Boisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates his former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when he falls for Weed's girlfriend.
George Bancroft
Bull Weed
Evelyn Brent
Feathers McCoy
Clive Brook
Rolls Royce Wensel
Fred Kohler
Buck Mulligan
Helen Lynch
Meg, Mulligan's Girl
Larry Semon
Slippy Lewis
Jerry Mandy
Paloma
Alfred Allen
Judge (uncredited)
Shep Houghton
Street Kid (uncredited)
Andy MacLennan
Laughing Man at the Ball (uncredited)
Ida May
Laughing Woman at the Ball (uncredited)
Karl Morse
High Collar Sam (uncredited)
Bob Reeves
Detective at Railroad Station (uncredited)
Julian Rivero
One of Buck’s Henchmen (uncredited)
Director, Writer
Josef von Sternberg
Adaptation, Writer
Robert N. Lee
Adaptation, Writer
Charles Furthman
Story
Ben Hecht
Writer
Howard Hawks
Writer
George Marion Jr.
June 6, 2022
7
Josef von Sternberg does well here with his adaptation of Ben Hecht's gangster thriller. George Bancroft is "Bull Weed", a rumbustious character, in love with the aptly monikered "Feathers" - because she wears them everywhere - Evelyn Brent. His former attorney, the dapper "Rolls Royce Wensel" (Clive Brook) has problems with the bottle, but "Weed" manages to ween him off - only for the latter to fall in love with his gal. When "Weed" is finally apprehended by the police for murder, and sentenced to swing for it - the others must decide whether to abscond together, or to try to spring him! "Bull", meantime has plans for revenge of his own - and this all builds to an exciting denouement. There's a lot packed into this film. The love-triangle theme gradually underpins the story, but the romance doesn't overwhelm it - it's still a gangster movie with just the tiniest hint of menace from an engaging Bancroft, and quite bit of on-screen chemistry between the three. As you'd expect, the photography is pristine. Though maybe just a few too many static shots for me that slow the pace a bit, the story is well constructed and the last ten minutes are super.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00