The mayor and district attorneys of an unnamed city are tied into the corruption of the rackets creating a large element of crime that they don't seem to be doing anything to stop. When he is indicted in a murder, racketeer Edward Arnold turns the tables on these politicians by coming up with documentation that ties them in with corruption, demanding that they will get him off the hook, or else. A young man, Eric Linden, has evidence that ties these politicians into the criminal activities to go on, and they must do everything they can to silence him without stirring up suspicion.
I doubt in any big city that a pompous fool like the character played by Burton Churchill could get elected as mayor (certainly not in any of the huge metropolises), but somehow he did get elected in this fictional city, and his hands are as dirty as Arnold's, along with the district attorneys played by Tully Marshall and Louis Calhern. Linden is set up to be accused of the crimes, leaving wife Sidney Fox frantic.
Best known at the time for series of classic horror films, Universal created some real life monsters with a politicians and racketeers seen in this movie. The direction of Edward L. Cahn keeps this movie going out of steady pace, almost nail biting because of the way it's young hero is framed. The judge chosen to hear Arnold's case resigns in fury because of the demands made on him, and they just simply point out someone else on the mayor's staff to be sworn in as judge. This 90 year old film truly remains potent with Arnold adding another great villain to his cannon of bad guys that would just get better when he was cast in a few Frank Capra movies. Definitely one of the great unsung films of the pre-code era of classic cinema, and a must for political science majors studying the history of corruption.
I doubt in any big city that a pompous fool like the character played by Burton Churchill could get elected as mayor (certainly not in any of the huge metropolises), but somehow he did get elected in this fictional city, and his hands are as dirty as Arnold's, along with the district attorneys played by Tully Marshall and Louis Calhern. Linden is set up to be accused of the crimes, leaving wife Sidney Fox frantic.
Best known at the time for series of classic horror films, Universal created some real life monsters with a politicians and racketeers seen in this movie. The direction of Edward L. Cahn keeps this movie going out of steady pace, almost nail biting because of the way it's young hero is framed. The judge chosen to hear Arnold's case resigns in fury because of the demands made on him, and they just simply point out someone else on the mayor's staff to be sworn in as judge. This 90 year old film truly remains potent with Arnold adding another great villain to his cannon of bad guys that would just get better when he was cast in a few Frank Capra movies. Definitely one of the great unsung films of the pre-code era of classic cinema, and a must for political science majors studying the history of corruption.