My score of 6 is a balance between what the film deserved for a 1930 film as well as how it hold up today. For 1930, it was pretty good--with decent sound and plot. However, when seen today, the whole thing seems very stagy as well as hard to swallow. For folks like me who love old films, it's worth a look--though it bears none of the salaciousness you might hope to find in a "Pre-Code" gangster film.
I knew when the film began I was in for a bit of torture. Ned Sparks, a popular but occasionally annoying supporting player, was there in the first scene. Considering it was a gangster film, I was hoping he was the first victim, but no such luck. As a result, I has to watch and listen to his rather tired routine throughout the film. His deadpan sarcasm just seemed out of place and distracting here. Plus, giving him a saxophone to play (and play very badly) made his one of the more annoying supporting roles of the era.
Aside from Sparks, the rest of the film is just okay--nothing particularly special. It's all about an out of work and incredibly stupid man who decides the smart way out of debt is to be a "bag man" for the mob. Surprise, surprise, all does NOT go well and this leads to a decent showdown scene at the end. However, the stilted nature and talkiness of the film, something relatively common for 1930, was obvious. Not a great film, but a decent time-passer.
I knew when the film began I was in for a bit of torture. Ned Sparks, a popular but occasionally annoying supporting player, was there in the first scene. Considering it was a gangster film, I was hoping he was the first victim, but no such luck. As a result, I has to watch and listen to his rather tired routine throughout the film. His deadpan sarcasm just seemed out of place and distracting here. Plus, giving him a saxophone to play (and play very badly) made his one of the more annoying supporting roles of the era.
Aside from Sparks, the rest of the film is just okay--nothing particularly special. It's all about an out of work and incredibly stupid man who decides the smart way out of debt is to be a "bag man" for the mob. Surprise, surprise, all does NOT go well and this leads to a decent showdown scene at the end. However, the stilted nature and talkiness of the film, something relatively common for 1930, was obvious. Not a great film, but a decent time-passer.