I couldn't love this film, despite the praise it has received over the years. The primary problem is too many title cards and not enough action, too many interconnections in a network of urban corruption and not enough focus on the main characters which are Louis Wohlheim as a crime kingpin, his younger brother (George E. Stone, who is no more believable as a brother of Wohlheim than John Gilbert was a few years later in Gentleman's Fate), and Thomas Meighan as the straight-arrow police officer in opposition to them. Having been directed by Lewis Milestone, there are plenty of interesting camera angles and revelatory dissolves throughout to keep the audience from nodding off.
But the outstanding attraction is the vivacious Marie Prevost before she started gaining weight and playing comic relief supporting roles in early talkies. She is the epitome of a tough but warmhearted Prohibition-era flapper.
Robert Israel's score leans toward the fake, by-the-book "1920's" sound which seems to be winking at the audience. A more generally suspenseful approach might have worked better, saving the boringly played doo-wacky-doo stuff for the nightclub scenes.
But the outstanding attraction is the vivacious Marie Prevost before she started gaining weight and playing comic relief supporting roles in early talkies. She is the epitome of a tough but warmhearted Prohibition-era flapper.
Robert Israel's score leans toward the fake, by-the-book "1920's" sound which seems to be winking at the audience. A more generally suspenseful approach might have worked better, saving the boringly played doo-wacky-doo stuff for the nightclub scenes.