mark.waltz Perhaps with a better script and a higher budget, this could have been a fun melodrama of how a blackmailed blackmailing chorus girl is bumped off and how her case progresses. Dorothy Reveier is only on screen for a few minutes as the victim, so there isn't enough time to set up interest in her story. She is described later in the film having been a little nobody when picked up and put in jewels and furs, the apparent cause of her turning bad. Several suspects come in and out of the story with little detail of what lead to them wanting her dead. Vampish Natalie Moorehead plays against type as a victim for a change rather than a calculating perpetrator of mischief. This creaks along with a lot of talk and long pauses in dialog which makes it on occasion unbearable. Conway Teale headlines as the detective. The conclusion and cause of the victim's death is pretty clever, but much of the remainder of the film lacks in interest.

JohnHowardReid It's a remarkable fact that some of the "B" directors like Richard Thorpe adapted to sound much faster than acclaimed "A" leaders like John Ford and Howard Hawks. Thorpe's Border Romance (1929) is very competently made indeed, and in this 1932 production he could still give some of the masters a keen lesson in pacing. Indeed, the first two reels move with such celerity that the average viewer needs to be really on his toes to keep up with the plot. And at this stage it's worth paying attention, because the sultry Dorothy Revier is right up there on the screen. When she is killed, the pace slows somewhat when the focus shifts to Marceline Day (who is too rake-thin for my taste) and plodding-as-she-goes hero, Conway Tearle. Nonetheless, the mystery is still intriguing enough, and Thorpe makes good use of Universal's standing sets to give the movie a bit of class. Natalie Moorhead is exotic enough to command a bit of interest, and an outstanding cameo by Rose Dione also helps. Alas, as usual in many of these Poverty Row thrillers, the solution to the mystery is somewhat contrived. Also disappointing is the revelation of the actual killer. In fact the whole climax is a letdown. One gets the impression that the producer ran out of money at this stage and simply wound the film down. Curtain!

Hitchcoc This is about philandering. It has at the center, a gold digger who is using planned extortion to get what she wants. She sets herself up, leaving little choice among her victims. Of course, the men are truly culpable and deserve much of what they get. The conclusion is pretty far fetched. If you are old enough to own a phonograph (turntable) you will get my point. The bad guys are depending a lot on some pretty random incompetence. This is interesting and has a few twists and turns, so it's not bad, but the conclusion is unsatisfying. The character of the young woman is pretty well portrayed and the acting isn't too bad. Still, it could have been better with a little more imagination.

pdutram A tidy little murder mystery from Chesterfield that keeps you guessing until the end. Who killed the blackmailing gold digger? There are plenty of suspects including three of her current marks, wives and girlfriends, and a former partner. The murderer accidentally (not intentionally) gets some of his own medicine in the end. Any of these 1930s quickies that surprises at the end is worth seeing. Chesterfield has a fairly good record for turning them out, better than most second tier studios. Dorothy Revier as the two-faced vixen is believable as "that kind of woman". You have to wonder how she can conceal her baser nature from the shills. The shapely Marceline Day is always worth watching. Conway Tearle's usual dull acting style fits perfectly here as the chief of detectives, reflecting the quiet competence of a man who has seen it all many times before. The plot moves at an appropriate police procedural pace.