Big City (1937)

To avoid a taxi war, city officials blame a gang bombing on driver Joe Benton's wife Anna and put her on a ship to deport her. The mayor is speaker at a boxers' banquet where Joe pleads for... See full summary »

Director:

Frank Borzage

Writers:

Dore Schary (screen play), Hugo Butler (screen play),

Stars:

Luise Rainer, Spencer Tracy, Charley Grapewin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luise Rainer	...	Anna Benton
Spencer Tracy	...	Joe Benton
Charley Grapewin	...	The Mayor
Janet Beecher	...	Sophie Sloane
Eddie Quillan	...	Mike Edwards
Victor Varconi	...	Paul Roya
Oscar O'Shea	...	John C. Andrews
Helen Troy	...	Lola Johnson
William Demarest	...	Beecher
John Arledge	...	Buddy
Irving Bacon	...	Jim Sloane
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Danny Devlin (as Guinn Williams)
Regis Toomey	...	Fred Hawkins
Edgar Dearing	...	Tom Reilley
Paul Harvey	...	District Attorney Gilbert

Storyline

To avoid a taxi war, city officials blame a gang bombing on driver Joe Benton's wife Anna and put her on a ship to deport her. The mayor is speaker at a boxers' banquet where Joe pleads for them to go with him to the wharf and rescue Anna (about to deliver their baby) from the ship.

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Plot Keywords:

taxi | mayor | murder | banquet | rescue | 

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Taglines:

BY THE AUTHOR OF "FURY"! (original ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 September 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Skyscraper Wilderness

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

George B. Seitz directed, uncredited, the sequence featuring Jack Dempsey.

User Reviews

A cabby turf warfare in New York City which had an exciting ending

After watching Big City a, TCM, television version of the movie, I felt cheated that I had not seen Luise Rainer before. She was magnificent, sweet, and believable. Because of my research on this 1930s two-time, back-to-back Oscar winner, I can't wait to see the other seven films in which she acted. She won an Academy Award in 1937 & 1938. She left acting at the peak of her career, and that is very sad. This woman had something "different" about her. Though she is now 102 years old and lives in England, she has a new American fan. Spencer Tracy was the male lead, and he was his usual incredible self, but Luise Rainer, in my opinion, upstaged the great Tracy!