A poor factory worker, employed by a wealthy uncle, falls in love with a beautiful heiress but his happiness and promising future are jeopardized by a previous affair with a coworker he impregnated.
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Title: An American Tragedy (1931)
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Edit
Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Phillips Holmes | ... | Clyde Griffiths | |
| Sylvia Sidney | ... | Roberta Alden | |
| Frances Dee | ... | Sondra Finchley | |
| Irving Pichel | ... | District Attorney Orville Mason | |
| Frederick Burton | ... | Samuel Griffiths | |
| Claire McDowell | ... | Mrs. Samuel Griffiths | |
 |
Wallace Middleton | ... | Gilbert Griffiths |
|
|
Emmett Corrigan | ... | Belknap |
| Charles Middleton | ... | Jephson (as Charles B. Middleton) | |
| Lucille La Verne | ... | Mrs. Asa Griffiths | |
| Al Hart | ... | Titus Alden (as Albert Hart) | |
|
|
Fanny Midgley | ... | Mrs. Titus Alden |
| Arnold Korff | ... | Judge | |
|
|
Russ Powell | ... | Coroner Fred Heit (as Russell Powell) |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
Having just reached adulthood, Clyde Griffiths has always lamented his lot in life, he the only son of poor missionaries. He has gotten a peripheral view of society life, to which he aspires, in his work as a bellhop at an upscale hotel. If being truthful to himself, he would admit that he lacks moral strength, he often taking the easiest but perhaps not the most ethical path to protect himself. Forced to move from place to place out of circumstance, he ends up in Lycurgus, New York working at the Samuel Griffiths Collar and Shirt factory, Samuel Griffiths his paternal uncle. Not knowing his uncle or his family, Clyde only wants a chance to get ahead, not expecting anything else from his wealthy relations. After an apprenticeship, Clyde ends up as the foreman in the stamping department. Despite a company rule forbidding foremen to fraternize with staff, especially those working in the same department, Clyde begins an affair, a clandestine one out of necessity, with Roberta Alden, who ... Written by Huggo
Taglines:
Drama that happens around you everyday - when the wild life of impetuous youth burns away age-old barriers! See more »Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
22 August 1931 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Eine amerikanische Tragödie See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.20 : 1
Edit
(1856) (uncredited)
Music by Lowell Mason
Played on an organ at the mission
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. Its initial telecasts took place in Minneapolis Thursday 11 June 1959 on WTCN (Channel 11), in Seattle 19 August 1959 on KIRO (Channel 7), in Philadelphia 7 December 1959 on WCAU (Channel 10), and in Lowell, Massachusetts 10 March 1960 on WBZ (Channel 4). It was released on DVD 13 July 2015 as part of the Universal Vault Series, and since that time has also enjoyed an occasional airing on cable TV on Turner Classic Movies. See more »Soundtracks
Nearer My God to Thee(1856) (uncredited)
Music by Lowell Mason
Played on an organ at the mission
See more »
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Not having read the book, nor seen the Taylor remake, I had no bias when I watched this film the other night on French television. I almost turned it off after the first 20 minutes, it was slow to start and seemed to be going nowhere. However I stuck with it and it was worth it in the end. The court scene was too long and the histrionics of the defence and the prosecution over the top, but I found the characters believable and became involved in the fate of Clyde. Not a film I would want to keep as a classic, but definitly worth watching.