When the governor's daughter (Barbara Stanwyck) marries the attorney general (Warren William), everything seems ripe for success until scandal erupts thanks to the alleged pay-off the governor received in regards to a last minute pardon. This leads to both assumed suicide and obvious murder, and it is up to both William and Stanwyck to find out the truth and clear her father without exposing possible scandal because of their association. Everything is going fine along the way until the denouncement which takes up time to explain in unrelated flashback with minor characters all of a sudden thrown in to the plot to bring it to a convoluted conclusion.
One major subplot that works is the framing of Williams' secretary (the always wonderful Glenda Farrell) for the murder of Williams' assistant (Douglas Dumbrille). Farrell offers some amusing lines as she's booked, even though she is secretly mourning Dumbrille whom she was involved with. Arthur Byron is refined as Stanwyck's governor father, with Grant Mitchell obviously hiding something as the governor's right-hand man who knows more than he's telling. Stanwyck makes a magnificent court room entrance which leads the judge to start putting the pieces together. Once all the important parties are together for a major confession, all credibility previously seen in the film go straight out the window.
A minor effort during Stanwyck's early Warner Brothers career where she free-lanced between several major studios and was effective even when the film wasn't so hot. She looks gorgeous in a role that obviously Joan Crawford might have excelled in over at MGM and the film's failure clearly does not rest on her shoulders. All of the other performances are professional and right on the mark, so it is obvious that the fault lies with the screenplay and direction and not the acting.
One major subplot that works is the framing of Williams' secretary (the always wonderful Glenda Farrell) for the murder of Williams' assistant (Douglas Dumbrille). Farrell offers some amusing lines as she's booked, even though she is secretly mourning Dumbrille whom she was involved with. Arthur Byron is refined as Stanwyck's governor father, with Grant Mitchell obviously hiding something as the governor's right-hand man who knows more than he's telling. Stanwyck makes a magnificent court room entrance which leads the judge to start putting the pieces together. Once all the important parties are together for a major confession, all credibility previously seen in the film go straight out the window.
A minor effort during Stanwyck's early Warner Brothers career where she free-lanced between several major studios and was effective even when the film wasn't so hot. She looks gorgeous in a role that obviously Joan Crawford might have excelled in over at MGM and the film's failure clearly does not rest on her shoulders. All of the other performances are professional and right on the mark, so it is obvious that the fault lies with the screenplay and direction and not the acting.