Blackmail (1939)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

H.C. Potter

Writers:

Endre Bohem (story) and
Dorothy Yost (story) ...

Release Date:

8 September 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

SCREAMING NEW THRILLS WITH THE SCREEN'S "LITTLE CAESAR!" (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

John Ingram, successful oil-field firefighter, is really a chain-gang escapee. Someone out of his past finds him...

Plot Keywords:

Chain Gang | Oil | Fire | Blackmail | Oklahoma

Cast

Edward G. Robinson	...	John R. Ingram
Ruth Hussey	...	Helen Ingram
Gene Lockhart	...	William 'Bill' Ramey
Bobs Watson	...	Hank Ingram
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Moose McCarthy (as Guinn Williams)
John Wray	...	Convict Diggs
Arthur Hohl	...	Rawlins
Esther Dale	...	Sarah
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lew Harvey	...	Workman (scenes deleted)
Mitchell Lewis	...	Workman (scenes deleted)
Louis Natheaux	...	(scenes deleted)
Ted Oliver	...	Workman (scenes deleted)
Lee Phelps	...	Guard (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1943) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #5523) | Iceland:L | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Loew's

Movie Connections:

Featured in From the Ends of the Earth (1939)

Great Film Classic

This was a great film in 1939 because the audiences loved Edward G. Robinson who was a great actor and will be admired for many many generations to come. In this picture, Robinson plays John R. Ingram, who has a past that he is trying to hide from along with his wife, Ruth Hussey. John Ingram is a very successful troubleshooter for fires at Oil Rigs and has become very famous, wealthy and happy with his wife and young son. Everything seems to fall apart when Gene Lockhart, (Bill Ramey) knocks on the kitchen door and asks for a sandwich and starts a real storm in the Ingram household. Ingram decides to drill for his own oil and at the same time gets deeply involved with Bill Ramey. If you never knew what a chain gang is, this picture will show you what happened years ago on a chain gang. Enjoy a great classic film starring Edward G. Robinson, who was accepted into the hearts and homes of America and even put on a United States Postage Stamp.