This week’s mystery movie was the 1929 MGM film Untamed, with Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Ernest Torrence, Holmes Herbert, John Miljan, Gwen Lee, Edward Nugent, Don Terry, Gertrude Astor, Milton Farney, Lloyd Ingram (Ingraham), Grace Cunard, Tom O’Brien and Wilson Benge.

From the story by Charles E. Scoggins.

Adaptation and continuity by Sylvia Thalberg and Frank Butler.

Dialogue by Willard Mack.

Words and music by Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed, Louis Alter and Joe Goodwin.

Recording engineer Douglas Shearer.

Art direction by Cedric Gibbons.

Photography by Oliver Marsh.

Gowns by Adrian.

Edited by William S. Gray.

Directed by Jack Conway.

A Jack Conway production.

Further information on Untamed is available from the AFI Catalog.

Untamed is available on DVD from Critics’ Choice Video.

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After an exploration of more recent films, including the tribute to Catherine O’Hara, it’s back to my usual tricks with, yes, another film dealing – though tangentially – with the oil industry! And yes, Crawford and Montgomery are very young, in their 20s, in this film.

Are we in Mordaunt Hall territory?

Yes! (The New York Times, November 30, 1929):

Although Untamed, the talking film now sojourning at the Capitol, possesses scenes that are supposed to be on the fringe of a jungle, and others aboard ship and in New York, this pictorial effusion never really appears to get outside the walls of a Hollywood studio. It does wander, however, from anything real, and the trite dialogue and vacillating natures of some of the persons involved make one shudder to think to what queer lengths producers can go with their relatively new vocalized toy.

For Monday, we have a mysterious fellow.

Update: This is Lloyd Ingram (Ingraham), in what I thought was an excellent pose for Monday.

For “Tricky Tuesday,” we have a couple of mysterious Back of the Back Guys.

Update: This is Wilson Benge, left, and Ernest Torrence.

Brain Trust roll call: Mike Hawks (Monday’s mysterious barfly).

For “Hm Wednesday,” we have another look at our Back of the Back Guys.

Update: This is Ernest Torrence, left, and Wilson Benge.

Brain Trust roll call: Sheila (Monday’s mysterious barfly).

For “Aha Thursday,” we have a mysterious fellow and mystery woman.

Update: This is Don Terry and Gwen Lee.

Brain Trust roll call: Mary Mallory (Wednesday’s mysterious fellow No. 1), Stacia (Wednesday’s mysterious fellow No. 1) and Sheila (mystery movie and Wednesday’s mysterious fellow No. 2).

For Friday, we have our mysterious leading man and leading lady.

Update: This is Robert Montgomery and Joan Crawford.

Brain Trust roll call: Mary Mallory (mystery movie, Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s mysterious gent No. 1 and Thursday’s mysterious guests), Stacia (mystery movie and all mysterious guests), Mike Hawks (mystery movie, Wednesday’s mysterious guest No. 1 and Thursday’s mystery guests), and Sheila (Thursday’s mystery guests).