From the time fresh faced George Raft asked "Barney Muller" (Owen Moore) to take a look at a number he had been rehearsing with the girls and the few minutes of dance I loved this movie!! George Raft was one of New York's top dancers during the twenties and reputedly the fastest charleston dancer in the world - even Fred Astaire sang his praises. Here he got a chance to show the public his absolutely amazing ability as a dancer, his legs flew in every direction, the chorus girls backed him up and cute as a button June Clyde, who next year had her fleeting chance at stardom, sang "Take a Look at Her Now"!!! George also had a couple of talking scenes and proved he was the most natural and relaxed member of the cast.
For the rest of the time this movie was a pretty "deadly" affair, the novelty being that it showcased the three Moore brothers (in 1929 did anyone really care). Beautiful Kathryn Perry of the Ziegfeld Follies was the female lead and seeing that she was Owen Moore's real life wife, you could say it was a family affair!! The story revolves around an Irish family (with accents so thick you could cut them with a knife and fork). John (Matt Moore) a doctor, Jimmy, a policeman (Tom Moore - was he in reality a policeman who was just moonlighting as an actor!!!) and Billy (Owen Moore) who was the town's big crime boss - although no one in the family knows. I don't really agree with the reviewer who thought Owen was the most at ease in front of a microphone - I thought he was pretty ill at ease, especially in the family scenes. I think it showed how much progress was made in just a year when you compare this crime film with movies like "Little Caesar" and "Doorway to Hell", both from 1930.
Jimmy's fiancée Dora (I know she is listed as Kathryn but it sounded like Dora to me) goes to a party with her friend Bunny (Mildred Harris, Charlie Chaplin's first wife) at the penthouse apartment of Barney Muller. Later that night a fight breaks out and Dr. John is called. By the end of the movie everyone (even the guileless mother Emma Dunn) realises just who Billy really is and joins in the effort to keep Jimmy, who hasn't yet twigged as to who Muller really is, away from the block of flats where he has an appointment - with death!!!
For a gangster movie it was awfully static - it was Radio's first talkie. Radio was a subsidiary of General Electric and had developed it's own talking system, Photophone, which they claimed was the most superior, so they could go into talkies a lot sooner than their bigger studio rivals.
For the rest of the time this movie was a pretty "deadly" affair, the novelty being that it showcased the three Moore brothers (in 1929 did anyone really care). Beautiful Kathryn Perry of the Ziegfeld Follies was the female lead and seeing that she was Owen Moore's real life wife, you could say it was a family affair!! The story revolves around an Irish family (with accents so thick you could cut them with a knife and fork). John (Matt Moore) a doctor, Jimmy, a policeman (Tom Moore - was he in reality a policeman who was just moonlighting as an actor!!!) and Billy (Owen Moore) who was the town's big crime boss - although no one in the family knows. I don't really agree with the reviewer who thought Owen was the most at ease in front of a microphone - I thought he was pretty ill at ease, especially in the family scenes. I think it showed how much progress was made in just a year when you compare this crime film with movies like "Little Caesar" and "Doorway to Hell", both from 1930.
Jimmy's fiancée Dora (I know she is listed as Kathryn but it sounded like Dora to me) goes to a party with her friend Bunny (Mildred Harris, Charlie Chaplin's first wife) at the penthouse apartment of Barney Muller. Later that night a fight breaks out and Dr. John is called. By the end of the movie everyone (even the guileless mother Emma Dunn) realises just who Billy really is and joins in the effort to keep Jimmy, who hasn't yet twigged as to who Muller really is, away from the block of flats where he has an appointment - with death!!!
For a gangster movie it was awfully static - it was Radio's first talkie. Radio was a subsidiary of General Electric and had developed it's own talking system, Photophone, which they claimed was the most superior, so they could go into talkies a lot sooner than their bigger studio rivals.