With actors as (in)famous as Gene Raymond, Osa Massen or Francis Lederer - the latter as the Napoleon brandy-drinking blackmailer - the most you get is a Z production directed by none other than... Gene Raymond himself, with sloppy and hazy camera work by Paul Ivano (ever heard of him? Me neither!)
In fairness, Gene does look distracted, and not by beautiful Osa Massen alone. He steals $1 million from his boss and is en route to Shanghai when fellow traveler and fairly merry widow Massen asks him to play the part of long standing friend so as to protect her from nefarious blackmailer Lederer, who wants half her indemnity insurance... plus her.
Gene goes along with her plan, is swiftly relieved of the $1 million he stole, and proceeds to check every hotel in Fran San Cisco for the bad blackmailer... alas, the latter ought to have known better than to order Napoleon brandy.
And on that note of publicity for the famous brandy that probably paid for the entire Z production, Gene waits in the moonlight for the latecoming Massen for a happy ending in which murder, theft, and blackmail are all forgotten and forgiven.
Well, I ain't so forgiving about wasting 72 minutes of my precious life. 2/10.
In fairness, Gene does look distracted, and not by beautiful Osa Massen alone. He steals $1 million from his boss and is en route to Shanghai when fellow traveler and fairly merry widow Massen asks him to play the part of long standing friend so as to protect her from nefarious blackmailer Lederer, who wants half her indemnity insurance... plus her.
Gene goes along with her plan, is swiftly relieved of the $1 million he stole, and proceeds to check every hotel in Fran San Cisco for the bad blackmailer... alas, the latter ought to have known better than to order Napoleon brandy.
And on that note of publicity for the famous brandy that probably paid for the entire Z production, Gene waits in the moonlight for the latecoming Massen for a happy ending in which murder, theft, and blackmail are all forgotten and forgiven.
Well, I ain't so forgiving about wasting 72 minutes of my precious life. 2/10.