Such an atmospheric and macabre start, with a secret society meeting to determine an assassin for a corrupt man they've deemed is doing more harm than good in the world, which they do by dealing cards until one of them gets the ace of hearts. There's a love triangle too, which leads to some angst. The shot of Lon Chaney's character out in the rain looking up at the lights of an apartment is excellent, and he's fantastic as always. The story gets a little weak in its middle portion when the would-be assassin and his wife (John Bowers and Leatrice Joy) have a change of heart which seems too abrupt to be plausible. However, the moments of tension created with a bomb about to go off are well done, and enhanced by both physical danger and the presence of innocent bystanders. It seems literally straight out of Hitchcock and his quote about the knowledge of a bomb creating suspense. The story is simple and it lags a little despite the short run time, but there are enough interesting elements for me to round up my review score a bit.
Review of The Ace of Hearts
