June 13, 2022

Odd to see Howard Hawks on this genre, but he directs this workman-like gangster effort steadily, managing to convey some semblance of the environment of fear and violence without actually turning it into a visual gory bloodbath. Paul Muni may have had top billing, but for me George Raft steals this - charisma a-plenty. Boris Karloff appears oddly miscast, but Dvorak and Morley play the roles of the molls quite effectively and Osgood Perkins play… read the rest.

Odd to see Howard Hawks on this genre, but he directs this workman-like gangster effort steadily, managing to convey some semblance of the environment of fear and violence without actually turning it into a visual gory bloodbath. Paul Muni may have had top billing, but for me George Raft steals this - charisma a-plenty. Boris Karloff appears oddly miscast, but Dvorak and Morley play the roles of the molls quite effectively and Osgood Perkins plays the cowardly bully Lovo well. Holds up remarkably after almost 90 years!

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