Critics were aware that the studio was trying to have its cake and eat it too, by presenting scandalous behavior early in the film, which is then justified by the punishment the characters are made to suffer later on—a pattern that would become endemic under the Production Code. The film critic for "Variety" wrote, "earlier sequences have plenty of ginger, but the torrid details are handled with the utmost discretion while conveying a maximum of effect." and Frank Nugent in "The New York Times" wrote, "The sudden transition from hard-boiled wisecracking romance to sentimental penitence provides a jolt."