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IMDb > Straight Is the Way (1934)

Straight Is the Way (1934) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
5.5/10   57 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 39% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Paul Sloane
Writers:
Dana Burnet (play) and
George Abbott (play) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Straight Is the Way on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 August 1934 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
User Comments:
A Gangster Movie With Jewish Characters more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Franchot Tone ... Benny 'Ben' Horowitz
May Robson ... Mrs. Horowitz
Karen Morley ... Bertha
Gladys George ... Shirley
Nat Pendleton ... Skippy, Monk's henchman
Jack La Rue ... Monk
C. Henry Gordon ... Police Chief 'Sully' Sullivan
Raymond Hatton ... Mendel
William Bakewell ... Dr. Wilkes
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Additional Details

Runtime:
59 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
USA:Approved (PCA #108) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
MGM originally announced Clark Gable for the lead and Mae Clarke for the role of "Shirley", but neither was in the movie. A contemporary news item also listed Christian Rub and Henry Wadsworth as cast members, but these actors were also not in the movie. more
Movie Connections:
Version of Four Walls (1928) more
Soundtrack:
A Hundred Years from Today more

FAQ

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2 out of 6 people found the following comment useful:-
A Gangster Movie With Jewish Characters, 27 July 2006
6/10
Author: David (Handlinghandel) from NY, NY

It was very rare to see Jewish characters in movies, and even television until maybe the 1980s. Willy Loman probably is meant to be. Fred and Ethel Mertz -- Need I identify the work in which any of these appear? -- probably were too. But Hollywood chickened out.

Not so here. May Robson is very concerned about having the Sabbath candles lighted. Her son, played by Franchot Tone, is just out of prison. They live in a walk-up apartment in a tenement (as do I.) Oddly, it seems that this building has only four floors. Tenements usually have five and sometimes six.

Tone is at his best in this sort of serious role. Also, as Bertha, the girl his mother ants him to marry, Karen Morley is most touching. Gladys George plays a sneering bad girl. To me, that's a waste: She could be so poignant she could break your heart. Here, as Shirley, she looks a little like Mae West and is not at all likable. (This is not to say the actress turns in a bad performance. She was incapable of that.) Nat Pendleton gives a subdued performance. That guy was never a star but he was always reliable.

I'd be curious to know what motivated MGM, of all studios, to turn out a movie with what then was such a daring setting. It pays off, in any case. The plot is routine but the honesty of the characters' ethnic makeup is refreshing.

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Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits IMDb Drama section
IMDb USA section Add this title to MyMovies

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