Early gangster film and a classic tragedy of the silent era. There are two main characters in this story of gang rivalries, smoking guns, and broken hearts: Tough guy crook with a heart o’ gold, Bull Weed (George Bancroft) and his prim and proper right hand man, Rolls Royce (Clive Brook). Bull Weed may be a thief, but he’s a likable galoot and generous with his stolen money. His weak spot is his jealousy over his sexy flapper girlfriend, Feathers (Evelyn Brent). Things get bad for everyone when Feathers and Rolls Royce quietly fall in love.
This is an early film from Austrian-born director Josef von Sternberg, who’d later help make Marlene Dietrich a star. It’s also the first film credit for writer Ben Hecht, though von Sternberg altered the script so drastically that Hecht originally wanted his name taken off of it. Hecht came from journalism in Chicago and knew all about the city’s criminal underworld. He based his story partly on real-life gangsters Tommy O’Connor, who busted out of jail right before his scheduled execution, and Dean O’Bannion, who used a florist shop for a front.