empty mansion, with the added complication of a master thief known as "The Deacon" (Jean Hersholt) using the opportunity to rob the house. There's not a whole lot of substance to this adaptation of the 1913 play but Melville W. Brown directs with flair and brings out the best in his cast. Jean Hersholt, best known as a character actor in the sound era (and for having the Academy's humanitarian award named after him), makes for a charming and sly thief; Alice Joyce is perfectly poised as the society mother with aristocratic bearing and commanding eyes; Zasu Pitts plays against Joyce's restrained style as the devoted maid who mixes up her words (played out through the intertitles) and startles at every noise in the dark house.
It was produced at the end of the silent film era, the professional zenith of visual storytelling before sound technology changed everything, and as with the best of silent cinema, Brown effectively suggests the noises of slamming doors and creaking floors with bold images and perfectly-timed character reactions. It's handsome and deftly directed with low-key humor and crisp wit, a marvelous example of the art of silent cinema at its height, where even silly trifles were crafted with care. Kino Classics presents a new 4K restoration from Universal Studios with an original score by Tom Howe performed by a small combo. Also features commentary by film historian Nora Fiore. A strong option purchase.