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The Mad Game

  • 19331933
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 13m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
84
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Spencer Tracy and Claire Trevor in The Mad Game (1933)
  • Action
  • Crime
  • Drama
Bootlegger Ed Carson is sent to prison. His old gang turns from liquor (now legal) to kidnapping. When they nab the son and daughter-in-law of the judge who sent Carson to prison, he is paro... Read allBootlegger Ed Carson is sent to prison. His old gang turns from liquor (now legal) to kidnapping. When they nab the son and daughter-in-law of the judge who sent Carson to prison, he is paroled to help in the capture.Bootlegger Ed Carson is sent to prison. His old gang turns from liquor (now legal) to kidnapping. When they nab the son and daughter-in-law of the judge who sent Carson to prison, he is paroled to help in the capture.
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
84
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Irving Cummings
  • Writers
    • William M. Conselman(story)
    • Henry Johnson(story)
  • Stars
    • Spencer Tracy
    • Claire Trevor
    • Ralph Morgan
Top credits
  • Director
    • Irving Cummings
  • Writers
    • William M. Conselman(story)
    • Henry Johnson(story)
  • Stars
    • Spencer Tracy
    • Claire Trevor
    • Ralph Morgan
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 3User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Spencer Tracy and Claire Trevor in The Mad Game (1933)
    Spencer Tracy, Kathleen Burke, John Miljan, Ralph Morgan, and Claire Trevor in The Mad Game (1933)
    Spencer Tracy and Claire Trevor in The Mad Game (1933)
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    Top cast

    Edit
    Spencer Tracy
    Spencer Tracy
    • Edward Carsonas Edward Carson
    Claire Trevor
    Claire Trevor
    • Jane Leeas Jane Lee
    Ralph Morgan
    Ralph Morgan
    • Judge Penfieldas Judge Penfield
    Howard Lally
    • Thomas Penfieldas Thomas Penfield
    J. Carrol Naish
    J. Carrol Naish
    • Chopper Allenas Chopper Allen
    John Miljan
    John Miljan
    • William Bennettas William Bennett
    Matt McHugh
    Matt McHugh
    • Butts McGeeas Butts McGee
    Kathleen Burke
    Kathleen Burke
    • Marilyn Kirkas Marilyn Kirk
    Mary Mason
    Mary Mason
    • Lila Penfieldas Lila Penfield
    Willard Robertson
    Willard Robertson
    • Wardenas Warden
    John Davidson
    John Davidson
    • Doctoras Doctor
    Paul Fix
    Paul Fix
    • Louas Lou
    Jerry Devine
    • Mikeas Mike
    Douglas Fowley
    Douglas Fowley
    • Gangsteras Gangster
    • (uncredited)
    Jerry Jerome
    • Gangsteras Gangster
    • (uncredited)
    Mike Lally
    • Gangsteras Gangster
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Irving Cummings
    • Writers
      • William M. Conselman(story) (screenplay)
      • Henry Johnson(story) (screenplay)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Bootlegger Ed Carson is sent to prison. His old gang turns from liquor (now legal) to kidnapping. When they nab the son and daughter-in-law of the judge who sent Carson to prison, he is paroled to help in the capture. —Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
    • pre code film
    • prohibition era
    • bootlegger
    • deception
    • damsel in distress
    • 20 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Fox film's Thrilling Melodramatic Expose of the Snatch Racket With a Supurb Cast That Makes every Exciting Incident Real! (Print Ad- New York Sun, ((New York NY)) 9 November 1933)
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Crime
      • Drama
      • Romance
    • Certificate
      • Passed
    • Parents guide
      • Add content advisory

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Film debut of Douglas Fowley.

    User reviews3

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    A long lost crime drama resurfaces
    When we talk about gangster flicks of the early '30s certain actors immediately spring to mind: Jimmy Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, George Raft, Paul Muni. (Muni played a gangster only once in the Pre-Code era, but that performance was unforgettable.) One name seldom if ever mentioned is Spencer Tracy. He played a mob boss twice -- that is, twice as often as Muni did -- and yet he isn't usually associated with the genre. Perhaps this was because he worked for the Fox Studio, not Warner Bros. Many of the early talkies produced at Fox are scarce or missing entirely, largely due to a 1937 vault explosion which destroyed much of the studio's output. Tracy's two crime films survive but are seldom screened. He first played a racketeer in the underrated Quick Millions in 1931, and two years later portrayed mob boss Ed Carson in The Mad Game. The latter, long out of circulation, was recently restored and has been screened at the Museum of Modern Art to packed houses.

    Ed Carson is a "beer baron," a successful bootlegger. His gang does the dirty work while Carson lives the high life. He has a beautiful mistress and a seemingly dedicated lawyer who fends off trouble. Ed enjoys seeing his picture in the papers, and has a friendly relationship with reporter named Jane Lee (Claire Trevor), who has a soft spot for him. But as Prohibition comes to an end, everything changes. Carson's lieutenant Chopper Allen (J. Carrol Naish) proposes the gang take up kidnapping as a new racket, but for personal reasons Carson opposes this vehemently. Before he knows what is happening Ed is betrayed by his supposed allies and lands in prison. There he reforms, and when the nation is hit with a wave of kidnappings - many of them masterminded by Chopper Allen and pulled off by Ed's former gang - he volunteers to help. After his facial features are altered by plastic surgery, Carson is released under an assumed identity and goes undercover to break his former mob.

    This is the kind of fare we tend to associate with Warner Bros., not only because of the gangland element but because it boasts that ripped-from-the-headlines topical quality, as it was made at a time when high profile kidnappings were frequently in the news. And like those WB classics, The Mad Game offers vivid performances and sharp production values, and moves at a brisk tempo. Director Irving Cummings manages to avoid cliché with some imaginative touches, especially in one sequence when he conveys the information that two key characters have been bumped off with a visual flourish reminiscent of the best silent dramas.

    Spencer Tracy, young and energetic, plays Carson with his customary intensity. We know from the beginning that, although he's said to be ruthless, there is integrity buried deep inside which may yet emerge. It does so when his right-hand man "Chopper" (Naish is downright scary in this role) takes over his gang. And when Carson reforms, we believe it. Claire Trevor, in one of her first Hollywood roles, makes a strong impression. Her Jane Lee is self-sufficient and smart, but also warm; you can see why the mobsters trust her. And there are a number of other notable players in support, including Ralph Morgan, gorgeous Kathleen Burke, and the underrated John Davidson as an exhausted, corrupt doctor, a man who is almost catatonic, yet who serves underworld clients for reasons unknown. While Tracy and Trevor are the standouts, there is no shortage of top drawer talent here.

    For me, the only serious problem with The Mad Game comes in the second half, when Carson undergoes plastic surgery to alter his appearance. Everything hinges on the credibility of the result; that is, we're expected to believe it when close associates of the man completely fail to recognize him. To my eyes, the "new" Ed Carson still looks pretty much like Spencer Tracy, perhaps on his way to a costume party as a thug. When his longtime chum McGee (Matt McHugh) doesn't know him, I didn't really buy it. But the performances are so earnest, you just roll with it anyway, as you would while listening to a radio drama. In sum, The Mad Game is well written, well directed, and especially well acted. Now that it's been restored I do hope it finds the audience it deserves.
    helpful•3
    0
    • wmorrow59
    • May 22, 2018

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 27, 1933 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Chicagopolisens hemliga agent
    • Production company
      • Fox Film Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 13 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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