The Beast of the City

Directed by Charles Brabin, The Beast of the City follows police-officer brothers (Walter Huston’s Jim and Wallace Ford’s Ed) as they attempt to take down a powerful crime boss (Jean Hersholt’s Sam Belmonte) – with complications ensuing after Ed finds himself falling for a sketchy moll named Daisy (Jean Harlow). It’s compelling subject matter that is, at the outset, employed to far-from-engrossing effect by Brabin, as the filmmaker, armed with John Lee Mahin’s screenplay, delivers an erratically-paced endeavor that suffers from an egregiously slow and mostly uninvolving opening stretch – with the viewer’s waning interest held only by the superb performances and a smattering of impressively stylish set-pieces (eg a captivating tracking shot that winds its way up a set of stairs). There’s little doubt, then, that The Beast of the City‘s arms-length atmosphere persists until it progresses into an increasingly engrossing midsection and second half, as Brabin begins suffusing the proceedings with engaging, exciting sequences (eg a terrific scene wherein a heist goes wrong) that build towards an almost astonishingly brutal climax – which effective confirms the picture’s place as an uneven yet rewarding pre-code gangster film.

*** out of ****