The World Gone Mad

Not really sure what to say about this one, aside from I didn't like it much. The actors were all fine, there were a few laughs here and there. The ending wasn't too bad, but I suppose after the mess of a plot that came before it, that's not a huge feat. Half the time you have no idea what's going on, and by the time you might have a clue, you don't care anymore. This plods along at a pace most snails would be ashamed of, and I found myself fighting to stay awake the whole time. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a slow-paced movie, so long as it keeps your attention. This doesn't. Overall, is this a good movie? No, not really. Could it cure insomnia? I wouldn't be surprised.

3.5/10

Before signing with Warner Brothers and after getting his big break with his screen debut in The Front Page, Pat O'Brien appeared in a variety of films of varying quality for different studios. This one is for poverty row Majestic Pictures and for a poverty row film it boasts an impressive cast. But I can safely say that everyone here has done better work in their career. Mind you this is a cast that includes Evelyn Brent, Mary Brian, Neil Hamilton, Louis Calhern and J. Carrol Naish.

District Attorney Wallis Clark who is investigating a crooked stock scheme is set up in a love nest by Evelyn Brent and murdered by trigger man Naish. O'Brien is a crime reporter with all kinds of friends in low places and Hamilton is Clark's upright assistant who succeeds him. But both had a high regard for Clark and both want justice for his daughter Mary Brian and both kind of like her.

Turns out some of O'Brien's low place friends are indeed responsible. But they work for some blue chip Wall Street crooks. In 1933 blue chip Wall Street crooks were very popular villains.

The World Gone Mad should have been a better film. Except for the end which has a great climax where the blue chip crooks get their's, this is a sluggish film. Again at a major studio this would have been a better film.

This is a s-l-o-w crime drama. Not much of a mystery and it's definitely NOT a thriller nor a horror film. It's not the worst film in the world but there are much better crime-dramas from the 1930s. This one is not memorable.

The Internet Archives says this film's genre is drama/horror and the movie is also found in the 50 horror film collection. This film is far away from being a horror film.

Wikipedia has this film as a crime-thriller listed at the bottom of the page. Crime - yes. A thriller? - Debatable. I would argue NO this movie is not even a thriller film.

I think the genre tags on IMDb are correct for this film: crime, drama, mystery. That sums the film right up.

The movie is watchable but I have seen much more interesting crime-dramas from the 1930s than this particular film.

2/10

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.

Most of these 30's thrillers/murder mysteries have been forgotten by now because, let's face it, they haven't got much to offer apart from – occasionally – a good story. This little film has a very decent story, fluently written dialogues and some really adequate acting performances, yet it simple can't be called memorable because of the shabbiness of the production. Pat O'Brien ("Hell's House") stars as an obtrusive reporter investigating the vicious assassination of a befriended District Attorney and unravels almost single-handedly an entire network of corruption, blackmail and political scandals. His performance is very good and he gets to say some very slick lines, yet the movie lacks a lot of action and continuity. There's one sequence near the beginning that I found particularly smart, showing how the assignment for murder is passed on to several involved parties and thus creating a complex structure that sadly never gets properly clarified. There are some more ingenious and dared ideas in the plot, but it all looks too poor for you to care. Feel free to avoid this one.