Harry and Inez are a dance team at the Wonder Bar. Inez loves Harry, but he is in love with Liane, the wife of a wealthy business man. Al Wonder and the conductor/singer Tommy are in love with Inez. When Inez finds out that Harry wants to leave Paris and is going to the USA with Liane, she kills him.
Al Jolson
Al Wonder
Kay Francis
Liane Renaud
Dolores del Río
Inez
Ricardo Cortez
Harry
Dick Powell
Tommy
Guy Kibbee
Henry Simpson
Ruth Donnelly
Emma Simpson
Hugh Herbert
Corey Pratt
Louise Fazenda
Pansy Pratt
Hal Le Roy
Himself
Fifi D'Orsay
Mitzi
Merna Kennedy
Claire
Henry O'Neill
Richard
Robert Barrat
Hugo Von Ferring
Henry Kolker
R. H. Renaud
Gino Corrado
Waiter #2 (uncredited)
Jane Darwell
Baroness (uncredited)
Bill Elliott
Norman (uncredited)
Pauline Garon
Telephone Operator (uncredited)
George Irving
Broker (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse
Joe (uncredited)
Dave O'Brien
Chorus Boy (uncredited)
Dennis O'Keefe
Chorus Boy (uncredited)
Émile Chautard
Pierre (uncredited)
Hobart Cavanaugh
Drunk (uncredited)
Bud Jamison
Bartender #3 (uncredited)
Mildred Dixon
Marlo Dwyer
(uncredited)
Ruth Eddings
(uncredited)
Muriel Gordon
(uncredited)
Robert Graves
(uncredited)
Marie Marks
(uncredited)
Donna Mae Roberts
(uncredited)
Rosalie Roy
(uncredited)
Kathryn Sergava
(uncredited)
Victoria Vinton
(uncredited)
Renee Whitney
(uncredited)
Lottie Williams
(uncredited)
Director
Lloyd Bacon
Screenplay
Earl Baldwin
Theatre Play
Geza Herczeg
Theatre Play
Karl Farkas
Theatre Play
Robert Katscher
December 4, 2021
5
I found this movie to be a bid off-putting. The plot line of the woman crazed with love for her gigolo boyfriend while two potential paramours waited in the wings was fairly standard. However, Jolson's portrayal of Al Wonder, nightclub owner who not only covers up the murder of Inez's partner but seems impervious to the news that his driver has also been killed in an auto accident, makes his character appear psychopathic instead of compassionate.
Many of today's viewers will be upset with the grand finale, which has Jolson and backup singers and dancers in blackface. This is obviously a scene that is meant to showcase Al Jolson. The number actually seems contrived and out of place in the movie, and is a bit of a distraction from the story line.
In the end, Dick Powell's character wins Inez's heart, leaving Wonder to live with the knowledge that he helped a murderess get away and got nothing for his efforts. But his last line, "There's nothing more for me to do but go home" reinforces the idea that empathy or a conscience are lacking.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00