Each Dawn I Die (1939)

Although innocent, reporter Frank Ross is found guilty of murder and is sent to jail. While his friends at the newspaper try to find out who framed him, Frank gets hardened by prison life ... See full summary »

Director:

William Keighley

Writers:

Norman Reilly Raine (screen play), Warren Duff (screen play),

Stars:

James Cagney, George Raft, Jane Bryan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Cagney	...	Frank Ross
George Raft	...	'Hood' Stacey
Jane Bryan	...	Joyce
George Bancroft	...	John Armstrong
Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom	...	Fargo Red (as Maxie Rosenbloom)
Stanley Ridges	...	Meuller
Alan Baxter	...	Carlisle
Victor Jory	...	Grayce
John Wray	...	Pete Kassock
Edward Pawley	...	Dale
Willard Robertson	...	Lang
Emma Dunn	...	Mrs. Ross
Paul Hurst	...	Garsky
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Lassiter
Joe Downing	...	Limpy Julien

Storyline

Although innocent, reporter Frank Ross is found guilty of murder and is sent to jail. While his friends at the newspaper try to find out who framed him, Frank gets hardened by prison life and his optimism turns into bitterness. He meets fellow-inmate Stacey and they decide to help each other.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | reporter | corruption | gangster | murder | 

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Genres:

Thriller | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 August 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Killer Meets Killer

Filming Locations:

Sing Sing Penitentiary - 354 Hunter Street, Ossining, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on March 22, 1943 with George Raft reprising his film role.

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Quotes

Frank Ross: I'll get out if I hafta kill every screw in the joint!

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Connections

Referenced in Dad's Army: Asleep in the Deep (1972)

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Soundtracks

"Wings Over the Navy"
(1938) (uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played during the showing of and taken from the film Wings of the Navy

User Reviews

Old fashioned prison tale

Even with such newer items as Brubaker and the Shawshank Redemption, Each Dawn I Die still holds up rather well if in fact it's a bit dated.

One has to remember that a film like Each Dawn I Die was made under "the Code" and a whole range of issues about prison life could not be dealt with and if so, only extremely subtly.

Still both James Cagney and George Raft give solid performances. Cagney is great in everything and Raft is in his gangster milieu so it's no stretch for him.

There's a great supporting cast of familiar Warner Brothers faces to support the two leads. I'd pay special attention to Stanley Ridges as the stir-crazy Muller and John Wray as Pete Kassock the sadistic prison guard. One of the issues not discussed is gay sex in prison. But read that dimension into Ridges's concern for buddy Louis Jean Heydt who Wray fatally injures and some of his actions become very explicable.

There is a political element here too. Cagney is a reporter who is investigating District Attorney Thurston Hall and his assistant Victor Jory. They concoct a frame for him that lands him in prison. Hall gets elected Governor and Jory gets to control the pardon board. Cagney goes before Jory to ask for a pardon and that scene itself is one of the best in the film.

A great film with a great cast, one of the best of Warner Brothers gangster products.