Lew Ayres plays a Walter Winchell type reporter who scoops Broadway scandals and makes several people nervous and disappear just by his very presence in the speak-easies and nightclubs of Manhattan. His secretary Maureen O'Sullivan is obviously in love with him and somewhat jealous of his interest in a kidnapped millionairess (Margaret Lindsay in one of her early roles). In shades of Patricia Hearst some 40 years later, the kidnapped girl is the daughter of the best friend of the President of the United States, and her kidnapping is actually being used to help lessen the sentence of gangster Edward Arnold. The elegant Louis Calhern (who reminded me here of a young Keenan Wynn) is great as a bootlegger who is the liaison between Ayres and Arnold in getting the girl released.
The first quarter of the film shows Ayres at work getting all sorts of scoops in various Manhattan locations. He's not as fast talking or tough as James Dunn, Lee Tracy or Pat O'Brien were in other gangster films, so his impersonation of Walter Winchell is a bit forced for me. I felt he was too young for this part. O'Sullivan does her best with a nothing part, but the final shot of her is unforgettable. I liked the touch of gangster Arnold being a fan of Charles Dickens, and his reference to the character of Fagin in "Oliver Twist" is priceless. An actor named Frederick Burton provides the voice of the President, who is not seen but speaks eloquently of his desire not to cow-tow to the threats of a gangster. As his name is never used, it's apparent that the writers didn't want to give any praise to then US President Herbert Hoover.
While there are many fun moments of typical newspaper office dialog, it's nothing new. However, as the tension builds up at the end, the filmmakers deliver a conclusion that may leave some empty, but for me was a hilarious bit of tragic irony that lead me to my own conclusions of how things actually would end for the characters.
The first quarter of the film shows Ayres at work getting all sorts of scoops in various Manhattan locations. He's not as fast talking or tough as James Dunn, Lee Tracy or Pat O'Brien were in other gangster films, so his impersonation of Walter Winchell is a bit forced for me. I felt he was too young for this part. O'Sullivan does her best with a nothing part, but the final shot of her is unforgettable. I liked the touch of gangster Arnold being a fan of Charles Dickens, and his reference to the character of Fagin in "Oliver Twist" is priceless. An actor named Frederick Burton provides the voice of the President, who is not seen but speaks eloquently of his desire not to cow-tow to the threats of a gangster. As his name is never used, it's apparent that the writers didn't want to give any praise to then US President Herbert Hoover.
While there are many fun moments of typical newspaper office dialog, it's nothing new. However, as the tension builds up at the end, the filmmakers deliver a conclusion that may leave some empty, but for me was a hilarious bit of tragic irony that lead me to my own conclusions of how things actually would end for the characters.