This is a low-budget and sloppily acted film with many plot problems--but it somehow redeems itself with a snappy ending.
Charles Farrell is an owner of a corner drug store. He seems like a decent man but is pulled into the seedy world of knock-off products posing as the originals. At first, it's innocent enough--no one got seriously hurt buying fake tooth paste that was essentially the same as the original. But later, the gangsters he works for insist into diversifying and make cheap and ineffective versions of drugs. Then, people start to die (including Farrell's own unborn son).
So far, this is all VERY over-the-top and difficult to believe--and it's hard to care one bit about Farrell. After all--what do you EXPECT when you work with gangsters?! Duh! However, despite the quality of the movie to this point, there are several sensational plot twists at the end and the movie becomes really gritty and exciting. I really don't want to fill you in on it because it would spoil the surprises. But rest assured, this was a pre-Hays Code film and it's doubtful such a messy conclusion would have been done just a few years later!
Now on to the biggest complaint about the film. Bette Davis was simply one of the greatest actresses that lived. However, here in this film and many others of the day, her roles were barely hashed out and her characters could have been played by any semi-competent actress of the day. Here in this movie, she is given practically no depth to her character and those expecting to see a Bette Davis film will be greatly disappointed. Fortunately, by the late 30s, she WAS finally consistently given good material that allowed her talents to shine. This movie, unfortunately, was not her finest moment.
Charles Farrell is an owner of a corner drug store. He seems like a decent man but is pulled into the seedy world of knock-off products posing as the originals. At first, it's innocent enough--no one got seriously hurt buying fake tooth paste that was essentially the same as the original. But later, the gangsters he works for insist into diversifying and make cheap and ineffective versions of drugs. Then, people start to die (including Farrell's own unborn son).
So far, this is all VERY over-the-top and difficult to believe--and it's hard to care one bit about Farrell. After all--what do you EXPECT when you work with gangsters?! Duh! However, despite the quality of the movie to this point, there are several sensational plot twists at the end and the movie becomes really gritty and exciting. I really don't want to fill you in on it because it would spoil the surprises. But rest assured, this was a pre-Hays Code film and it's doubtful such a messy conclusion would have been done just a few years later!
Now on to the biggest complaint about the film. Bette Davis was simply one of the greatest actresses that lived. However, here in this film and many others of the day, her roles were barely hashed out and her characters could have been played by any semi-competent actress of the day. Here in this movie, she is given practically no depth to her character and those expecting to see a Bette Davis film will be greatly disappointed. Fortunately, by the late 30s, she WAS finally consistently given good material that allowed her talents to shine. This movie, unfortunately, was not her finest moment.