Meh, she was too young and didn't quite have the vocal power of Swanson. When you realize just how good Swanson was in Sunset Boulevard, carefully blending silent and talkie acting styles, anything else pales in comparison. Yeah, she got some of the movement right, but she didn't grab me as she didn't seem to be Swanson or Clinton. Clever concept though.
I never meant it was
actually good, it was sort of like a Blogger's Sunset Blvd., meant to evaporate after a day or so. Sue Simmons's F-Bomb, on the other hand, had true resonance and beauty--with no preparation at all, she's so BUTCH! I totally agree with you about Swanson's blending of silent and talkie styles (by the way, have you seen that compilation of 'Queen Kelly', on vhs previously, maybe on DVD too by now; it's interesting), which I also like when it's not even the material, as in some of Garbo's early talkies, where you'll see the kind of thing still hanging over from her silents, esp, since she did a silent and talkie Anna Christie (I've never seen the silent, though.). On the other hand, Lillian Gish was almost all silent-movie acting, and brilliant at it, I can't right now remember any of her small roles in talkies except that awful thing about Indians with Audrey Hepburn, 'The Unforgiven.'
Think in terms of the girl, I thought she probably had some real talent, but the boys were about like porno actors with clothes on.