The Widow from Chicago (1930)

Vice lord Dominic has brought Swifty Dorgan east to do a job for him. When Swifty appears to have died falling from a train, detective Henderson impersonates him hoping to get into the mob.... See full summary »

Director:

Edward F. Cline

Writer:

Earl Baldwin (screen version & dialogue)

Stars:

Alice White, Edward G. Robinson, Neil Hamilton

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Alice White	...	Polly
Edward G. Robinson	...	Dominic
Neil Hamilton	...	'Swifty' Dorgan
Frank McHugh	...	Slug
Lee Shumway	...	Johnston
Brooks Benedict	...	Mullins
E.H. Calvert	...	Davis
Betty Francisco	...	Helen
Harold Goodwin	...	Jimmy

Storyline

Vice lord Dominic has brought Swifty Dorgan east to do a job for him. When Swifty appears to have died falling from a train, detective Henderson impersonates him hoping to get into the mob. When he's killed his sister Polly poses as Swifty's widow and gets a singing job at Dominic's nightclub. Then the real Swifty shows up.

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Plot Keywords:

detective | nightclub | new york | revenge | impersonation | 

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Taglines:

WIDOW STEALS GANGSTERS LOVE (original print ad - call caps - ad shows woman reading newspaper headline)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

Udovica iz Cikaga

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

First National Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

64 min 62 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vitaphone production reels #4419-4425 and #4418 (trailer)

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Soundtracks

"Get Happy"
(1930) (uncredited)
Music by Harold Arlen
Played as dance music at the Crystal Dance Palace

User Reviews

Robinson rehearses Rico

Before his breakout role in Little Caesar Edward G. Robinson gets some practice in as a thug nightclub owner in The Widow from Chicago. Featuring the limited Alice White in the lead Robinson has little trouble in garnering all the attention in this mediocre crime pic.

Polly Henderson's policeman brother is murdered while working undercover. She swears to get the man behind his murder and goes undercover herself as the wife of a supposedly dead mobster. Getting a job at Domenic's club she begins to make headway when the faux widow's husband turns up breathing.

Whites high pitched squeal of a voice and cutesy mannerisms are cloying within the first reel leaving it up to Murray Hamilton and Robinson to inject the proceedings with a feeling of dead seriousness which Edward G does with aplomb in a supporting sporting role. In it you see the first vestiges of the cock sure Rico, a touch less subdued but every bit imposing. But with White occupying most of the screen time The Widow from Chicago deserves no sympathy.