Review by drednm

At 65 minutes, this film seems to have the narrative substance of the fog that surrounds the San Francisco waterfront where a prostitute named Toy (Dorothy Dell) meets a man named Como, accused of murder (Preston Foster). It's love at first sight. But he must flee the cops and so ships out to China with thuggish Victor McLaglen who has eyes for Toy as well. When they return months later, Toy has gone straight in preparation for Como and is waiting for the freighter. But what to do about McLaglen? Interesting if familiar storyline is sparked by a good performance by McLaglen as Turk, who beneath his rough exterior lurks a rough heart. Foster is excellent as the malcontent who spouts political slogans against the world's injustices. Dell, in her feature debut, is also excellent as the gold-hearted tramp who tries everything in an effort to go straight. The scene where she sings in a saloon while the men throw insults and coins at her is a killer.

The sleazy bar is called "Mother Bright's" and Mother is played by the wondrous Alison Skipworth, a tough customer who's ready to fight for love. Co-stars include Mischa Auer, James Burke, Frank Sheridan, and David Landau as the cop. Among the horde of saloon girls are Alice Lake and Grace Bradley.

This was the first of Dell's three films made in 1934. The others are LITTLE MISS MARKER and SHOOT THE WORKS. She would have been a big star, but was killed in a car crash. She was 19 years old.