Day of Reckoning

Day of Reckoning (1933)

*** (out of 4)

Highly entertaining pre-code from MGM about a loving husband (Richard Dix) who embezzles some money in order to keep his shop-happy wife (Madge Evans) into the things she needs. The husband gets sent away for two years and while the maid (Una Merkel) is busy taking care of the two kids, the wife is out doing other things. There's a lot more details to the plot but I'm going to quit there because the twists are so good that there's really no point in ruining them for those unfamiliar with the picture. It's always great fun when a film buff can see a forgotten movie and then go out and sing its praises and DAY OF RECKONING is just the type of film that deserves to be rediscovered. I'm sure most people are familiar with the always fun Dix but this here is without question one of the best performances I've seen from him. This character goes through quite a bit in the picture and I thought Dix was incredibly sympathetic but when he "snaps" you can believe and see the rage and anger in his eyes. Evans is also extremely entertaining as the wife and there's no question that Conway Tearle makes for a great villain. Merkel steals nearly every scenes she's in as the loving maid and manages to bring some laughs. Classic film fans will also recognize Raymond Hatton, Paul Hurst, George 'Spanky' McFarland and D.W. Griffith regular Wilfred Lucas can be briefly spotted. The screenplay certainly doesn't fall into the "B" movie traps and instead it stays original throughout and manages to throw a couple nice twists at the viewer as well. One of the best moments in the film is when the maid and her boyfriend are trying to write a letter and there's a baby in the sequence. It appears the baby is acting up and not really behaving like she's supposed to but it's rather cute seeing that the director just let it go and had the actors deal with it the best way that they could. DAY OF RECKONING is one of hundreds of films that have been forgotten but if you're a fan of classic dramas then it's a must see.

The strong cast -- including Spanky McFarland away from the Hal Roach studio -- really shines in this well-mannered, but definitely Pre-code drama. Richard Dix ha rarely been better as a man slowly unraveling in prison, but Una Merkel is terrific in a straight role.

Richard Dix cops a plea for embezzlement and is sent to the slammer for two years. Unbeknownst to him, his "friend" (Conway Tearle) hired a crooked lawyer to "defend" Dix, leading to the jail sentence. With Dix in stir, Tearle tries to make sheet music with Dix's wife, played by Madge Evans.

The climax is a bit hard to believe, as Tearle ends up in the same jail with Dix. And only one of these guys is gonna survive. Guess who.

Una Merkel, as Dix's maid, completely steals the film as the not-as-dumb-as-she looks servant. Dix is adequate, although he has a brief meltdown in prison and really overdoes it. Evans looks great, and Teale makes a splendid heel. There are also some nice bits by Raymond Hatton and James Bell as prisoners. Spanky shows up as one of Dix's kids.

"Day of Reckoning" is a surprisingly involving and well-done minor effort from MGM in 1933. It does not stiffly unspool like most films from the early 1930's, as it has excellent pacing and the performances are effortless and realistic. A variety of personalities are on display, played by a troupe of comfortably familiar actors from the era, and weave themselves in and out of the proceedings in a most natural way. Director Charles Brabin orchestrates and maintains a modern fluidity through the entire film.

More than a decade later Richard Dix made a picture with a very similar story in a Whistler feature, but this one seems to be a little more energetic and less maudlin, at least as I remember it now. One especially appreciated element is how the precipitating reason for the ensuing drama is not even depicted (it seems to me that this particular plot and story-telling device was rarely-- if ever-- used in the countless detective and other dramas on television).

As a side note, I explored a scoring quirk that I discerned. This quirk is that the 12 viewers who previously reviewed the film here on IMDb assigned an average score for the film of 8.0, while the other 248 viewers who only rated the picture and provided no review assigned an average score of 6.3, nearly two points lower. There are at least two or three reasons why this might be; however, I will only offer the data as food for thought.

In conclusion, "Day of Reckoning" is dramatic and exciting and is very much worth a look by vintage movie fans.

A young husband has his DAY OF RECKONING when he's sent to prison for embezzlement.

Fine performances raise what is essentially a soap opera above its material and provides some dandy entertainment along the way. While the subplots grow a little thick, all is resolved in time for an idyllic, if somewhat bittersweet, ending.

Leading man Richard Dix sheds his usual in-charge persona for a much more vulnerable characterization. Although they share few scenes, he is given firm support by perky Una Merkel playing his devoted Southern maid. She easily upstages pretty Madge Evans as Dix's conflicted wife. Stalwart Stuart Erwin plays the friendly milkman in love with Merkel.

Some fine character actors do quite well in smaller roles. Conway Tearle is the family friend who takes advantage of Dix's absence. Isabel Jewell is properly distraught as Tearle's former mistress. Raymond Hatton is effective as a prison trustee who befriends Dix. James Bell is noteworthy as a prisoner driven crazy by worry over his wife's supposed infidelity. Samuel S. Hinds manages to become suitably repellent in his brief screen time as a crooked lawyer. Tiny Spanky McFarland, of OUR GANG fame, turns on the charm as Dix's infant son.

Movie mavens will recognize an unbilled Clarence Wilson as a bail bondsman.