Michael Bolton (Philips Holmes) is a popular college student and athlete, about to be elected student president. Then it comes out that his father is a convicted murderer. As a result he loses the election in a landslide and his girlfriend dumps him for someone else. He drops out of college and goes back to his hometown and gets a job in a bank. Apparently, most of the older residents of the town approve of what Mike's father did - it was some kind of "honor killing". But he feels like everybody is always watching him, waiting for him to become a criminal himself. The other teller at the bank (Dwight Frye) tries to rub Mike's nose in his father's past deeds because they are sweet on the same girl.
And then Mike's father, John Bolton (Grant Mitchell) gets out of prison and wants to resume his relationship with his son, whom he hasn't seen in 18 years. But Michael is ashamed of his father and treats him cooly. So both men are trying to feel out what the other is about at a distance. And in the midst of all of this two thousand dollars comes up missing from Mike's accounts at the bank. Complications ensue.
This was a pretty well done early talkie. It looked like it was going to be some kind of banal maudlin melodrama when it segued into a rather compelling mystery as to what happened to that money. The idea of so many people holding it against Mike that his dad committed a serious crime when Mike was still a toddler may seem odd by today's standards, but then until the middle of the 20th century many people had a strong belief in eugenics - that what your parents did or were is destiny versus just history or at most a possibility. Supposedly the Boltons' hometown is in Kentucky, which was never part of the Confederacy, yet everybody sports a distinct southern drawl for the first half of the film, anyways. Once the mystery part of the film arises, the accents mysteriously disappear.
The honor killing story explanation for the murder conviction doesn't make me feel like dad is a great guy, because according to his close friends he shot down in cold blood somebody who killed his brother in a fight. This hardly sounds sporting. The performances and the dialogue are natural, which is an accomplishment for a 1930 film, and is probably due to the skill of veteran director Alan Dwan. Also, here is an opportunity to see Dwight Frye act like a normal though unlikeable person in contrast to his roles over at Universal. I'd recommend this one to the fan of early sound films.
And then Mike's father, John Bolton (Grant Mitchell) gets out of prison and wants to resume his relationship with his son, whom he hasn't seen in 18 years. But Michael is ashamed of his father and treats him cooly. So both men are trying to feel out what the other is about at a distance. And in the midst of all of this two thousand dollars comes up missing from Mike's accounts at the bank. Complications ensue.
This was a pretty well done early talkie. It looked like it was going to be some kind of banal maudlin melodrama when it segued into a rather compelling mystery as to what happened to that money. The idea of so many people holding it against Mike that his dad committed a serious crime when Mike was still a toddler may seem odd by today's standards, but then until the middle of the 20th century many people had a strong belief in eugenics - that what your parents did or were is destiny versus just history or at most a possibility. Supposedly the Boltons' hometown is in Kentucky, which was never part of the Confederacy, yet everybody sports a distinct southern drawl for the first half of the film, anyways. Once the mystery part of the film arises, the accents mysteriously disappear.
The honor killing story explanation for the murder conviction doesn't make me feel like dad is a great guy, because according to his close friends he shot down in cold blood somebody who killed his brother in a fight. This hardly sounds sporting. The performances and the dialogue are natural, which is an accomplishment for a 1930 film, and is probably due to the skill of veteran director Alan Dwan. Also, here is an opportunity to see Dwight Frye act like a normal though unlikeable person in contrast to his roles over at Universal. I'd recommend this one to the fan of early sound films.