Aggiungi una trama nella tua linguaAn innocent man (John Beal) sits on death row in colorful company, as friends race to save his life.An innocent man (John Beal) sits on death row in colorful company, as friends race to save his life.An innocent man (John Beal) sits on death row in colorful company, as friends race to save his life.
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- QuizThis film is based on a novel written by David Lamson. In 1933, Lamsom was tried and found guilty of murdering his wife. He was sentenced to death, and imprisoned in San Quentin, pending execution. Lamsom always protested his innocence, and believed his wife died accidentally, not at the hand of another person. He was freed after an appeal and two re-trials. He started writing the novel while he was in prison and completed it after his release.
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Miss Connie Stewart: Get out of here. I'm so fed up with cops, scrambling for a spot on the front page, and *you*, showing off in the courtroom. That watchman twisting what he saw into something he didn't see at all!
Steven Mathews: That watchman told the truth.
Miss Connie Stewart: He lied!
Steven Mathews: That man believed everything he told at the trial.
Miss Connie Stewart: [softens her demeanor] Won't you talk to him again, question him? Please.
Steven Mathews: If I do, what's my percentage?
Miss Connie Stewart: Well, if you find out anything, I might even think you're half as smart as *you* think.
Steven Mathews: [laughs heartily] Well, 50 percent's better than nothing!
- Colonne sonoreTrail to Mexico (Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie)
(uncredited)
Traditional ballad
Sung a cappella by Gordon Jones
John Beal plays John Thompson, an engineer who quits his job at an airplane plant in New Mexico after an argument with his boss. He and his fiancée Connie want to move to California.
En route to get his paycheck, some criminals kidnap him and take his car. They go to John's old job in his car, and one of them is wearing his coat, and enter the payroll office. The paymaster is killed, and a child is run over as the gang escapes. They dump the car.
John is released, but he doesn't stay released for long. The police arrest him for murder and robbery. He is found guilty and winds up on Death Row.
Connie convinces a detective (Preston Foster) who actually helped put John away that he didn't do it, and begs him to try to dig up more evidence. As he starts to go over it, he finds discrepancies.
This is a good pre-noir from RKO. There is a harrowing scene where the prisoners act up and the guards use tear gas on them. There is also a beautiful scene where a priest promises a Chinese man about to be hanged that he will see that his body is sent home to his ancestors.
Some of the detection methods used were brand new at the time.
Beal was a stage actor who appeared in many films, and did lots of TV and stage in his sixty-year career. I met him about 30 years ago - a very nice man.
Thanks to TCM, Ann Dvorak is getting probably more attention than she did during her career. She does an earnest job here as a young woman desperate to free her fiancé. Foster is authoritative and tough as the detective.
This film had its gritty moments and lacked the usual stereotypes and clichés. Some melodramatic moments, as was the style at the time. IF you see this on TCM's schedule, check it out.
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Dettagli
- Data di uscita
- Paese di origine
- Lingua
- Celebre anche come
- Condemned Row
- Luoghi delle riprese
- Aziende produttrici
- Vedi altri crediti dell’azienda su IMDbPro
- Tempo di esecuzione1 ora 21 minuti
- Colore
- Proporzioni
- 1.37 : 1