The World Gone Mad (1933)

Lack of good storyline.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The first must-see film of the year.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

In what seems like something that Warner Brothers may have filmed, viewed then sold to a poverty row studio just to get their names off of it comes this mystery with a long-winded screenplay and stereotypical characters that did its starry cast no good. When the most memorable scene is a competition over a toy train set between a D.A. father and his young son (Buster Phelps), you know you've got troubles. The D.A. is murdered for threatening to expose fraud and it is up to good guys Pat O'Brien and Neil Hamilton to uncover the killer and the mastermind behind the crime ring.J. Carroll Naish is a stereotypical Spanish villain with Louis Calhern also pretty bad here, typecast all throughout the 1930's in similar roles. He would do much better years later in lively grandfather roles where his only crime was looking too much at the pretty girls. But here, the one dimensional villains makes for a predictable and boring script, and even if the movie covers up its cheapness with an expensive looking set, it can't escape the fact that it creaks loudly in its efforts to tell its pedestrian story. O'Brien's fast-talking performance is the major highlight of the adult actors, but the majority of the film is insipid and deadly dull.

The District Attonrey has uncovered some wrong doings at a corporation and is about to blow the lid on the lot when he's whacked by a hit-man. His replacement (and friend) takes over, and much to the dismay of the bigwigs at the corporation he's determined to blow the lid on all the shenanigans too. What's an evil, greedy person to do? Well, whack the new DA too, obviously! Problem is, the new DA's friend is a reporter who seems to know everyone in the world, and he's also uncovering more and more evidence. Although billed as a horror film on Mill Creek's 50 Horror Classics box set, A World Gone Mad is more of a crime thriller (although at one point some characters walk past an ad for the film The Vampire Bat!) with a lot of twists and turns thrown in. It's not majorly exciting, but it's not boring either, with plenty of that fast talking thirties mannerism ("Are you on the level?" ) and such like. It's also strangely relevant today, and just seems to show that nothing ever changes. They even mention pyramid schemes at one point. It's no forgotten classic, but not as bad as other folks have made out.

Although this movie was made by a so-called Poverty Row studio', Majestic Pictures, it stars Pat O'Brien, Neil Hamilton, J. Carrol Naish and Louis Calhern. How this small production company got the services of these screen veterans is anyone's guess, though all of the actors had either seen better days (with Hamilton and Calhern being big stars a few years earlier) or would go on to much bigger stardom (O'Brien). Because of these actors, the film didn't look like a low=budget production but where it really shows is the script--which was pretty dull and convoluted. "The World Gone Mad" features one of the most annoying child actors in history, with a cloying and whiny performance by the little brat. IMDb doesn't seem to list the 'actor' playing this role--I just hope never to see the kid again in other films. Every moment he was on camera (which were fortunately few), he whined. This also contributed to me giving the film such a low score.So what IS worth seeing about the film? Well, if you really, really want to hear lots and lots of cursing, this $@*! film has more than can recall having seen in any other Pre-code film. I call it 'Pre-code' because the newer and tougher Production Code of 1934 would eliminate cursing and many other raunchy things that were actually pretty common in Hollywood films of the era. In addition to the cursing, liberal doses of sexual innuendo are included. Yes, it is a novelty today to hear this from the stars of old...but a novelty you can enjoy in many better films of the early 1930s.

A newshound investigates the staged shooting of a District Attorney.Probably the most expensive Poverty Row production ever made, World Gone Mad features a top-flight cast (Neil Hamilton and Buster Phelps are the only weak links) in a racily dialogued, fast-moving (at least in the cutdown version) account of corporate greed and cover-up. By independent standards, some of the sets and special effects come over as really outstanding. True, there are some rough moments. Both the opening scene and action finale seem a little abrupt in the cut DVD print, but otherwise the rather complicated plot is put across with both speed and efficiency by director Cabanne. The action sequences are perhaps not as slickly staged as they could be, although the superb editing work by Otis Garrett livens them up considerably. Photographer Ira Morgan has lit both his players and Danny Hall's sumptuous sets with commendable finesse and even added some attractive noirish effects to complement the car-train climax.Measuring up to the standard of his later Charlie Chan and Bulldog Drummonds, Edward T. Lowe's script provides excellent dialogue opportunities for Pat O'Brien (the loose newsman), Evelyn Brent (the heavy's moll), Louis Calhern (the heavy), J. Carroll Naish (a super-spruce goon), and the lovely Mary (Wendy) Brian (the passionate heroine who is throwing herself away on stiff-as-a-board Hamilton).The lively, fast-paced 105-minutes version is now available on a very good Alpha DVD.