In keeping the morals of large cities on a tight leash, the vice squad broke other laws by turning the division into a racket by hiring stool pigeons to frame young girls who were innocent of any wrong doing. That's the claim of the opening title card, explaining how crime within law enforcement did more harm than good. It's a shame then that this film becomes so odd yet remains intriguing, mainly because in it's efforts to expose rackets like this, it becomes as close to a low budget exploitation film that a major studio like Paramount could put out.
Foreign diplomat Paul Lukas is left behind at the scene of a hit and run, blackmailed by a vice cop into becoming a stool pigeon, breaking his engagement to Kay Francis and going into hiding. His disgust with himself leads him to become a lush, and one night, is helped home by the pretty Judith Wood and her pal Esther Howard. The vice cops want to use Wood as one of the falsely accused, but Lukas is disgusted by this and refuses to comply. He returns to Francis and only becomes involved when he discovers that Wood was arrested anyway.
Of course, the dashing Lukas gives an excellent performance, and Wood is quite good too. Francis's character is sadly not fully defined, at one point impatient with him and the next moment showing her loyalty. The opening sequence of Compton abandoning Lukas, thus setting him up for blackmail, is never concluded, a jarring flaw. This is a strange film that is completely watchable even if it leaves more questions unanswered than the issues it solves.
Foreign diplomat Paul Lukas is left behind at the scene of a hit and run, blackmailed by a vice cop into becoming a stool pigeon, breaking his engagement to Kay Francis and going into hiding. His disgust with himself leads him to become a lush, and one night, is helped home by the pretty Judith Wood and her pal Esther Howard. The vice cops want to use Wood as one of the falsely accused, but Lukas is disgusted by this and refuses to comply. He returns to Francis and only becomes involved when he discovers that Wood was arrested anyway.
Of course, the dashing Lukas gives an excellent performance, and Wood is quite good too. Francis's character is sadly not fully defined, at one point impatient with him and the next moment showing her loyalty. The opening sequence of Compton abandoning Lukas, thus setting him up for blackmail, is never concluded, a jarring flaw. This is a strange film that is completely watchable even if it leaves more questions unanswered than the issues it solves.