John Gilbert stars as escape artist & magician Cheri-Bibi accused and convicted of murdering his lover's father. But just before he is executed for the murder he escapes and goes into hiding.
Since this movie was made before the Hays code, I thought it could have ended as a Shakespearian tragedy. Or maybe after his escape, Gilbert could use his talents to catch the real killer(s). Instead he sulks in a basement for four years and then does a body switch with the real killer. Ludicrous! Gilbert does what he can and his co-star Leila Hyams is okay but someone should have tried to use a little more imagination when writing the screenplay. Even the way Gilber is exonerated at the end is a weak twist that would have been rejected for a Thin Man movie. I doubt having Garbo as his co-star would have been able to overcome the weak story. At least it was only a little over an hour long.
Since this movie was made before the Hays code, I thought it could have ended as a Shakespearian tragedy. Or maybe after his escape, Gilbert could use his talents to catch the real killer(s). Instead he sulks in a basement for four years and then does a body switch with the real killer. Ludicrous! Gilbert does what he can and his co-star Leila Hyams is okay but someone should have tried to use a little more imagination when writing the screenplay. Even the way Gilber is exonerated at the end is a weak twist that would have been rejected for a Thin Man movie. I doubt having Garbo as his co-star would have been able to overcome the weak story. At least it was only a little over an hour long.