In the first scene of this film, a lawyer (Lionel Barrymore) is explaining to friends on a train that he believes there are some cases when murder is justifiable. When could that be, they ask. I know it when I see it is the gist of his reply, and as he's sent men to the electric chair and saved them from it, he somehow believes this entitles him to this view. Soon we see him with a rich client (Alan Mowbray), a man who uses him to pay off dozens of women and young girls after having affairs with them. One was a 16 year old who jumped out a window to her death afterwards, but the implication is that he might have pushed her. He somehow believes his wealth entitles him to using up women and spitting them out, and murder as well if it's necessary.
In a fantastic turn of the plot, these two vipers are pitted against one another when Mowbray tells Barrymore that he intends to marry his daughter (Madge Evans), a woman half his age and the joy of the lawyer's life. Knowing what a scumbag this guy is, he naturally resists, threatening him and appealing to his daughter, without recognizing the irony of having had no issues assisting him in his depravity with other women. Kay Francis appears as the long-time lover of the rich man, and her character is not happy with his decision to marry either (though he assures her that they can go on just as before). The events that ensue take place on a dark and stormy night in a mansion, and for being such a lean story, it's very well told by director W.S. Van Dyke. There is atmosphere, tension, strong dialogue, and some great moments from Barrymore, who dominates this movie despite a cast that is quite good. The ending is cute but quite hokey, though the very last moment is one of those classic little pre-Code moments, and brilliantly subversive. I could be rounding up a teeny bit, but regardless, it's worth seeing.
In a fantastic turn of the plot, these two vipers are pitted against one another when Mowbray tells Barrymore that he intends to marry his daughter (Madge Evans), a woman half his age and the joy of the lawyer's life. Knowing what a scumbag this guy is, he naturally resists, threatening him and appealing to his daughter, without recognizing the irony of having had no issues assisting him in his depravity with other women. Kay Francis appears as the long-time lover of the rich man, and her character is not happy with his decision to marry either (though he assures her that they can go on just as before). The events that ensue take place on a dark and stormy night in a mansion, and for being such a lean story, it's very well told by director W.S. Van Dyke. There is atmosphere, tension, strong dialogue, and some great moments from Barrymore, who dominates this movie despite a cast that is quite good. The ending is cute but quite hokey, though the very last moment is one of those classic little pre-Code moments, and brilliantly subversive. I could be rounding up a teeny bit, but regardless, it's worth seeing.