I called this film a "Pre-Code" film because up until the strengthened Production Code was enforced in 1934, Hollywood was a very sleazy place by even today's standards! While in the mid-30s through the 50s films were sanitized (in some cases, too much), in the Pre-Code days, topics like adultery and extreme violence were common and it was not too unusual to hear cursing, discussions of abortion or prostitution and even occasionally nudity--even in supposedly family films like TARZAN AND HIS MATE! While BLOOD MONEY isn't nearly as rough and family unfriendly as many of these films, it deserves to be considered a Pre-Code style film because the main character and his wife had an "open marriage"--he was allowed to sleep around as long as he "came home to her when the day was through". Also, the film features a bad woman who loves to break laws and have sex--though in the later 30s and for the next twenty or more years, women were NOT supposed to particularly like sex!
The story is about a guy named "Bill Bailey" (George Bancroft) and he's a rather resourceful but sleazy character who is a bail bondsman and best friends with the mob. Through conniving, blackmail or what have you, Bill is able to get practically anyone off for any crime--provided they can pay! Into this supposedly charmed life comes a truly crazed young rich lady (Frances Dee)--a woman who is addicted to stealing, promiscuity and self-destruction. At first, his affair with her is approved of by his wife (Judith Anderson) but when Dee steals some bonds and sets up the wife's brother, Bill's life falls apart---leading Bill to become the mob's #1 target! This results in one of the most exciting endings in a 30s film I have ever seen, as a bombing plot to kill Bailey is discovered at the same time they also discover that Dee was responsible for the mess! Decent acting, nice pacing and direction and an exciting and daring script, this is a good example of a Pre-Code film that has managed to stay exciting even more than 70 years later.
The story is about a guy named "Bill Bailey" (George Bancroft) and he's a rather resourceful but sleazy character who is a bail bondsman and best friends with the mob. Through conniving, blackmail or what have you, Bill is able to get practically anyone off for any crime--provided they can pay! Into this supposedly charmed life comes a truly crazed young rich lady (Frances Dee)--a woman who is addicted to stealing, promiscuity and self-destruction. At first, his affair with her is approved of by his wife (Judith Anderson) but when Dee steals some bonds and sets up the wife's brother, Bill's life falls apart---leading Bill to become the mob's #1 target! This results in one of the most exciting endings in a 30s film I have ever seen, as a bombing plot to kill Bailey is discovered at the same time they also discover that Dee was responsible for the mess! Decent acting, nice pacing and direction and an exciting and daring script, this is a good example of a Pre-Code film that has managed to stay exciting even more than 70 years later.