Chick Williams, a prohibition gangster, rejoins his mob soon after being released from prison. When a policeman is murdered during a robbery, he falls under suspicion. The gangster took Joan, a policeman's daughter, to the theater, sneaked out during the intermission to commit the crime, then used her to support his alibi. The detective squad employs its most sophisticated and barbaric techniques, including planting an undercover agent in the gang, to bring him to justice.
Direction
Roland West's proto-noir shadows and nightclub atmosphere.
Practical Effects
Elaborate nightclub sets that scream 1929 excess.
Director
Roland West
Chester Morris
Chick Williams
Purnell Pratt
Sgt. Pete Manning
Pat O'Malley
Detective Sgt. Tommy Glennon
Regis Toomey
Danny McGann
Harry Stubbs
Buck Bachman
Mae Busch
Daisy Thomas
Irma Harrison
Toots
Al Hill
Brown - a Crook
James Bradbury Jr.
Blake - a Crook
Kernan Cripps
Trask - Plainclothesman
Ed Brady
George Stanislaus David
DeWitt Jennings
Officer O'Brien
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Chester Morris originated the role on Broadway and became Hollywood's first talking gangster prototype.
This film helped establish the 'gangster as tragic hero' template that Cagney and Bogart would perfect within five years.
US
