You Can't Get Away with Murder (1939)

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.

Director:

Lewis Seiler

Writers:

Robert Buckner (screen play), Don Ryan (screen play)

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart, Gale Page, Billy Halop

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

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.

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Plot Keywords:

pawnbroker | murder | crime wave | prison life | reference to gettysburg address | 

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Taglines:

A dramatic bombshell !

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 May 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chalked Out

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Three actors listed in Studio records as being in this film were not seen in the movie. These were (with their character names): Nat Carr (Convict), Lane Chandler (Guard) and Joe Devlin (Prisoner).

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Goofs

When Frank returns to his apartment after the pawn shop robbery, a moving shadow of the boom microphone is briefly visible on the door frame above his head.

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Quotes

Scappa: Aw pee yourself, Frankie! Here's one guy that's cut all his teeth.
Frank Wilson: Well how'd you like to have me shove 'em down your throat for you?

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Connections

Referenced in Invisible Stripes (1939)

User Reviews

Warner Bros gangster film

"You Can't Get Away with Murder" is a 1939 film starring Humphrey Bogart, Gale Page, Billy Halop, Henry Travers, John Litel, and Harvey Stephens. Bogart is still on his way up the star ladder - in his case, it was a long climb to 1941's "High Sierra" with lots of supporting parts, mostly as gangsters. Here he's the star, but this isn't a big film.

It is, however, a tense one with good performances. Bogart plays the meaner than dirt Frank Wilson, a criminal who takes advantage of the young, trusting Johnny Stone (Halop), a basically good kid being raised by his sister Madge. She becomes engaged to Fred, a cop who is being transferred to a better job in Boston. He plans on marrying Madge and bringing Johnny with them to Boston, where he's lined up work for him. But when a botched robbery leads to Frank committing murder, he frames Fred for it. Fred winds up on death row while Johnny and Frank serve sentences for another crime. Frank is afraid Johnny will rat him out in order to save Fred.

Bogart does a great job as Frank - he's easy to hate. Billy Halop for me was a bit overdone as Johnny, but he really kept you guessing as to what he would do. Halop was one of the Dead End Kids who sought a career on his own. He was mainly in B movies and finally in small parts, eventually seguing into television. He also worked as a salesman and, at the end of his life, a male nurse. Beset with marital, alcohol, and financial problems, he died at the age of 56.

It's impressive to look at Bogart's pre-stardom career and see how long it took him to break away from the pack - 11 years and 42 films. Well, he was certainly worth waiting for.