Each Dawn I Die (1939)

A corrupt D.A. with political ambitions is angered by news stories implicating him in criminal activity and decides to frame the reporter who wrote them for manslaughter in order to silence him.

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
Maxie Rosenbloom	...	Fargo Red
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 warden | homosexual subtext | reporter | corruption | penitentiary | 

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Taglines:

Slugging their way to adventure !

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

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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Goofs

The conversation in the prison yard between Ross and Fargo Red, concerning dogs not having pores, is unrealistic. The slow-witted Red would surely have heard the word as "paws". As such he would not then have asked "How do they sweat?"

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Quotes

'Hood' Stacey: You're the only guy I ever met that gave me a break without putting the bee on me for dough.

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2005)

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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 (1939)

User Reviews

1939 Film Classic

This was a great film for the Year 1939 with a great cast of veteran film stars. James Cagney, (Frank Ross) plays the role as a newspaper reporter who writes a front page head line involving some politicians running for the governor of a state who have burned all their records of evil doings and this story causes them many problems. The politicians decided to frame Frank and set him up by knocking him out and pouring booze on him and send his car crashing into a town and other people's cars. Frank is sentenced to prison for twenty-years and meets up with a guy named Hood "Stacey" who befriends him and they get along until things happen in the prison. Frank becomes very upset with his prison life and causes all kinds of bad problems for himself and he is sent into solitary confinement for many months. Joyce, (Jane Bryan) is a girl friend and also a reporter for the same newspaper that Frank works with and she tries her best to see what she can do to get him free. There is lots of action for a 1939 film and it deals mostly with the insides of a prison and deals with guards who love to mistreat the prisoners. If you like old film classics and these two great actors from the past, don't miss this one.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 August 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Each Dawn I Die

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$735,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

First National Pictures, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1