Day of Reckoning

Richard Dix cops a plea for embezzlement and is sent to the slammer for two years. Unbeknownst to him, his "friend" (Conway Tearle) hired a crooked lawyer to "defend" Dix, leading to the jail sentence. With Dix in stir, Tearle tries to make sheet music with Dix's wife, played by Madge Evans.

The climax is a bit hard to believe, as Tearle ends up in the same jail with Dix. And only one of these guys is gonna survive. Guess who.

Una Merkel, as Dix's maid, completely steals the film as the not-as-dumb-as-she looks servant. Dix is adequate, although he has a brief meltdown in prison and really overdoes it. Evans looks great, and Teale makes a splendid heel. There are also some nice bits by Raymond Hatton and James Bell as prisoners. Spanky shows up as one of Dix's kids.