AllMovie

For reasons unknown, Cock O' the Walk seldom shows up in the "official" resumes of director James Cruze's career. In his third talkie appearance, Joseph Schildkraut plays callous gigolo Carlos. A violinist in a Spanish café, Carlos enjoys a brisk traffic in women, particularly wealthy married women who enjoy bestowing financial favors upon him. Rescuing the beautiful Narita (Myrna Loy) from a suicide attempt, Carlos takes her home with him, where she insists that she'll try to kill herself again. Our "hero" decides to capitalize upon the girl's self-destructive tendencies by marrying her then insuring her life for $20,000, knowing full well it won't be long before he collects. Continuing his philandering ways, Carlos happens to make the acquaintance of Narita's former husband, who threatens to spill the beans about Narita's unsavory past. Carlos kills the man and is put on trial for murder, whereupon Narita spends every penny she has for her husband's defense -- and when that money runs out, she decides it's time to commit suicide so that Carlos can benefit from her insurance. Unexpectedly, Carlos realizes that he's truly in love with Narita and breaks out of jail to prevent her self-inflicted demise -- but will he make it in time?