Maybe because it's partly set in France, a studio set France at that, that there's no real sense of 1931 about this. One of the pleasures of watching American pictures from this era is being able to soak up the authentic atmosphere of the age. You don't get that feeling with this....it's almost a bit Paramount.
Charles Bickford isn't charismatic enough to play the lead nor is he believable enough to convince anyone that he was an ex-gangster. Whereas the rest of the cast seems to be taking this with dour seriousness, his flippant light-hearted approach doesn't quite seem to fit in. William Beaudine - whom I still associate with the directing the first Will Hay films for Gaumont-British, doesn't maintain a constant pace or consistency, there's no steady ramping up of the tension to make the climax explode that a film like this needs. What saves this is the writing - Robert Riskin, who had already begun his long-term collaboration with Frank Capra (MIRACLE WOMAN) gives the dialogue that genuine early thirties rhythm and vitality.
A common trope back then was pointing the finger of hypocrisy at the attitudes of the upper echelons of society and Riskin pours some of that social commentary which he'd become famous for into this by the bucket-full. Sweet naïve Lois Moran gets seduced by a slimy profession con-man who gets his night of pleasure from her and indeed all her money and jewellery as well. She being the woman is of course is branded as someone unsuitable to mix in polite society because of HER indescretion. Yes it's only a story but because it's well written, it nevertheless makes you angry.
Whereas you might not recognise this film's star, Lois Moran, you will probably recognise the French inn-keeper, Luis Alberni. You'll ask yourself what you've seen him in before - the answer is: any picture at all which you've seen made in the 1930s. He seems to have been in literally everything, including a long lost Spanish version of this made with Vélez. We're not treated to the luscious lovely Lupe, instead we get Lois Moran who's fine in this although nothing too memorable which kind of sums this whole picture up: fine in this although nothing too memorable.
