Born Reckless (1930)

Hoping to use the publicity to get re-elected, a judge sentences a notorious gangster to fight in the war.

Directors:

Andrew Bennison, John Ford

Writers:

Donald Henderson Clarke (novel), Dudley Nichols (screenplay)

Stars:

Edmund Lowe, Catherine Dale Owen, Frank Albertson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Edmund Lowe	...	Louis Beretti
Catherine Dale Owen	...	Joan Sheldon
Frank Albertson	...	Frank Sheldon
Marguerite Churchill	...	Rosa Beretti
William Harrigan	...	Good News Brophy
Lee Tracy	...	Bill O'Brien
Warren Hymer	...	Big Shot
Ilka Chase	...	High Society Customer at Beretti's
Ferike Boros	...	Ma Beretti
Paul Porcasi	...	Pa Beretti
Joe Brown	...	Needle Beer Grogan - Bartender
Ben Bard	...	Joe Bergman
Pat Somerset	...	Duke
Eddie Gribbon	...	Bugs
Mike Donlin	...	Fingy Moscovitz

Storyline

Hoping to use the publicity to get re-elected, a judge sentences a notorious gangster to fight in the war.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | actor shares first name with character

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Taglines:

THE MASTER MIND OF GANGDOM GETS A CHANGE OF HEART! (original poster - all caps)

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Genres:

Crime | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 June 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

El intrépido

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (MovieTone) (Western Electric System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Over There"
Composed by George M. Cohan

User Reviews

Weak

Born Reckless (1930)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

John Ford drama about a wannabe gangster (Edmund Lowe) who gets busted after a heist but instead of going to prison, the judge makes a deal with him. Instead of jail the man will enlist for WW1 and if he serves his country proudly then the judge will throw out the evidence against him. This all goes well and the man returns home a war hero but he soon learns that his old gang has killed his brother in law so he goes out for revenge no matter what it might cost him. In the end, this film is killed by its standard and routine screenplay, which tries to do way too much and it doesn't do any of them in any original form. The movies tries to mix the gangster genre with a war genre with an added touch of the revenge drama but all three are boring and don't feature anything we hadn't seen countless times in the silent era. I've never been a fan of Lowe but he actually comes off decent here and plays the role off as well as can be expected. The supporting cast, including Lee Tracy, are all standard and forgettable. The climax of the movie is certainly the best thing and Ford's use of a swinging door leads to a great thing but there's nothing else going on here.