Produced by Pathe Exchange
Genre: Comedy/Mystery
This film is available on VHS: see Links sources.
This is a delightful farce of a mystery: a fast-paced adventure with clever, comedic turns and breath-taking stunts. Even the captions are hilarious. Alice Calhoun finally gets a vehicle in which to shine. Her funny, sexy portrayal of a secretary/thief/secret agent is a delight to watch. Unfortunately, action star Charles Hutchinson was injured during the making of the movie, and some of his stunts had to be performed by his stand-in.
From a movie review:
"Taking time off from his busy [burgeoning] directorial career, venerable action star Charles Hutchinson topped the cast of the comedy-melodrama Hidden Aces. When a Russian princess pays a visit to New York, her every move is monitored by a handsome crook (Hutchinson) who covets the lady's jewels. To realize his goal, the crook strikes a deal with the princess' far-from-honest major domo. The rest of the picture finds the two thieves double-crossing each other, with the "hero" eventually reforming for the sake of his sweetheart, lady-thief Alice Calhoun -- who happens to be the princess' lady-in-waiting! Didn't Robert Wagner and Susan St. James used to do this sort of stuff on It Takes a Thief?" -Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Scen. and Story written by John F. Natteford; Dir. of Photog: Leon Shamroy.
(c) Pathe Exchange, Inc. 7/19/1927 LU 24190
who co-starred with and/or directed Alice Calhoun in a number of films, was in the same category as Sidney Chaplin and William Fairbanks:
uniquely talented stuntmen/comedians that performed prolifically in the silent film era and are largely forgotten today. It's a shame because Hutchinson was an athletic original who deserves to be better remembered.
