Youthful tough Johnny Stone has fallen under the influence of petty crook Frank Wilson, who involves him and robbery and murder using his sister's boyfriend's stolen gun.
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Title: You Can't Get Away with Murder (1939)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Humphrey Bogart | ... | Frank Wilson | |
| Gale Page | ... | Madge Stone | |
| Billy Halop | ... | Johnnie Stone | |
| John Litel | ... | Attorney Carey | |
| Henry Travers | ... | Pop | |
| Harvey Stephens | ... | Fred Burke | |
| Harold Huber | ... | Scappa | |
| Joe Sawyer | ... | Red | |
 |
Joe Downing | ... | Smitty |
| George E. Stone | ... | Toad | |
| Joe King | ... | Principal Keeper (as Joseph King) | |
| Joseph Crehan | ... | Warden | |
| John Ridgely | ... | Gas Station Attendant | |
| Herbert Rawlinson | ... | District Attorney | |
Edit
Plot Summary
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Storyline
Johnnie learns crime from petty thug Frank Wilson. When Wilson kills a pawnbroker with a gun stolen from Johnnie's sister Madge's fiance Fred Burke, Fred goes to Sing Sing's death house. Wilson uses all the pressure can to keep Johnnie silent, even after he and Johnnie themselves wind up in the big house. Written by Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
Plot Keywords:
pawnbroker | murder | crime wave | prison life | reference to gettysburg address |Taglines:
A dramatic bombshell !Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
20 May 1939 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Chalked Out See more »Filming Locations:
Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USACompany Credits
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
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Pop, Sing Sing Librarian: What I want is one I can see YOUR face in.
[Sam laughs]
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
In Invisible Stripes (1939) Humphrey Bogart and Lee Patrick are seen leaving a theater showing "You Can't Get Away With Murder". See more »Quotes
Sam: [after shining his shoes] There you are, Pop. There's one you can see your face in.Pop, Sing Sing Librarian: What I want is one I can see YOUR face in.
[Sam laughs]
See more »
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You Can't Get Away with Murder (1939)
From the peak of classic pre-war Hollywood and "Gone with the Wind," anticipating the equally classic and more slick "Citizen Kane" and "Casablanca" in the next three years. And just before star Humphrey Bogart has his breakout in "The Maltese Falcon" in 1941. Things hang a little undecided here, a classic crime drama a removed from the early 30s Warner Bros. masterpieces, but unpolished for its time, too. Blame a modest budget.
But then again, this is rather good on its own terms, a standard gangster story with a message. And Bogart is strong, a bit more developed than his earlier gangster roles where he's a bit of stereotype. Bits of dry humor and disdain creep in, welcome Bogart touches. The main twist here is a sweet young man, really just a kid, gets involved. And how. Note the title.
The writing isn't always great, sometimes falling into cheap dramatic comments without surprise, or even avoiding basic believability. The action parts are good and well filmed (and they avoid unnecessary dialog). Some of the side characters are just filling roles without depth, or are clichés (the African-American reading the cookbook— charming and fun, or the good-hearted librarian in prison). Even the kid isn't quite right, as if he's playing what he thinks he should instead of inhabiting the role.
Bogart, however, is a whole different class of actor in all of this, and he's the reason to watch. The last twenty minutes click along really nicely. Not an awful film in all, but be prepared for some routine stuff between the highlights.