Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

utgard14 Lightweight crime picture about a man (Ralph Bellamy) recently released from prison for killing a guy in a fight over a girl. It doesn't take long before he finds himself in trouble again over another girl (Fay Wray), thanks to a guy (Melvyn Douglas) who thinks that girl belongs to him. I was anxious to see this due to the stars involved and Dashiell Hammett's name attached. What an immense disappointment this was. The whole thing creaks along like it was made the very day talking pictures were invented. Plodding pace with no memorable lines or scenes. Bellamy does fine playing a tougher role than we're used to seeing him in. But there's a reason why he was eventually typecast as the genial "runner-up" who loses the girl to the more exciting star of the picture. The rest of the cast doesn't stink but no one impresses, either. Phil Rosen's direction is nothing to brag about. This one is a drag, in my opinion. But obviously other reviewers saw something I didn't so give it a shot and see what you think. But keep expectations low.

GManfred This one came in the DVD collection and is the only reason the watch it.The best that can be said is that it is a good cast wasted. Hard to believe Dashiell Hammett had a hand in this uninteresting film. It was Pre-Code and had a few half-hearted attempts to inject sexual innuendo which would pass unnoticed nowadays. I give it 3 due mainly to an uninspired script and an outlandish storyline. The cast headed by Ralph Bellamy and Fay Wray try mightily. Melvyn Douglas is the heavy in this one and Roscoe Ates is on hand as comic relief but adds nothing - not even humor - to the proceedings. I hope no one went to great lengths to restore this picture - it wasn't worth it and I can't recommend it.

JohnHowardReid Escaping from a predatory rich man's embrace, a lovely singing star seeks refuge in the humble cabin of a newly paroled convict.Not exactly must viewing for even the most rabid Dashiell Hammett fan, this is certainly no Maltese Falcon but rather an American (or should we say a Canadian) mouse. However, that mouse is played by the charming Fay Wray, so interest quickens quite a jot (despite the fact that her close-ups are not all that flattering, even though credited to Hollywood's ace of aces, Joseph Ruttenberg). As the movie's titles roll by, the support cast initially engenders enthusiasm too. Alas, aside from Roscoe Ates (who is always a pain), everyone is below form, although connoisseurs may relish the chance to see dapper Douglas as the vicious heavy and perennial "other man" Ralph Bellamy as the reluctant hero. Production values are also distinctly below the major studio norm. Mr Rosen's direction is certainly nothing special, competent at best, heavy-handed at worst. Even more disappointing is a Hammett plot that, despite its potential, contains no elements of mystery and few of suspense. True, it has romance a-plenty, as well as a thoroughly conventional "cute meet", plus some comic interludes with Roscoe Ates and even Frank Otto (although note that dialogue writer Charles Williams gives his desk clerk self the movie's two funniest lines), but all that is not exactly the stuff that hard-boiled dreams are made of.

drednm Sort of a very early "Twin Peaks" look at a small town and its corruption. Ralph Bellamy is a man just out of jail for accidental manslaughter but the town hates him. Fay Wray is running away (from what?) in the dark night in a slinky gown. She comes to his cabin where he is trying to get rid of the sheriff's daughter. She got him in trouble first time around.Then Melvyn Douglas and a stooge barge in looking for Fay Wray. In a tussle the stooge shoots Wray's dog so Bellamy clunks him one and he hits his head on the fireplace. Here we go again.Bellamy and Wray take off but get sidetracked by a cop and end up hiding out in the city with Bellamy's old cell mate and his wife, Roscoe Ates and Ruth Gillette.Then the cops arrest Wray for stealing jewels from Douglas (which were a gift). To get out of jail she agrees to go back to Douglas but when she catches him trying to kill the stooge (who lingers on) she changes her mind.Wild plot but the 3 stars are all pretty good. This is a 1934 film and it was made at Biograph Studies in New York City. I thought they had gone out of business 20 years before this!