AllMovie

Victor McLaglen and Edmund Lowe carry their pugnacious Quirt-and-Flagg relationship into the murder mystery genre in Paramount's Guilty as Hell. Actually, there's very little mystery involved, since the audience is informed at the outset that dignified Dr. Tindall (Henry Stephenson) is responsible for the death of his faithless wife (Claire Dodd). Carefully arranging the evidence, Tindall manages to convince the authorities that Mrs. Tindall's lover Frank Marsh (Richard Arlen) is the criminal. Detective McKinley (McLaglen) is ready to declare the case closed, but reporter Russell Kirk (Lowe), who's sweet on Marsh's sister Vera (Adrienne Ames), suspects there's more to the story than meets the eye. Likewise falling for Vera, McKinley grudgingly joins his friendly enemy Kirk in proving Frank's innocence and Tindall's guilt. Released in England as Guilty as Charged, this lightweight thriller was remade, with its delightful surprise ending intact, as Night Club Scandal (1937), with John Barrymore hamming his way through the Henry Stephenson part.