George Raft is running a nightclub, doing dance numbers, involved in crime, has a slinky moll but pines over a classy dame, fighting police and rivals.
The difference here is Raft plays a half-Chinese and he works in the Limehouse District in London. This doesn't feel terribly English, or Chinese, to put it politely, but it does give the film some novelty.
The running time is 65 minutes. I don't mind a short film but this felt too short with far too many undercooked moments. I wanted to see more of Anna May Wong, who plays Raft's jealous lover - they do a dance together. I felt Raft's character needed a criminal rival. The police after him are hardly in it and probably could have been more of a presence. Also the romance between Jean Parker (who Raft loves) and dull Kent Smith is far too rushed; they fall in love in five seconds.
Apart from being, well, white, Raft's role suits his character - he's ruthless, romantic, can dance, and goes down because of the love of a good woman (he gets shot at the end trying to save Smith from a trap he initiated). I had more sympathy for him and Wong than Parker and especially Smith. Parker at least had an interesting criminal background; Smith is just boring.
The film does have that obsession with race and fear of miscegenation very common of the time. Liable to upset some viewers; best appreciated as a museum piece or for Raft/Anna May Wong completists.
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