I noticed one of the reviewers said this film is a lot like "Grand Hotel" and I agree. Like this famous MGM movie, "Four Hours to Kill!" is a film with several stories that are interwoven together. What ties them all together is the location but instead of a hotel the setting is a theater.
When the film begins, a police officer is supposed to take an escaped prisoner, Mako (Richard Barthelmess), back to prison but they missed the train. So, with four hours to kill, he takes the handcuffed prisoner with him to the theater. In the meantime, you see several other stories unfold including one about Eddie and a woman trying to extort money out of him for breach of promise, a nasty cad (Ray Milland) meeting a married woman as well as a nervous guy (Roscoe Karnes) waiting in the theater as his wife is nearby in labor.
All of the stories are interesting and the acting quite nice--particularly by Barthelmess. I had a hard time imagining this nice-guy actor playing a thug but he and his accent were quite convincing. All in all, the film is entertaining, well written and one of the better pictures of the day. Not quite a "Grand Hotel" but still quite nice. My only apprehension is the Police Captain-- his character and the acting for him were poor and unconvincing....but this is only a minor quibble.
When the film begins, a police officer is supposed to take an escaped prisoner, Mako (Richard Barthelmess), back to prison but they missed the train. So, with four hours to kill, he takes the handcuffed prisoner with him to the theater. In the meantime, you see several other stories unfold including one about Eddie and a woman trying to extort money out of him for breach of promise, a nasty cad (Ray Milland) meeting a married woman as well as a nervous guy (Roscoe Karnes) waiting in the theater as his wife is nearby in labor.
All of the stories are interesting and the acting quite nice--particularly by Barthelmess. I had a hard time imagining this nice-guy actor playing a thug but he and his accent were quite convincing. All in all, the film is entertaining, well written and one of the better pictures of the day. Not quite a "Grand Hotel" but still quite nice. My only apprehension is the Police Captain-- his character and the acting for him were poor and unconvincing....but this is only a minor quibble.