Dr Socrates

Paul Muni was the Marlon Brando of the1930s - in technique if not in looks. His method of character establishment from the inside out earned him starring roles in many worthy biographies, so this was a welcome change of pace: a gangster thriller in which he plays the small-town doctor who is forced to treat wounded mobsters. There's wonderfully brisk direction by William Dieterle and a blustering performance by Barton MacLane as the gang leader nearly, but not quite, upstaging Muni.