Mary Astor may not have had the pulling power of other stars but even during this time when she had caught the eye of Fox, her acting in this very gritty gangster yarn was second to none. A programmer in length only, the lack of big names gave this movie an almost documentary look and all the players impress. With names like Derby Dan and Champagne Joe, not to mention gorgeous gals, you are instantly plunged into the smoky, sleazy world of speakeasies were thuggish racketeers pimp their down trodden hostesses onto drunken businessmen in an effort to get them to spend up a storm!! Judy Andrews (Astor) as well as looking out of place in that smoked filled atmosphere, is fed up with cheap crooks and cheap rackets - returning from her mother's funeral puts her life into focus.
Ben Bard, an unknown actor to me but his "Derby Dan" is an elegant but vicious thug who twists Mary's arm (literally) in an effort to get her to hand over her weekly salary. That is the straw that finally breaks the camel's back but the "jovial out of towner" also has his problems. He has been robbed and is bounced out of the club before he can make a fuss - right out in front of a police car and boy, is he ready to name names for Detective Edwin Burke (Robert Elliott, soon to be a fixture as a Hollywood cop). The evening ends with Champagne Joe (Oscar Apfel) looking at a lengthy stretch in the big house - and vowing to get the dirty so and so who stealthily slipped the wallet into his coat pocket (no prizes for guessing it was Derby Dan)!!
Meanwhile Burke has recognized the soulful girl he saw earlier that day, grieving her mother's death but even though he is shocked to see she works at the club, he believes her story of trying to go straight and turns a blind eye. With a little bit of help ($10) from Burke, Judy starts a new life as a laundress - until seeing Dan through a window rattles her and she loses her job!! Next up is a waitress in a gentleman's lunch room - "must have good figure". Quite a few innovative scenes - when she first starts applying for jobs - the camera pans away as she climbs the stairs, indicative of her climb out of the gutter and towards clean air!!
As well as waitressing, she also studies secretarial skills at night school - boy is this girl keen!! She soon catches the eye of her new boss, Stephen Ransome (John Boles) who after a few dates regrets the fact that he will soon be in need of a new secretary!! Judy tries to keep her past a secret but at the court where they stop off to get married she is just in time to see Derby Dan get sentenced to prison for larceny. He recognises her but fortunately her guardian angel in the shape of Detective Burke is there to protect her from Dan's menacing looks. Two years later Dan is out, tracks Judy down and to her frantic question "What do you want"? his response is "Plenty"!! He takes her jewels and demands $5,000 for their return or "I'll tell poppa" - but Judy has an ace up her sleeve, her good buddy Detective Burke!!
A discreet word in Champagne Joe's ear and "that's the greatest public improvement since the subway" according to one eager policeman.
Playing "Blondey Nell" a gorgeous hostess, was the beauteous Helen Lynch who had been a 1924 Wampas Baby Star. While she appeared in a couple of prestigious films ("The Singing Fool", "Underworld" and "In Old Arizona") her roles were small and she retired for marriage with Carroll Nye in the early thirties. Ben Bard, so convincing as Derby Dan, was initially signed by Fox as a leading man but the air of quiet menace he bought to his roles meant he was often typecast as a heavy.
Highly Recommended.
Ben Bard, an unknown actor to me but his "Derby Dan" is an elegant but vicious thug who twists Mary's arm (literally) in an effort to get her to hand over her weekly salary. That is the straw that finally breaks the camel's back but the "jovial out of towner" also has his problems. He has been robbed and is bounced out of the club before he can make a fuss - right out in front of a police car and boy, is he ready to name names for Detective Edwin Burke (Robert Elliott, soon to be a fixture as a Hollywood cop). The evening ends with Champagne Joe (Oscar Apfel) looking at a lengthy stretch in the big house - and vowing to get the dirty so and so who stealthily slipped the wallet into his coat pocket (no prizes for guessing it was Derby Dan)!!
Meanwhile Burke has recognized the soulful girl he saw earlier that day, grieving her mother's death but even though he is shocked to see she works at the club, he believes her story of trying to go straight and turns a blind eye. With a little bit of help ($10) from Burke, Judy starts a new life as a laundress - until seeing Dan through a window rattles her and she loses her job!! Next up is a waitress in a gentleman's lunch room - "must have good figure". Quite a few innovative scenes - when she first starts applying for jobs - the camera pans away as she climbs the stairs, indicative of her climb out of the gutter and towards clean air!!
As well as waitressing, she also studies secretarial skills at night school - boy is this girl keen!! She soon catches the eye of her new boss, Stephen Ransome (John Boles) who after a few dates regrets the fact that he will soon be in need of a new secretary!! Judy tries to keep her past a secret but at the court where they stop off to get married she is just in time to see Derby Dan get sentenced to prison for larceny. He recognises her but fortunately her guardian angel in the shape of Detective Burke is there to protect her from Dan's menacing looks. Two years later Dan is out, tracks Judy down and to her frantic question "What do you want"? his response is "Plenty"!! He takes her jewels and demands $5,000 for their return or "I'll tell poppa" - but Judy has an ace up her sleeve, her good buddy Detective Burke!!
A discreet word in Champagne Joe's ear and "that's the greatest public improvement since the subway" according to one eager policeman.
Playing "Blondey Nell" a gorgeous hostess, was the beauteous Helen Lynch who had been a 1924 Wampas Baby Star. While she appeared in a couple of prestigious films ("The Singing Fool", "Underworld" and "In Old Arizona") her roles were small and she retired for marriage with Carroll Nye in the early thirties. Ben Bard, so convincing as Derby Dan, was initially signed by Fox as a leading man but the air of quiet menace he bought to his roles meant he was often typecast as a heavy.
Highly Recommended.