Writers: P.J. WOlfson, Allen Rivkin, Richard Schayer
Composer: Alfred Newman
Starring: Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, Dorothy Revier, Russell Hopton, Hedda Hopper, Clarence Muse, Dorothy Peterson, Bert Roach, George Raft
More info: IMDb
Plot: In the course of one night at a Prohibition-era nightclub, dreams and aspirations are made, tested and realized but there's also murder in the air.
My rating: 8/10
Will I watch it again? YES!!!
Seek this one out. Karloff is playing something I don't think I've ever seen him do...a smiling nightclub owner who also knows when to get nasty and throw some punches. I can't recall ever seeing him smile so much. It's refreshing. But don't cross him or he'll bust you in the chops for sure. It is weird, though, hearing him use slang like "baby". The characters are fun and this picture movies at a lightning fast pace. It's just under an hour long and it was over like that and the fast pace starts from the top with a great little montage of night life from inside the clubs (this is during prohibition) and outside on the streets. There's even a John picking up a hooker! Then it's one long, in-time, sequence with the dance girls and the rich club goers until eventually it settles down and we get some exposition here and there. But then even when that's happening it moves quickly. This is a great exercise in sustaining momentum. It's fun, too. There's a lot less melodrama than other pictures of the era which was welcome. And people die, too! Alfred Newman provided the energetic score and it goes a long way to sustain the energy. This was great fun.
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