6,000 Enemies (1939)

Director:

George B. Seitz

Writers:

Wilmon Menard (story) and
Leo L. Stanley (story) ...

Release Date:

9 June 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A tough prosecutor who has sent dozens of criminals to prison finds himself framed on a bribery charge and winds up in prison himself. |

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Prosecutor | Frame Up | Slot Machine | Hidden Microphone

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Walter Pidgeon	...	Steve Donegan
Rita Johnson	...	Anne Barry
Paul Kelly	...	Dr. Malcolm Scott
Nat Pendleton	...	'Socks' Martin
Harold Huber	...	Joe Silenus
Grant Mitchell	...	Warden Alvin Parkhurst
John Arledge	...	Phil Donegan
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Dan Barrett
Adrian Morris	...	'Bull' Snyder
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Maxie (as Guinn Williams)
Arthur Aylesworth	...	'Bluebeard' Dawson
Raymond Hatton	...	Prisoner 'Wibbie' Yern
Lionel Royce	...	Prisoner 'Dutch' Myers
Tom Neal	...	Prisoner Ransom
Willie Fung	...	Wang

Also Known As:

Six Thousand Enemies (USA) (review title)

Runtime:

62 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Norway:16 (1939) | USA:Approved (PCA #5310) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Sweden:(Banned)

Company:

Loew's

Soundtrack:

A Hot Time in the Old Town

...and I'll be Enemy #6001.

I'm intrigued that Paul Kelly and Tom Neal are both in the cast of '6000 Enemies'. Kelly and Neal both had prolific careers in tough-guy roles, but they are now remembered largely for the fact that, in real life, both of them (separately) did prison time for manslaughter. The fact that '6000 Enemies' is a prison movie lends an air of irony to Kelly's and Neal's presence in this film. As it happens, though, they have no scenes together.

'6000 Enemies' has a premise fairly similar to that of the Howard Hawks film 'The Criminal Code', but it takes that premise in a different direction. Steven Donegan (Walter Pidgeon) is a tough D.A. who has shown no mercy to the thousands of criminals he has sent to prison. Racketeer Joe Silenus (Harold Huber) frames Donegan on a bribery charge; for good measure, Silenus has also framed pretty Anne (Rita Johnson) on an embezzlement charge. Donegan has urged no mercy for convicted criminals, so now that he is (falsely) convicted he finds himself on the receiving end of the same tough sentencing policy. Donegan and Anne are sent to the respective his'n'her hoosegows, but it's clear they're going to end up as each other's ball-and-chain.

Disbarred D.A. Donegan finds himself doing hard time in a penitentiary where all the other convicts want to kill him. (Hence the film's title.) The scenes of prison life are even less realistic than usual for prison movies from this period. The movie climaxes with a prison break (I shan't tell you if it's successful), but at this point all credibility has long since gone over the wall. In a small role as a petty thug, Frank Lackteen briefly displays his famous cheekbones and swarthy complexion. Esther Dale gives her usual "I've seen it all, dearie" performance. I'm always glad to see Nat Pendleton, Grant Mitchell and Raymond Hatton, but their performances here are more lacklustre than usual for these fine character actors. Paul Kelly has very little to do here, and Tom Neal even less: the irony of their presence in this prison flick far outweighs their actual performances. I'll rate '6000 Enemies' only 3 points out of 10. Better make that 6,001 enemies...