kai ringler slightly better than the amazing mr x.. but not much,, this one moves at a snails pace. hardly any action, I got the point of the movie or this would have been a 1. for me I guess just following it to where I understand what the movie was about gave it a 2 for me,, the best part of the movie for me believe it or not was the scene where the kid is trying to play with his new train for Christmas,, well the grown ups are playing with it and you hear the kid say dad when am I gonna get to play with MY TRAIN, I thought that it was so hilarious when the kid said that.. yeah there was some mystery to the movie, which kinda kept me interested for a little while,, but this movie , doesn't really have any action,, and is kinda slow paced for me,, which just made me wish the movie would end,,

MartinHafer Although this movie was made by a so-called Poverty Row studio', Majestic Pictures, it stars Pat O'Brien, Neil Hamilton, J. Carrol Naish and Louis Calhern. How this small production company got the services of these screen veterans is anyone's guess, though all of the actors had either seen better days (with Hamilton and Calhern being big stars a few years earlier) or would go on to much bigger stardom (O'Brien). Because of these actors, the film didn't look like a low=budget production but where it really shows is the script--which was pretty dull and convoluted. "The World Gone Mad" features one of the most annoying child actors in history, with a cloying and whiny performance by the little brat. IMDb doesn't seem to list the 'actor' playing this role--I just hope never to see the kid again in other films. Every moment he was on camera (which were fortunately few), he whined. This also contributed to me giving the film such a low score.So what IS worth seeing about the film? Well, if you really, really want to hear lots and lots of cursing, this $@*! film has more than can recall having seen in any other Pre-code film. I call it 'Pre-code' because the newer and tougher Production Code of 1934 would eliminate cursing and many other raunchy things that were actually pretty common in Hollywood films of the era. In addition to the cursing, liberal doses of sexual innuendo are included. Yes, it is a novelty today to hear this from the stars of old...but a novelty you can enjoy in many better films of the early 1930s.

ReelCheese An obscure dramatic thriller that captures and loses the viewers interest like a seesaw. Pat O'Brien is a hard-nosed reporter who gets a little too close for comfort to the story of a lifetime, a massive corporate scandal. With a District Attorney already killed for knowing too much, O'Brien rightfully fears the new D.A (Neil Hamilton) also has a bullet with his name on it. Can our reporter hero piece it all together for the hapless law enforcement authorities before it's too late?While there are many moments of interest in "The World Gone Mad," it seems there are almost as many pointless scenes with no purpose other than to ruin the flow. It's also overly complex at times. Still, even if one doesn't cut this one the slack it deserves for being made in 1933, it's not all that awful. The performances are good, particularly from O'Brien and Hamilton. But a little further editing would have helped. By the way, I nominate this one for the "Title That Bears Little Resemblance To The On screen Product" Award.

Coventry Most of these 30's thrillers/murder mysteries have been forgotten by now because, let's face it, they haven't got much to offer apart from – occasionally – a good story. This little film has a very decent story, fluently written dialogues and some really adequate acting performances, yet it simple can't be called memorable because of the shabbiness of the production. Pat O'Brien ("Hell's House") stars as an obtrusive reporter investigating the vicious assassination of a befriended District Attorney and unravels almost single-handedly an entire network of corruption, blackmail and political scandals. His performance is very good and he gets to say some very slick lines, yet the movie lacks a lot of action and continuity. There's one sequence near the beginning that I found particularly smart, showing how the assignment for murder is passed on to several involved parties and thus creating a complex structure that sadly never gets properly clarified. There are some more ingenious and dared ideas in the plot, but it all looks too poor for you to care. Feel free to avoid this one.