Gangster Jerry Larrabee gets framed by rival Spadoni. In prison, he is befriended by the warden who turns the criminal into a singer. His new skill gets him a pardon, but he continues to be hounded by his past.
It's an early sound film. It's only part talkie. Other scenes are still silent. It's over a year since The Jazz Singer. This got a directing Oscar nomination. The story and everything else is almost secondary to the era's conversion to sound. When the first dialogue is heard after a long section of silent film, the sound is almost shocking coming out of nowhere. It is also interesting to read how the lead gets his singing dubbed in camera. It's all the technical fixes behind the scenes that makes this movie fascinating.
It's an early sound film. It's only part talkie. Other scenes are still silent. It's over a year since The Jazz Singer. This got a directing Oscar nomination. The story and everything else is almost secondary to the era's conversion to sound. When the first dialogue is heard after a long section of silent film, the sound is almost shocking coming out of nowhere. It is also interesting to read how the lead gets his singing dubbed in camera. It's all the technical fixes behind the scenes that makes this movie fascinating.