A band of kidnappers return to their hideout with $200,000 in ransom money in Show Them No Mercy. They find a stranded family at the house and have no choice but to hold them captive until they make sure the ransom money is good.
Blood Money (1933) Starring George Bancroft, Frances Dee
One of three pre-Code titles directed by temperamental Rowland Brown, Blood Money (1933) stars George Bancroft as a bail bondsman to the underworld with Frances Dee as a young kleptomaniac with an “underworld mania” and a desire for a strong man to dominate her. Feature debut for Judith Anderson.
Born to Be Bad (1934) Starring Loretta Young, Cary Grant
A pre-Code entry released so late into the period that it was boycotted and even banned. Loretta Young plays another customer’s girl in Born to Be Bad, co-starring Cary Grant and Jackie Kelk. One of fewer than two dozen 20th Century Pictures entries before they merged with Fox Films.
Tyrone Power and Alice Faye – In Old Chicago (1937), Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938) and Rose of Washington Square (1939)
Tyrone Power and Alice Faye shared a May 5 birthday and shared early fame in hit movies In Old Chicago (1937), Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938) and Rose of Washington Square (1939). This post looks at the hit Twentieth Century-Fox team and each of their three movies together.
G Men (1935) Starring James Cagney, Margaret Lindsay, and Ann Dvorak
A look at Warner Brothers’ G MEN (1935) starring James Cagney, this time as the good guy. Based on several real incidents and infamous names, it’s the movie that began the G-Men cycle of films.
Johnny Apollo (1940) starring Tyrone Power and Dorothy Lamour
Tyrone Power stars as Johnny Apollo (1940) for Henry Hathaway at 20th Century Fox. The film fits nicely between the 1930’s gangster cycle and later film noir. With Dorothy Lamour and Lloyd Nolan.
Smart Money (1931) Starring Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney
A deep look at Smart Money (1931) starring Edward G. Robinson with James Cagney. Includes detailed original biographical sections about co-stars Noel Francis and Evalyn Knapp.
Lewis Milestone’s The Purple Heart (1944) Starring Dana Andrews
The Purple Heart (1944), directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Dana Andrews, is a World War II courtroom drama imagining the trial and fate of captured Doolittle Raid fliers before the world knew exactly what had happened to them. Part of the Dana Andrews blogathon.
The Doorway to Hell (1930) Starring Lew Ayres and James Cagney
A deep look at the early gangster movie The Doorway to Hell (1930) with focus on stars Lew Ayres, James Cagney and Dorothy Mathews. Warner Brothers precursor to Little Caesar and The Public Enemy.
Jewel Robbery (1932) – Kay Francis and William Powell for a Sixth Time
A look at Jewel Robbery (1932), a unique heist-romance from Warner Brothers starring William Powell and Kay Francis. It’s a sophisticated yet often silly and almost always sinful pre-code classic.