The Mayor of Hell (1933)

Five members of a teen-age gang, including leader Jimmy Smith, are sent to the State Reformatory, presided over by the melodramatically callous Thompson. Soon, Patsy Gargan, a former ... See full summary »

Director:

Archie Mayo

Writers:

Edward Chodorov (screen play), Islin Auster (based on a story by)

Stars:

James Cagney, Madge Evans, Arthur Byron

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Cagney	...	Patsy
Madge Evans	...	Dorothy
Arthur Byron	...	Judge Gilbert
Allen Jenkins	...	Mike
Dudley Digges	...	Thompson
Frankie Darro	...	Jimmy
Sheila Terry	...	Blonde with Mike
Robert Barrat	...	Fred Smith
Allen 'Farina' Hoskins	...	Smoke (as Farina)
Harold Huber	...	Joe
Dorothy Peterson	...	Mrs. Smith
G. Pat Collins	...	Brandon (as George Pat Collins)
Edwin Maxwell	...	Louis Johnson
John Marston	...	Hopkins
William V. Mong	...	Mr. Walter

Storyline

Five members of a teen-age gang, including leader Jimmy Smith, are sent to the State Reformatory, presided over by the melodramatically callous Thompson. Soon, Patsy Gargan, a former gangster appointed Deputy Commissioner as a political favor, arrives complete with hip flask and blonde. Gargan falls for activist nurse Dorothy and, inspired by her, takes over the administration to run the place on radical principles. But Thompson, to conceal his years of graft, needs a quick way to discredit Gargan...

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Plot Keywords:

gang | reform school | juvenile delinquent | nurse | gangster | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian Yiddish

Release Date:

24 June 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Reform School

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$229,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Thompson is brought to trial by the boys in their court for the murder of Johnny, a white handkerchief is visible in the breast pocket of his black suit coat in the medium close-ups. In the long shots, the handkerchief is missing.

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Quotes

Lawyer: Tell us what you know, I said! Never mind what you think!
Mr. Hemingway: Excuse me, boss. I ain't no lawyer. I can't talk without thinkin'.

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Connections

Remade as Hell's Kitchen (1939)

User Reviews

Cagney and the kids

James Cagney, racketeer and political ward heeler, get to become a Deputy Commissioner of Corrections and visits a boys reform school. The catch is that Cagney is not in it for the graft, he genuinely wants to make a difference in the lives of the kids there because he comes from a background like their's.

The villain of the piece is Dudley Digges who is a grafting chiseler and a sanctimonious hypocrite to boot. One of the subtexts of the plot of The Mayor of Hell is that these kids are mostly immigrants and those that judge them and are in positions of power are those who are here a few generations. Note in the mess hall scene as Digges offers a prayer of thanks for the food they are about to receive, Digges is eating well, but the kids are getting quality you wouldn't feed to your pet.

Cagney has his own troubles back in the city with some of his henchmen and he has to take it on the lam. That puts Digges back in charge and setting up the film for it's climax.

The Mayor of Hell was a typical product from the working class studio. And because it was pre-Code it gets pretty gruesome at times. A later version of this, Crime School, with Humphrey Bogart and the Dead End Kids, was a more sanitized remake.

Although Cagney is fine in the lead role as is Madge Evans the school nurse, the acting honors go to Dudley Digges. Hard to believe that the same man could portray the drunken, but kindly, one legged ship's surgeon in Mutiny on the Bounty. But Digges is a fine player and a joy to watch in every film he's in.

This film is not shown too often because of the racial and ethnic stereotypes it portrays. A whole lot of minorities would be offended today. Still it's a fine film.

Interestingly enough a few years ago the film Sleepers came out and it touched on some of the same issues. I guess films about reform schools don't change in any time.