The World Gone Mad (1933)

A district attorney and a reporter try to find the killer of a D.A. who uncovered a massive stock fraud.

Director:

Christy Cabanne

Writer:

Edward T. Lowe Jr. (screen story) (as Edward T. Lowe)

Stars:

Pat O'Brien, Evelyn Brent, Neil Hamilton

Cast

Cast overview:
Pat O'Brien	...	Andy Terrell
Evelyn Brent	...	Carlotta Lamont
Neil Hamilton	...	Lionel Houston
Mary Brian	...	Diane Cromwell
Louis Calhern	...	Christopher Bruno (as Louis Calhearn)
J. Carrol Naish	...	Ramon Salvadore
Buster Phelps	...	Ralph Henderson
Richard Tucker	...	Graham Gaines
John St. Polis	...	Grover Cromwell
Geneva Mitchell	...	Evelyn Henderson
Wallis Clark	...	Dist. Atty. Avery Henderson
Huntley Gordon	...	Osborne

Storyline

A district attorney and a reporter try to find the killer of a D.A. who uncovered a massive stock fraud.

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Plot Keywords:

frame up | cigar smoking | racist | racial slur | latino | 

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Taglines:

An absorbing indictment of big business

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Public Be Damned

Company Credits

Production Co:

Larry Darmour Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min 74 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely (and usually badly) edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation (or more) copies of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: The Screaming Skull (2010)

User Reviews

Our Interest Comes And Goes

An obscure dramatic thriller that captures and loses the viewers interest like a seesaw. Pat O'Brien is a hard-nosed reporter who gets a little too close for comfort to the story of a lifetime, a massive corporate scandal. With a District Attorney already killed for knowing too much, O'Brien rightfully fears the new D.A (Neil Hamilton) also has a bullet with his name on it. Can our reporter hero piece it all together for the hapless law enforcement authorities before it's too late?

While there are many moments of interest in "The World Gone Mad," it seems there are almost as many pointless scenes with no purpose other than to ruin the flow. It's also overly complex at times. Still, even if one doesn't cut this one the slack it deserves for being made in 1933, it's not all that awful. The performances are good, particularly from O'Brien and Hamilton. But a little further editing would have helped. By the way, I nominate this one for the "Title That Bears Little Resemblance To The On screen Product" Award.