"Normally, pride in the studio image made MGM's 'B's too big and too long, but this one is a beauty, and full of surprises, not the least of which is the dramatic and touching Negro wake, a major break- away from (negative) stereotyping. In his first venture as a director, former actor Leslie Fenton does a really fine job. The excellent script has a Chandler-like quality to it as it ventures into high society and low, uncovering unrelated scandals and crimes en route. Melvyn Douglas plays the managing editor of a serious, responsible newspaper that is closed down because it has been bought up by rivals who operate a 'yellow' tabloid. A kidnapping case is currently in the headlines, and accidentally Douglas comes across one of the bills that was paid as ransom. We are quickly into a typically Hitchcockian chase situation. While Douglas and (witness) Louise Platt hunt the kidnappers, the police are even hotter on their trail." William K. Everson