Don't let the fancy costume on the DVD box fool you; "The Moth" is not another attempt for the exotic a la "Madam Satan". If this costume as part of a Mardis Gras celebration appeared, it has been cut and only utilized as a selling point for this late pre-code drama that has a few interesting moments but is basically a cheaply made, static story of what happens when young girls leave behind the manners they've been brought up with and head out to be jazz babies. Sally O'Neil is shown in the first reel as a seriously troubled party girl, boozing too much, flirting too much, stripping off her clothes too much. Oh, if it were only as exciting as it sounds. A fairly decent party sequence where she ends up being arrested for public indecency turns to a scene with her father's estate planner who informs her that due to her behavior, she has been cut out of her daddy's will. She runs off, is followed by her family's private investigator (Paul Page), and ends up involved with a jewel thief known as "The Moth" (Rae Daggett, accompanied by Duncan Renaldo). As Mardis Gras breaks into celebration, dumb detective Fred Kelsey gets on her trail as well, and it is up to Page to prove her innocent and get her back on the right track.O'Neil is just satisfactory as the bad girl/heroine who is a few years past the age of rebellion but still has a jazz baby quality about her which makes her acceptable as a young party girl. The highlight of the film is her feisty attitude at the party and an encounter with a prim and proper old busy body (Georgia O'Dell) on the train who keeps trying to give her morality lessons to no avail, all the while thinking that she (not O'Neil) is being ogled by Page. More effort could have gone into showing the audience what goes on at a Mardi Gras celebration (minus the request for beads), and ultimately, this ends up being more a lesson in teaching young adults proper behavior. I'd be surprised if the price of a ticket didn't come with free coupons for a cold shower. A poor print is also detrimental to keeping the modern audience's interest. The ending only insinuates with the arrival of O'Neil's aunt and solicitor in New Orleans that if she becomes respectable, she may just get her estate back.

Is it as bad as the reviews suggest - sort of!! Sally O'Neill was lovely. Her best films were at the start of her career with "Sally, Irene and Mary" and "Battling Butler" but 1929 was her most prolific year. Her voice matched her "little girl takes on the big city and wins" persona and she made 8 films. After that, opportunities really fell away, a chaotic personal life didn't help and apparently she felt bitter against Hollywood for her ups and downs. "The Moth" was one of her last films and saw her as Diana, a wild party girl who spends her money like water until the tank runs dry. For some reason I had the idea with a name like "The Moth" it was going to be an espionage tale but it was just another spoilt rich kid shows her mettle yarn.Diana is so over drawn on her account that she only has $300 left for the entire year (and reading of Sally's real financial woes this was a part she could obviously play in her sleep)!! A drunken party where Diana's obscene dance makes the front page and the night court is the last straw!! Under the provisions of her father's will she is now on her own until she shows she can make good!! George Duncan (Paul Page, nearing the end of his career) is given the job of bringing her into line and follows her to New Orleans - but just who is watching who?? You see she can remember bumping into him at her uncle's office - and immediately smells a rat!!On the train she meets another girl who is ducking a detective and she innocently teams up. But this girl is the real deal - she is Marie La Marr, "The Moth" of the title and she and her boyfriend (future "Cisco Kid" star Duncan Renaldo) are crooks fleeing from the law down to the Mardi Gras where they expect to do a booming business in jewelry theft! (Apparently Rae Dagget's best known role was Marie, "The Moth", poor thing)!! They find Diana the perfect patsy for unloading some of their stolen trinkets.Another party hurrying to New Orleans is Diana's uncle looking about 60 but with some very un-uncley designs on his niece. Just like a real moth, the film was pretty drab and dowdy. There was a real opportunity missed to get Diana into the real world of unemployment and poverty - letting her find a real job but they opt for the old runaway heiress lark!!

In "The Moth", Sally O'Neil plays Diana Wyman. Wyman is a spoiled brat living off an inheritance. However, instead of using the money slowly or with common sense, she blows it on booze, wild parties and the like. Because of this, she's out of money for the year--and she still has seven more months to go. So how does she deal with this? She goes off on a binge and is caught by the police doing some sort of lewd dance. Later, after stomping off and informing her guardian that she can 'take care of herself', she runs off to New Orleans to party at the Mardi Gras! Now all this is during the height of the Depression--and I wonder how audiences of the day felt as they watched this completely self- absorbed brat on her adventures.On the way to New Orleans, Diana spots a man who is following her and she assumes he's a detective hired by her guardian. At the same time, a notorious criminal, 'the Moth', is being followed by a detective. The pair of women end up becoming friends and hang out together in New Orleans--and I really couldn't have cared less about their adventures or about Diana!The film is not just badly written but it presents a leading lady so horrid that you didn't care about her budding romance later in the film- -you just wanted to see her run over by a bus! Not enjoyable in the least.

"The Moth" is a stupefyingly bad movie that fails on every level imaginable. Apparently written by a high school drama club, it contains some of the most severe overacting ever seen on the silver screen, and it is evident why this film has not been seen since its release.As stated in the summary, "The Moth" is a female jewel thief but there is no plot twist or device here to interest anyone, cinephile or not. In fact, it is devoid of suspense and substance and it is hard to tell if it is just a poor drama or an unfunny comedy. I bought it from Alpha Video and it is not their fault it is an inferior motion picture. They probably have never seen it, and I wish I could say the same. With luck, this will be the only review ever posted for "The Moth". Hate to think someone else got stuck with this dog of a film. Little care was taken in the production of this picture and it spoils the viewers' enjoyment.