This is so obviously written by a couple of newspapermen used to creating attention-grabbing headlines. The whole film's style is written in massive bold print - you will not be able to ignore it - you will not want to ignore it - you will be hooked.
This is a fantastic film which even before the titles come up begins with what look like the brides of Dracula emerging from the allegorical swirling blood-soaked smoke of mankind's sin and depravity flying wildly, fangs poised, at your screen. This weird, spooky and for 1934, incredibly well-made mood-setting few minutes is quite unique and although is a bit on the pretentious side, certainly gives this film an instant wow factor. This title sequence is easily as iconic as is the start of a James Bond film.
Contemporary reviewers criticised this, Hecht and MacArthur's first film - written by, directed by and produced by themselves as being self indulgent - too florid and lacking the critical eye of an outside editor but none of this will be noticed by a modern viewer. Although it is clearly made by writers who love writing, it's not just a "wordy" film. Bear in mind that although Hech in particular was called "the Shakespeare of Hollywood" creating scripts as diverse as for Scarface, the most violent gangster film of the 30s, screwball comedies and even Gone With The Wind, neither of them were high-brow novelists sitting in their lofty ivory towers. Their backgrounds were from grimy, smoke-filled newsrooms in the dirty, violent, crime ridden streets of Chicago. This grounded them in the zeitgeist of the time and makes this story outstanding.
It's the story of a totally unscrupulous but incredibly clever and eloquent lawyer. He is an awful person but played so magnificently by Claude Rains in his first film (I am discounting the awful, awful Invisible Man) that you find it impossible not to totally adore this monster! His character has the depth and layers which was very rare in films from this era. Modern productions would take several hour long episodes to develop such a character which Rains manages in just over an hour.
The gripping story, the witty script, the imaginative cinematography and the high production values make this enthralling and exciting from start to finish. You will expect a surprise ending but even forewarned, you won't not expect the surprise ending you'll get.
This is a fantastic film which even before the titles come up begins with what look like the brides of Dracula emerging from the allegorical swirling blood-soaked smoke of mankind's sin and depravity flying wildly, fangs poised, at your screen. This weird, spooky and for 1934, incredibly well-made mood-setting few minutes is quite unique and although is a bit on the pretentious side, certainly gives this film an instant wow factor. This title sequence is easily as iconic as is the start of a James Bond film.
Contemporary reviewers criticised this, Hecht and MacArthur's first film - written by, directed by and produced by themselves as being self indulgent - too florid and lacking the critical eye of an outside editor but none of this will be noticed by a modern viewer. Although it is clearly made by writers who love writing, it's not just a "wordy" film. Bear in mind that although Hech in particular was called "the Shakespeare of Hollywood" creating scripts as diverse as for Scarface, the most violent gangster film of the 30s, screwball comedies and even Gone With The Wind, neither of them were high-brow novelists sitting in their lofty ivory towers. Their backgrounds were from grimy, smoke-filled newsrooms in the dirty, violent, crime ridden streets of Chicago. This grounded them in the zeitgeist of the time and makes this story outstanding.
It's the story of a totally unscrupulous but incredibly clever and eloquent lawyer. He is an awful person but played so magnificently by Claude Rains in his first film (I am discounting the awful, awful Invisible Man) that you find it impossible not to totally adore this monster! His character has the depth and layers which was very rare in films from this era. Modern productions would take several hour long episodes to develop such a character which Rains manages in just over an hour.
The gripping story, the witty script, the imaginative cinematography and the high production values make this enthralling and exciting from start to finish. You will expect a surprise ending but even forewarned, you won't not expect the surprise ending you'll get.