Boris Karloff and Leo Carillo play two feuding mobsters, but the attention is on their children, played by Constance Cummings and Robert Young, who have fallen in love and must keep his identity a secret. The film has some pretty good writing, some unusual angles, but on the whole it's not a very ambitious movie. Perhaps fearing public censure for glamorizing mobsters, the film makes sure to include some social protest angles, such as a newspaper writer who seems to be personally angry at the mafia. And there are numerous references to children and "baby carriages" being caught in the crossfire of the mafia wars. Nevertheless the film depicts ordinary Americans enjoying bootleg liquor quite liberally.
The film's best scene is one which involves Carillo's character and Emma Dunn, who plays his long-suffering mama. Cloaked in cinema shadows, Dunn excoriates her son and warns him that his son "will be next." Karloff mostly appears in the early parts of the film, and much more time is given to Carillo and his side of the family. Carillo is excellent. Young is just himself, appearing unconvincingly Italian in his mustache, and Cummings seems to be having some problems with her line readings. They're an appealing couple but their love affair, like the film itself, is nothing to write home about.
The film's best scene is one which involves Carillo's character and Emma Dunn, who plays his long-suffering mama. Cloaked in cinema shadows, Dunn excoriates her son and warns him that his son "will be next." Karloff mostly appears in the early parts of the film, and much more time is given to Carillo and his side of the family. Carillo is excellent. Young is just himself, appearing unconvincingly Italian in his mustache, and Cummings seems to be having some problems with her line readings. They're an appealing couple but their love affair, like the film itself, is nothing to write home about.