This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Blistering performances.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I know that Richard Barthelmess is not everyone's cup of tea, when it comes to sound pictures. Yes, his pace is always slower than that of the actors around him. When in dialogue with other characters, he always waits two full beats before speaking (watch for that, it's quite unique to him).But I like him a lot. In an era dominated by fast talkers, like the great James Cagney and E.G. Robinson, I frankly enjoy the change of pace. More than that, Barthelmess has an exceedingly pleasing gentle nature (again contrary to the more aggressive stars of the era), but best of all are those deep-set brooding eyes of his. He may be the best brooder in all of film history. And he does a lot of brooding in "The Finger Points".I wonder if Clark Gable, another fast-talker, felt agitated in his many dialogues with Barthelmess, having to always wait those extra few seconds to say his next line.A strong supporting cast make this a fun and quick little film. Note that Barthelmess's "Breck" is named after two Confederate heroes, Robert E. Lee and John Breckenridge; probably accidental was naming the managing editor of the newspaper "Wheeler" after another Confederate General, but of cavalry.Regis Toomey is particularly interesting as a man in love with Fay Wray, but who loses her to Barthelmess. It is pleasing to see his character stay true in friendship to them, rather than let bitterness control him. And it is ironic that he never finds out in the end the role he played in Barthelmess's death.Look out also for the many scenes in which the camera interestingly moves backward for a lengthy distance as the characters move towards the audience. Quite clever and interesting as well.

After talkies came in, Warner Brothers didn't really seem to know what to do with Richard Barthelmess, but he hung around in starring roles quite a bit longer than most of his silent counterparts - from 1929 to 1934.Normally Barthelmess played thoughtful guys put into tight circumstances, and this was probably supposed to be one of those roles, but it doesn't' quite come across right. Breckenridge Lee (Richard Barthelmess) starts out as a totally green and conscientious reporter up from a Savannah paper into a press room of the big city. When the editor announces a campaign against the mob, Lee is the only reporter that takes his assignment seriously. He even walks right up to a speakeasy and asks probing questions to the mobster in charge. Unable to be bribed he writes an expose on the place and it is thus raided by the police. The mob then beats him up one night in retaliation, badly enough that he needs hospitalization and his medical bills pile up. He is surprised when the city editor balks at helping him financially, as he denies that Lee's beating had anything to do with the paper at all and hints that Lee's injuries probably had something to do with him drinking and hanging around unsavory people after work.Now this is where things get a bit unrealistic. Lee instantly turns from green honest reporter to money hungry and corrupt. He figures if you can't beat them, join them. He takes money from the mob and in return agrees to keep the paper and thus the cops off of their backs. He justifies this by saying that the only way that the mob will ever pay is with money to him - but he's not exactly giving the loot away to charity.Fay Wray plays Lee's love interest as fellow reporter Marcia who at first suspects then knows the truth and loves him just the same. Regis Toomey plays a supporting role as someone who would like to win Marcia's heart but knows when he's beat. Robert Elliot is the gruff tough city editor who often played a cop in the early talkies. Of course, most notable here is Clark Gable, sitting in the palm of Jack Warner's hand, and not being recognized by him as a star in the making. Gable is impressive here as a spats-wearing charming sinner, the gangster who sees Lee as a useful idiot - for awhile anyways.

Finger Points, The (1931) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Static but entertaining gangster picture has a wet-nosed reporter (Richard Barthelmess) from the South going to the big city to become a star but he soon learns that nothing is easy. After busting a gambling operation and getting nothing out of it, the reporter decides to partner up with a racketeer (Clark Gable) but soon the reporter gets too big for his current situation. This film is based on the life of Chicago Tribute reporter Jake Lingle who got involved with Al Capone and the rest is history. This film version is pretty good, although it's a bit slugish at time but this is due mostly to just how movies were during this early sound era. Barthelmess is hit and miss in his role. He's somewhat shaky during the nervous reporter segments but he settles down once he starts to enter the big shot period. Gable steals the show with his supporting performance and Fay Wray plays the love interest.

This is typical of the social dramas, or hollywood gangster films of the thirties, except its protagonist is a newsman, who gets no thanks for being a good reporter, (he gets beat up, and his bosses refuse to foot the hospital bills) and thus decides to be a finger pointer for the mob, while being fed stories by one mob to knock off the operations of its rival mobs. Certain scenes are overplayed and dreary while others are quiet with a lot of pathos to it. The once great star of silent cinema, Richard Barthelmess, was not great at delivering dialogue and is much the same here. But you've got Gable playing a gangster and a last fifteen minutes where given no dialogue, Bartelmess gets to shine and show us the actor he was. Overall, a good gangster flick dealing with the stories of the time that the press had been infiltrated by the mob to withhold harmful stories against them. It also was a hit, if that's a plus.