The Devil's Party (1938)

By CinemaSerf

When a young girl wants to join a gang of four lads who play around New York's "Hell's Kitchen", she finds she gets more than she bargained for when a warehouse accidentally catches fire. Rather than name his associates, the young "Marty" takes the rap and is sent to the reformatory school. Skip on twenty years and he (Victor McLaglen) is now a successful nightclub owner, she (Beatrice Roberts) sings at his club, and every six weeks the whole gang reconvene. When a dodgy gambler bounces a cheque, "Marty" sends his henchmen to get his dough but that all goes a bit pear shaped, the man is accidentally killed and it falls to two of the other members of their gang, brothers "Mike" (William Garage) and "Joe" (John Gallaudet) from the city's emergency squad to investigate. Tragedy ensues, and the trail leads fairly and squarely back to "Marty". The story is a shade more complex than your usual gangster flick. There is some attempt to develop some of the characters here, and they are imbued with a sense of loyalty as the story develops. The ending is a bit rushed, but it fits entirely with the sentiment of the movie extolling the virtues of friendship and trust. The acting is all adequate - a totally straight role for McLaglen - and it's a surprisingly decent hour long feature to watch.