catfish-er
The greed and corruption of the 2000's Wall Street could just as easily have been the subject for THE WORLD GONE MAD. To update it, you only need Bernie Madoff sitting on top of the Ponzi scheme, instead of our two antagonists.Both of whom, by the way, could make excellent stand-ins for the Duke brothers in TRADING PLACES.The acting was first rate, with solid performances all around, albeit with no "big name" stars -- at least none of whom I recognized.I found the plot compelling, first from a historical perspective (the Wall Street Crash of 1929). But, also from a contemporary perspective (the Great Recession of 2007).An interesting side note is the marquee in front of the movie theater, which featured THE VAMPIRE BAT, by the same production company. Great art deco scenes; and, good cinematography in both!
dbborroughs
Decidedly precode film concerns the manipulation of stock by the members of the board of directors of a large company. When the DA gets the good on them they resort to murder. Its up to an assistant DA played by Neil Hamilton and a reporter played by Pat O'Brien to avenge the death of their friend which was made to look like a crime of passion. Clearly somethings never change and in these times of bank failures, market manipulation, and general corporate bad behavior this film seems as fresh as if it was made yesterday. Certainly its not as telling as a modern retelling might have been, but at the same time this is powerful stuff with everyone, almost everyone out to make money no matter what the cost. Well acted this is a shining little tale that is ripe for rediscovery, partly because it shows that the bad guys in the boardrooms have always been jerks, but also because its a good little thriller. Worth a look.
ReelCheese
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.
Spondonman
Apart from some occasionally stiff acting by the leads, plus the usual enthusiastic reporter portrayal, this time by Pat O'Brien, this is a pretty terse and believable tale of Your Wrongs Will Eventually Find You Out. The overall technology was poor of course, but ignorable. Some cogent scripting was going off here, much too detailed to go into - take my word for it! However, Neil Hamilton as the D.A. says that if he could he would line up against a wall all crooked businessmen and shoot them ... if caught a fair trial was obviously guaranteed then.Best bit: The two minute scene in the dark where Pat O'Brien and Evelyn Brent are lying on a bed both pretending to be drunk and playful for their own reasons. Your mind can run riot listening to them goofing around as shadows!Out of dozens of similar early 30's films in this vein I've seen, TWGM must come near the top.
AD
