holy shit this movie aged surprisingly well. For something that came out in 1931, this feels more like it belongs in like early 70s gangster era. It's extremely well shot, makes way better use of its sound than just about anything else I've seen from that time, and just has a thrilling and intriguing mystery manhunt from start to finish.
Well, almost start to finish I should say. The film does lose one point for me from about halfway to 3/4, when the film's pace slams on the break, and the manhunt drops off the screen to have a policeman trying to figure out where the killer is being taken and blaaaah. It had such an incredible setup, with the crime bosses of the area all working together to stop this serial killer in order to get the cops off high alert, and then stretches things out a bit too long just as it seems the film is about to hit its climax.
But when that moment finally comes, oh man, that last scene in the underground kangaroo court was so good.
9/10
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