In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

"Night World" has a dynamic start and lots of promising pre-code elements, which, however, don't quite jell; maybe the problem is the lack of a really compelling plot. But it has a natural, unaffected performance by Mae Clarke, one early Busby Berkeley dance number (with lightly dressed girls) that's a clear sign of things to come from him, and a hard-hitting finale. If you like this film, you must watch "Wonder Bar" from 1934 - it's similar, and even better. **1/2 out of 4.

Deliciously seedy, this hour long pre- code drama with music is a gem of writing, photography, prohibition era violence, slang and tough luck. It's filled with a vision of Times Square as it once was: delightfully seedy in that Damon Runyon way where guys and dolls traveled along the big street to forget their woes in alcohol soaked nightspots like this, rub shoulders with the rich, the poor, the notorious and the desperate. This takes several of the songs later used in "42nd Street" and the "Gold Diggers" films and gives a dramatic interpretation of what they were all about. A Busby Berkley choreographed musical number, "Who's your little who?" Features chorus girls gossiping while showing more than just a lot of leg, dealing with various types of customers, and introducing the film's troubled hero, Lew Ayres, and later introducing him to chorus girl Mae Clarke. Clarence Muse gets some of the best moments as the wise doorman, a rare opportunity to see a black character treated with respect, often smarter than the wealthy patrons and hard boiled gangsters and chorus girls.Then there are Boris Karloff and George Raft, co-stars in the same year's "Scarface", cast in the gangster parts, providing the crime element of the story. Future gossip legend Hedda Hooper is prevalent among the supporting cast as Ayres' husband killing mother This is a film students of the prohibition era should study, because it remains as fresh as it was 85 years ago. I'm surprise that this film didn't usher in the code era before 1932, although I'm glad they held out for a few more years.

Yes, it's a cheap versions of GRAND HOTEL, but I think it works just fine. I'm going to disagree with some previous reviewers: I think Karloff is marvelous as the club owner, bringing a fierceness and bravado to it that others would lack. The rest of the cast is also good: Ayres, Marsh and Muse all register strongly. Hedda Hopper is indeed amazing as the bad mother. And George Raft stands out in his small part. A little of it is creaky and dated, but overall, I thought the camera-work was fluid and fine, the story moved fast and the characters were well-written. Nice little Busby Berkeley number near the top, too. Well worth checking out.

"Happy" MacDonald (Boris Karloff) plays the owner of a night club and his wife "Mrs. Mac" (Dorothy Revier) works as a cashier at the same club. She has an affair with Klauss(Russell Hopton)the dance manager of the club's floor show. Ruth Taylor (Mae Clarke) is the club's leading dancer, and becomes friends with Michael Rand(Lew Ayres). A gangster tries to sell MacDonald bootleg liquor, but Karloff refuses. The bootlegger returns with a gunman who kills MacDonald(Karloff) and his wife,"Mrs. Mac". Karloff with his English accent does not sound like a gangster from New York and it was better he died quicky in this film along with his wife. This was a film with great actors and actresses and very poor writers and direction.