The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Setting aside all the implausible elements in the story, it's a pretty good, briskly told yarn, made exciting by the way the plot actually becomes more complicated as the film careens wildly to its conclusion. So it's easy to watch, first of all, this garden of unholy criminals in the middle of nowhere working through their mutually broken honor among thieves. Pre-code, you'll find only the hint of a bosom flashing from a very minor female character. Otherwise the sexual innuendos are largely verbal. Like another reviewer, I too appreciated the hotel-in-the-desert ambiance and its effervescent symbolism. And the strangely obsequious Arab natives flitting about never intrude upon the Westerners. Meanwhile Ronald Colman and ever-pleasantly baby-fatty Fay Wray may not be the last word in chemistry, but they do get the job done nicely.

I taped THE UNHOLY GARDEN (1931) off TCM a while back and I don't remember why. I probably wanted to see Ronald Colman and Fay Wray together in what seemed like a rare pre-Code film. The tape sat on my shelf for a while before I finally decided to give it a look, and I was pleasantly surprised. This is a great little movie from the wild world of early talkies.Colman, ever charming and sophisticated, plays an notorious international criminal who holes up in a desert inn. There he meets a cast of unsavory characters of dubious repute. When it's discovered that the cranky blind man upstairs has stashed away a fortune, Colman agrees to win over the old man and his daughter (Fay Wray) in order to locate the loot.The motley group of thieves and murderers is played by Kit Guard, Henry Armetta, Ullrich Haupt, Mischa Auer, Lawrence Grant, and Warren Hymer. Grant in particular leaves an impression as a Vincent Price-y doctor character, the cool-headed intellectual of the group. (The brief conversation Grant has with Colman about his three dead wives is a delightful bit of black humor.) There's something about these characters in this secluded setting that reminds me of SAFE IN HELL (1931).RAFFLES (1930) meets SAFE IN HELL (1931), perhaps?This film has an interesting pedigree, written by the prolific Ben Hecht (UNDERWORLD, SCARFACE, THE FRONT PAGE, NOTHING SACRED, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, NOTORIOUS, KISS OF DEATH, etc.) and his frequent writing partner Charles MacArthur.This is a quick little film (75 minutes long), and it's enjoyable all the way through. The cast (also including a sultry Estelle Taylor and Tully Marshall as the dotty old man) is full of interesting characters, all staying together at the inn.A kind of romance blooms between Colman and Wray, who is young and lovely, but cut off from the world by her reclusive father. Colman is her window into Paris and the glamorous outside world. The film mixes romance and caper thrills while cultivating an atmosphere of danger. Certain scenes give the film a dark pre-Code edge. (In one scene Wray tells Colman what kind of life awaits her at the inn among the cutthroats. She wants to "start" with him, so she could have something nice to remember later on.)When things start to heat up, will Colman go through with his plans to swipe the cash? Will he double-cross the gang of crooks? Will he rescue the damsel and ride off into the sunset? Will he be tracked down by the French police?At 75 minutes, THE UNHOLY GARDEN is exciting, creepy, oddly charming, sexy, spooky, and even a little sweet. Ronald Colman is a dashing hero, even when he's playing an outlaw. Fay Wray is very lovely and sympathetic. This little-known pre-Code flick should interest any fans of early talkies. Check it out if it comes your way.

"The Unholy Garden" is a decent enough time-passer, but it is improved a bit because it stars the always suave and always entertaining Ronald Colman. It begins with an oasis of sin in the desert. In this far off place, various criminals from across the globe hang out here to avoid the police. But, because it's so far in the middle of nowhere, the local authorities leave the place to itself. This is where Colman and his group of 'friends' live. The group learns that a crazy old blind Frenchman is hiding out there and he's reportedly embezzled millions--millions this group of riffraff want to take. To do so, Colman pretends to be a friend to the old guy and his sexy daughter (Fay Wray). The problem is that Colman slowly starts to fall in love. What's he to do--his associates will kill him if he doesn't follow through with it but he can't bring himself to destroy Wray in the process.All in all, a decent romantic crime film--mostly because Colman was so cool and likable. It's not a film that will change your life and there were a few problems (such as the fact that Wray and her father bore no French accents), but it's very enjoyable escapism.

RONALD COLMAN spent a fair share of his early career as a criminal on the loose. RAFFLES and THE UNHOLY GARDEN are some prime examples. Unfortunately, neither one of these films is rated high on any list of Colman's film resume.THE UNHOLY GARDEN gets its title from the swarm of criminals and thieves residing at a seedy hotel in the Sahara Desert, where a beautiful young girl (FAY WRAY) is trying to keep her father's hidden wealth from the prying hands of a bunch of hoods determined to get their hands on the loot. Along comes gentleman RONALD COLMAN, himself a thief, who charms the girl but makes the mistake of falling in love with her. He finds his conscience before the final reel.It's all played in a wildly overacted fashion with actors given to the kind of emoting that went out with silent pictures. Colman is credible in the lead but everyone else seems to be playing to the balcony.The plot is similar to many other such crime capers, one in particular being a film made around the same time called SAFE IN HELL, whereby a young woman runs away from authorities to a South Seas island and must stay at a run-down hotel surrounded by unsavory criminals.Nothing distinctive here about the story's treatment. Its only interest is giving the viewer a chance to see the young Ronald Colman playing a romantic lead.