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5.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Eleventh Commandment remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for grainy, low-budget 1930s crime quickies. If you like your movies polished and logical, skip this. But if you enjoy watching actors from the era ham it up while trying to pull off a convoluted inheritance scam, you’ll probably find something to chuckle at here.
The whole thing feels like it was put together over a long weekend. It doesn't have the weight of The Case of Becky, but it’s got that specific, scrappy energy of early talkies.
Some wealthy woman bites the dust, and the lawyer—a guy who clearly wasn't raised with any sense of ethics—decides he wants the fortune. He drags a barmaid into the scheme, thinking it'll be an easy payday. They act like they’re the smartest people in the room, which is the first mistake. Of course, the "long-lost relative" act is about as subtle as a brick through a window.
It’s not trying to be a drama, really. It’s more of a farce where the stakes feel oddly low, even when they’re talking about thousands of dollars. The pacing is weirdly stop-and-start. One minute they're plotting, the next they're just arguing in a room that looks suspiciously like every other room in the studio.
There's a scene near the middle where the barmaid tries to act posh, and it’s just pure chaos. It’s almost painful, but you can’t look away. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in The Daring Years. They really didn't care about making these characters likable, did they?
Also, the lighting is sometimes so dark you’re just looking at silhouettes. Maybe that was the style, or maybe they just lost a lightbulb. Who knows. It feels less like a polished product and more like a captured moment of people scrambling to make a buck before the cameras stopped rolling. It’s not great, but it’s not boring either. That’s enough for me on a Tuesday night. 🎞️
