This originated as a remake of the 1921 Warner Bros silent but emerged as a more sophisticated take on the 'good-girl-gone-bad' theme. PRC's pictures can be a mixed bag to say the least, but this turns out to be one of their better efforts, easily up there with Detour (1945).
It's essentially a could-be murder mystery. An unconscious Diana (Pamela Blake) is fished from the river by newspaper reporter Chris (Sheldon Leonard). The police dismiss it as a suicide attempt, but Chris begins to suspect attempted murder. The story emerges in quasi-Rashomon style as he interviews various people who figured in her fall from homebody to hard-boiled nightclub hostess, all of whom are also suspects in the (possible) crime, including musician Jimmy (Elisha Cook Jr), who first lured her from her comfortable family life to the sleazy Kitten Klub to become a nightclub singer; club proprietress Irene (Lola Lane), her put-upon sidekick Raymond (Paul Guilfoyle), and Diana's sympathetic best friend, showgirl Flo (Constance Worth). The conclusion is not entirely surprising, but the journey there is certainly entertaining.
Director William Berke wrings a very decent film from unpromising material. A good deal of hot jazz helps - the best of the three songs, The Cat and the Canary, won PRC a nomination for Best Original Song in the following year's Oscars - as does a better-than-average cast. PRC were capable of some truly dreadful films, but this was definitely not one of them.