I agree with the other reviewers that the print quality is not very good. There are lots of projector lines and the black and white is faded. However, I disagree about the quality of the film. It is a good adventure story with a lot of cute comedy that silent film fans can enjoy.
The plot has Dynamite Dan (Kenneth MacDonald)as a workman accused of a robbery actually committed by the Foreman (Boris Karloff). Dan escapes, but is hunted by a comical detective, Sherlock Jones (Eddie Harris) who has just gotten his detective's license from a correspondence school. Dan visits his girlfriend Helen Havens (Diana Alden) at her girl's college. He gets a job as a physical education instructor. There are a comical scenes involving the co-eds in this part of the film. He gets fired and ends up as a professional boxer. While building his boxing career, he sends his girlfriend Helen to get a job near his old workplace so she can find out who actually did the robbery. In the last reel, Dan has to fight a gangster, Brute Lacy, for the championship and save his gal from the clutches of Boris Karloff.
Kenneth MacDonald makes for a handsome and athletic looking nice guy hero. He does beat up on little Eddie Harris, the silly detective, a few times, almost bullying him, but the detective is annoying and probably deserves some of it. MacDonald starred in over two dozen films from 1923 to 1927 and then disappeared. This is the only film of his to be released on DVD, I believe, and we should thank Alpha Video for that. It would be nice to have more of his movies out to see how he does in other pictures. He is appealing in this film.
This movie was on a 20 film box set of Boris Karloff films released by Alpha. I found it for $2.99 at a video store. On the one hand, Karloff fans may be disappointed that he is basically only in the first and last 10 minutes of the 60 minute film. On the other hand, I think they will be happy to see Karloff so young, age 33, and acting with the same sinister, but charming, style that we are used to.
While not a classic, the film is nicely written, acted and edited. If you like the magic of silent films and want to see Karloff eight years before he played Frankenstein, you should enjoy the hour.
The plot has Dynamite Dan (Kenneth MacDonald)as a workman accused of a robbery actually committed by the Foreman (Boris Karloff). Dan escapes, but is hunted by a comical detective, Sherlock Jones (Eddie Harris) who has just gotten his detective's license from a correspondence school. Dan visits his girlfriend Helen Havens (Diana Alden) at her girl's college. He gets a job as a physical education instructor. There are a comical scenes involving the co-eds in this part of the film. He gets fired and ends up as a professional boxer. While building his boxing career, he sends his girlfriend Helen to get a job near his old workplace so she can find out who actually did the robbery. In the last reel, Dan has to fight a gangster, Brute Lacy, for the championship and save his gal from the clutches of Boris Karloff.
Kenneth MacDonald makes for a handsome and athletic looking nice guy hero. He does beat up on little Eddie Harris, the silly detective, a few times, almost bullying him, but the detective is annoying and probably deserves some of it. MacDonald starred in over two dozen films from 1923 to 1927 and then disappeared. This is the only film of his to be released on DVD, I believe, and we should thank Alpha Video for that. It would be nice to have more of his movies out to see how he does in other pictures. He is appealing in this film.
This movie was on a 20 film box set of Boris Karloff films released by Alpha. I found it for $2.99 at a video store. On the one hand, Karloff fans may be disappointed that he is basically only in the first and last 10 minutes of the 60 minute film. On the other hand, I think they will be happy to see Karloff so young, age 33, and acting with the same sinister, but charming, style that we are used to.
While not a classic, the film is nicely written, acted and edited. If you like the magic of silent films and want to see Karloff eight years before he played Frankenstein, you should enjoy the hour.