BootDigest
Such a frustrating disappointment
Chirphymium
It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional
Matylda Swan
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.
Marva
It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
boblipton
Jack Hulbert is a police Inspector and he's in pursuit of Genevieve Tobin: first, because she's beautiful and charming and he's quite naturally smitten and second, because she and her gang have got a big job on and it's his job.Jack doesn't dance in this one, and there's not much in the way of farce in this, except for the usual late 1930s wise-cracking, but there is a good script based on one of Edgar Wallace's thrillers, and the two leads are very charming. Miss Tobin's absence from the ranks of top stars remains a mystery to me, but perhaps it's simply that she never got that big break and she was beginning to push forty. Still, it's a pair of good performances, and the plan is a good one, with the only way Hulbert has to track anything the occasional cracks left by Miss Tobin's henchmen who try to "improve" her plans. The result is a fine shared star vehicle for the two.
mark.waltz
He can't arrest her because he has no evidence. She knows he knows what she's up to, so she has to stay one step ahead of him. It's a clever game of cat and mouse where each gets their chance to be both. Jack Hulbert has that toothy grin that makes us Americans laugh at British stereotypes, but if only we had half of their way of thinking. Even the most common of British accents to us comes off to us as deliciously eccentric, and yet to them, it just reveals where whoever they are talking to came from. British films, too, seemed to have an advancement that American films of the time (as delightful as they are) all seemed to be the same song with different twists in the music to make it slightly different. As this is a film about Scotland Yard, American audiences should know a bit of history to be able to follow the plot and style of the characters. Genevieve Tobin, a star of pre-code romantic comedies, is the heroine here, out to outwit Hulbert whom she can't help be charmed by. Arthur Wontner, Francis L. Sullivan, Google Withers and Felix Aylmer are among the cast of British actors I instantly recognized. There's plenty of intrigue, comedy, romance and amusing twists and turns that keeps the film moving. As I've noticed about other British films of this period, they often seem a decade ahead of American films technologically, often seeming more ahead in their time.
Paularoc
This mystery/comedy is thoroughly engaging with breezy banter between Inspector Pemberton (Hulbert) and crime boss Kate Westhanger (Tobin) that is delightful. Of course, the notion that Tobin is a big time crime boss is absolutely absurd. Hey, it's a fun movie so who cares? The first Jack Hulbert movie I saw was "Bulldog Jack" at a film festival many years ago and I thought he was great and this movie, while not as good as Bulldog Jack, nonetheless is still a nice showcase for Hulbert. It was a treat seeing so many familiar faces such as Withers, Aylmer, Sullivan, Genn but especially Wontner who some critics assert was best ever portrayer of Sherlock Holmes on film (endless arguments about this are really fun but also pointless). As a previous reviewer pointed out, the plot is a bit complicated and there are too many crooks to keep track of, but there is sufficient action (the train sequences are quite good) and the dialog snappy enough to keep the movie moving at a good pace.
malcolmgsw
This contains all the usual ingredients of an Edgar Wallace film.A gang led by an out of the usual gang leader who commit crimes that baffle the police.The film ending up in a frantic chase using an unusual form of transport.The leading roles are played by Jack Hulbert and Genevive Tobin.Hulbert is slightly more restrained in his mugging than in most of his films.Tobin is a scarcely believable gang leader.Unfortunately it seems to be the case that the only way that English film makers were going to get their films shown in the States was if one of the leads was American.now where that could be a bonus with Edward G Robinson or Marlene Dietrich in a leading part it is very much a detriment when a lesser actress is involved.This film was made as an independent production for General film distributors at a very low ebb in the British film industrys fortunes.Hulbert doesn't even mention this book in his biography.