A bootlegger, a socialite, and a shotgun wedding — 1929 chaos with sound!
When a taxi carrying socialite Ruth Darrow drives into the middle of a gun battle between hijacker Kid Gloves and a trio of bootleggers, Ruth is injured. She is taken to a nearby apartment, and The Kid helps to care for her. John Stone, Ruth's fiance and a bootlegger with a respectable front, finds them together and blackmails The Kid into marrying the girl.
Acting
Nagel's proto-cool gangster with accidental comedy timing.
Production
Eastman House preservation saves this rarity from oblivion.
Writing
Pre-Code plot twists that Hays would soon ban.
Director
Ray Enright
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Conrad Nagel was a major silent star struggling to adapt his romantic image to talkies; Kid Gloves shows the awkward transition in real-time.
This film barely escaped the 1930s vault fires that destroyed most early talkies — its survival at Eastman House makes it a genuine film history artifact.
US
