Some pretty snappy dialogue helps rise this poverty row crime drama to acceptable level even though it's obvious that the studios sound equipment was not up to par with even the lowest of the B studios at the time. Loving the quote about ping pong by the butler of the murdered man, I loved the response of the police even more. Blanche Mehaffey is Joan, using the alias Mary Smith, suspect in the murder of the prosecutor who sent her brother to the electric chair, disregarding evidence she brought him that may have ultimately proved him innocent. She's certain that a criminal named Snowey (Matthew Bentz) was the one responsible, and with the help of playboy John Darrow, gets legal help in spite of the fact that evidence seems to be piling against her.
It's obvious that the reporter played by Raymond Hatton (with the far too obvious name of Scoop) was modeled after the grouchy characters played by Ned Sparks, the Walter Matthau of his day. Pre-code vamp Gwen Lee get some great lines as a hard boiled friend of the heroines. Veteran actors Henry B. Walthall and Alec B. Francis seem to be slumming with their presence in this movie which has to be seen for such audacious dialogue as "What do you think this is? A nut house?", spoken by a ridiculously hard boiled detective. This is going to be acquired taste for people who can easily tolerate the snap crackle and pop of early talkie film soundtracks, but most others will be dreadfully bored even though the plot is stronger than normal.
It's obvious that the reporter played by Raymond Hatton (with the far too obvious name of Scoop) was modeled after the grouchy characters played by Ned Sparks, the Walter Matthau of his day. Pre-code vamp Gwen Lee get some great lines as a hard boiled friend of the heroines. Veteran actors Henry B. Walthall and Alec B. Francis seem to be slumming with their presence in this movie which has to be seen for such audacious dialogue as "What do you think this is? A nut house?", spoken by a ridiculously hard boiled detective. This is going to be acquired taste for people who can easily tolerate the snap crackle and pop of early talkie film soundtracks, but most others will be dreadfully bored even though the plot is stronger than normal.