I obtained a mediocre copy of this film from a public domain source and watched it because I wanted to hear silent star Harrison Ford the 1st's voice in his only talkie.
This film has nothing to do with a race car driver, as the other reviewer states here, nor is it a silent film (that would be unlikely by 1932 anyway), as the same reviewer states here. I don't know what film he saw but it wasn't the same one I watched! Harrison plays a jewel thief who steals a valuable string of pearls at a wedding of friends. The film is meant to be a comedy and there are a few laugh out loud moments but not enough to save the film, which looked like a stage play filmed in New York by some minor company. It's no wonder Harrison went back to the stage after the silent film era ended. He still had the clown in him, but speaking dialogue often ruined the impact; it actually might have been better as a silent film.
Harrison's voice was just fine, a very nice stage voice, probably a little smoky from cigarettes, or maybe that was just the microphones of the day or the general wear on the soundtrack over time, which was slightly muffled. The print I saw also had a flutter every few seconds which was annoying. I don't know how these PD film companies sell these poor prints and expect 20 dollars for them. Never again! I give the film a 6 out of 10 and I'm being somewhat generous, but it did satisfy my curiosity about his voice and there were a few laughs, but the overall plot of the film was silly and I never did figure out why he stole that pearl necklace! How can you have a film like this without a stated motive in the plot?
