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 | |
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Joe Downing | ... | Limpy Julien |
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. Written by Leon Wolters <wolters@strw.LeidenUniv.nl>
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.