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IMDbPro

The Doorway to Hell

  • 19301930
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 18m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
57,284
1,311
The Doorway to Hell (1930)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:45
1 Video
34 Photos
CrimeDrama
Despite his efforts to go straight, a young gangster keeps falling back into crime.Despite his efforts to go straight, a young gangster keeps falling back into crime.Despite his efforts to go straight, a young gangster keeps falling back into crime.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
57,284
1,311
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Archie Mayo
    • Writers
      • Rowland Brown(story "A Handful of Clouds")
      • George Rosener(screen play)
    • Stars
      • Lew Ayres
      • James Cagney
      • Dorothy Mathews
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Archie Mayo
    • Writers
      • Rowland Brown(story "A Handful of Clouds")
      • George Rosener(screen play)
    • Stars
      • Lew Ayres
      • James Cagney
      • Dorothy Mathews
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 31User reviews
    • 14Critic reviews
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    The Doorway to Hell
    Trailer 2:45
    The Doorway to Hell

    Photos34

    Lew Ayres in The Doorway to Hell (1930)
    Lew Ayres and Dorothy Mathews in The Doorway to Hell (1930)
    Dwight Frye in The Doorway to Hell (1930)
    Lew Ayres and Dorothy Mathews in The Doorway to Hell (1930)
    Lew Ayres in The Doorway to Hell (1930)
    Lew Ayres in The Doorway to Hell (1930)
    Lew Ayres and Robert Elliott in The Doorway to Hell (1930)
    Lew Ayres in The Doorway to Hell (1930)
    Lew Ayres in The Doorway to Hell (1930)
    Lew Ayres in The Doorway to Hell (1930)
    Lew Ayres in The Doorway to Hell (1930)
    James Cagney, Lew Ayres, and Robert Elliott in The Doorway to Hell (1930)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Lew Ayres
    Lew Ayres
    • Louie Ricarno
    James Cagney
    James Cagney
    • Steve Mileaway
    Dorothy Mathews
    Dorothy Mathews
    • Doris Ricarno
    Leon Janney
    Leon Janney
    • Jackie Ricarno
    Robert Elliott
    Robert Elliott
    • Police Chief Pat O'Grady
    Kenneth Thomson
    Kenneth Thomson
    • Captain of Academy
    Jerry Mandy
    • Joe - Gangster
    Noel Madison
    Noel Madison
    • Rocco
    Edwin Argus
    Edwin Argus
    • Midget
    Eddie Kane
    Eddie Kane
    • Dr. Morton
    Tom Wilson
    Tom Wilson
    • Big Shot Kelly - Gangster
    Dwight Frye
    Dwight Frye
    • Monk - Gangster
    Charles Judels
    Charles Judels
    • Florist
    • (scenes deleted)
    Fred Argus
    • Machine Gunner
    • (uncredited)
    Marie Astaire
    Marie Astaire
    • Kitty - Fortune Teller
    • (uncredited)
    Elmer Ballard
    • Tommy - Louie's Chauffeur
    • (uncredited)
    Joe Bordeaux
    • Joe - a Gangster
    • (uncredited)
    Clark Burroughs
    • Nigger Mike
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Archie Mayo
    • Writers
      • Rowland Brown(story "A Handful of Clouds")
      • George Rosener(screen play) (dialogue)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      No information about the publication of Rowland Brown's story, "A Handful of Clouds," has been found. The story may not have been published.
    • Goofs
      What appears to be a typo in the gangland slaughter headline of the newspaper Louie reads in the boarding house - it reads 'grewsome' instead of 'gruesome' - is in fact an acceptable variant that was more popular at the time the film was released.
    • Quotes

      Title Card: [closing title] The "Doorway to Hell" is a one-way door. There is no retribution - no plea for further clemency. The little boy walked through it with his head up and a smile on his lips. They gave him a funeral - a swell funeral that stopped traffic - and then they forgot him before the roses had a chance to wilt.

    • Connections
      Featured in American Masters: You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (2008)
    • Soundtracks
      Taps
      (1862) (uncredited)

      Written by Daniel Butterfield

      Played by a bugler at the funeral

    User reviews31

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Enjoyable vintage gangster movie
    This was better than I had expected. Maybe not quite up there with Public Enemy and the original Scarface, but not that far behind.

    The acting is pretty good for an early talkie. Cagney is great as usual as the head gangster's top henchman. Lew Ayres acts well as the head guy, "the Napoleon of crime", although he's perhaps a little too cleancut looking for the role.

    The story is good, and rather dark. Mobster Louie Ricarno, after uniting all the gangs in Chicago under one organization, tries to quit crime. But things fall apart in his absence, and he's forced to return for purposes of revenge. The ending is nicely grim and while there might be enough of a "crime doesn't pay" moral to keep the censors happy it doesn't rub it in your face. There's some good gangster violence along the way.- a number of well-done hits, and an over- the-top scene that resembles a full-scale battle.

    Two other things struck me as memorable: The adulterous relationship between Cagney and his boss' wife. At one point, she takes off her wedding ring, and then they "go somewhere".

    The police captain, O'Grady, is a rather ruthless character. He blackmails Cagney into a false confession for a crime he didn't commit, by threatening to tell Ayres about his affair with Ayres's wife! Later, he lets Ayres's rivals bump him off, rather than prosecute him and risk an acquittal. It also is implied that O'Grady's rejection of bribes is more the exception than the rule among police officials.

    It pays to watch this movie closely, as there is a lot that is implied and innuendoed.
    helpful•15
    0
    • Consul_Incitatus
    • Oct 21, 2009

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 18, 1930 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • A Handful of Clouds
    • Filming locations
      • Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $240,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 18 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White

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