Alias French Gertie

Last updated

Alias French Gertie
AliasFrenchGertiePoster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by George Archainbaud [1]
Screenplay by Wallace Smith [2]
Based onThe Chatterbox
by Bayard Veiller [2]
Produced by Henry Hobart [2]
Starring Bebe Daniels
Ben Lyon [2]
Cinematography J. Roy Hunt [3]
Distributed by RKO Radio Pictures [3]
Release date
  • April 11, 1930 (1930-04-11)(United States) [3]
Running time
66 minutes [3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Alias French Gertie is an American pre-Code crime film directed by George Archainbaud from a screenplay by Wallace Smith, based upon the unproduced play The Chatterbox by Bayard Veiller. The film stars Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon, who were making their first on-screen appearance together. [3] A copy of this film survives in the Library of Congress. [4]

Contents

Lobby card Alias French Gertie lobby card.jpg
Lobby card

Plot

French Gertie is a jewel thief posing as French maid named Marie, and she plans to rob the safe of her employer. However, on the night of the robbery, a thief named Jimmy appears, also intending to empty the safe. Jimmy opens the safe and the two agree to divide the contents evenly. However, when the police arrive, Jimmy hides Gertie and is arrested, later admitting to perpetrating the crime alone.

After serving a year-long prison sentence, Jimmy is reunited with Gertie, and they form a crime partnership. After several bank robberies, Marie and Jimmy agree that after one last haul, they will turn straight. Marie, along with her friends and neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Matson, persuade Jimmy to invest his $30,000 savings in Matson's business. However, the Matsons are also crooks who have stolen Jimmy's life's savings.

After Jimmy determines to return to safecracking, planning to begin with Marie's former employers, Marie hatches a plot to encourage him to turn straight. When Detective Kelcey agrees to allow them to remain free if they will turn straight, they agree.

Cast

Production

Alias French Gertie is the first film to feature both Daniels and Lyon. They were married a short time later in June 1930, and they remained married until Daniels' death in 1971. [3] [5]

The film was a remake of the 1925 FBO silent film Smooth as Satin , starring Evelyn Brent and Bruce Gordon and directed by Ralph Ince. [6]

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times , critic Mordaunt Hall wrote: "[T]his film has not been handled with the subtlety and smoothness it deserves. Nevertheless, up to a certain point, it is a production that holds the interest, but what should have been the main idea is sacrificed for a more obvious turn of events. ... This might have been a more engrossing piece of work had the climax been kept to the uncovering of the evil doings of the Matsons, instead of carrying on the story to another attempt at stealing." [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank robbery</span> Crime of stealing from a bank using violence

Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank-owned property, such as a train, armored car, or (historically) stagecoach. It is a federal crime in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bebe Daniels</span> American actress, singer, dancer, writer, producer (1901–1971)

Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" Daniels was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer.

<i>42nd Street</i> (film) 1933 musical film

42nd Street is a 1933 American pre-Code musical film directed by Lloyd Bacon, with songs by Harry Warren (music) and Al Dubin (lyrics). The film's numbers were staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley. It stars an ensemble cast of Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell and Ginger Rogers.

<i>Dixiana</i> (film) 1930 film directed by Luther Reed

Dixiana (1930) is a lavish American pre-Code comedy, musical film directed by Luther Reed and produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The final twenty minutes of the picture were photographed in Technicolor. The film stars Bebe Daniels, Everett Marshall, Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Joseph Cawthorn, Jobyna Howland, Ralf Harolde, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Dorothy Lee. The script was adapted by Luther Reed from a story by Anne Caldwell.

<i>Rio Rita</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

Rio Rita is a 1929 American pre-Code RKO musical comedy starring Bebe Daniels and John Boles along with the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey.. The film is based on the 1927 stage musical produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, which originally united Wheeler and Woolsey as a team and made them famous. The film was the biggest and most expensive RKO production of 1929 as well as the studio's biggest box office hit until King Kong (1933). Its finale was photographed in two-color Technicolor. Rio Rita was chosen as one of the 10 best films of 1929 by Film Daily.

<i>The Saint in Palm Springs</i> 1941 film by Jack Hively

The Saint in Palm Springs is a 1941 American mystery crime film directed by Jack Hively and starring George Sanders, Wendy Barrie and Jonathan Hale. It was produced and released by Hollywood studio RKO Pictures. The film continued the screen adventures of the Robin Hood-inspired anti-hero, Simon Templar, alias "The Saint", created by Leslie Charteris. This sequel was based upon a story by Charteris; however, many changes to his concept were made. Charteris later novelised his version of the film story as the novella "Palm Springs", contained within the 1942 collection The Saint Goes West. This was the sixth of eight in RKO's film series about The Saint.

<i>The Thief of Paris</i> 1967 French film

The Thief of Paris is a 1967 French crime film directed by Louis Malle and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo as a professional thief at the turn of the century in Paris. The film is based on a book of the same title by Georges Darien.

<i>Alias Jimmy Valentine</i> (1928 film) 1928 film by Jack Conway

Alias Jimmy Valentine is a 1928 American sound part-talkie crime drama film directed by Jack Conway and starring William Haines, Leila Hyams, Lionel Barrymore, and Karl Dane. The film features talking sequences along with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. The film is based on the 1909 play Alias Jimmy Valentine by Paul Armstrong, which itself was based on an O. Henry short story. The play toured in travelling production companies making it extremely popular. It was revived on Broadway in 1921. Two previous film adaptations had been produced at the old Metro Studios. A 1915 film version was directed by Maurice Tourneur and a 1920 version starring Bert Lytell was directed by Edmund Mortimer and Arthur Ripley.

<i>Once a Thief</i> (1965 film) 1965 film by Ralph Nelson

Once a Thief is a 1965 crime film directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Alain Delon, Ann-Margret, Van Heflin and Jack Palance. It was written by Zekial Marko, based on his 1961 novel Scratch a Thief. The movie was known in France as Les tueurs de San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Hope</span> American burglar, bank robber and underworld figure

James "Old Jimmy" Hope was a 19th-century American burglar, bank robber and underworld figure in Philadelphia and later New York City. He was considered one of the most successful and sought after bank burglars in the United States during his lifetime as well as a skilled escape artist for his repeated breakouts from Auburn State Prison in New York.

<i>The Shadow of Silk Lennox</i> 1935 film by Jack Nelson

The Shadow of Silk Lennox is a 1935 American crime drama film directed by Ray Kirkwood and Jack Nelson and starring Lon Chaney Jr before his breakthrough into horror films. Norman Springer wrote the screenplay, adapted from his own story The Riot Squad.

<i>Seven Sinners</i> (1925 film) 1925 film by Lewis Milestone

Seven Sinners is a 1925 American black-and-white silent comedy crime film directed by Lewis Milestone and written by Milestone and Darryl F. Zanuck. The film was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures.

<i>Smooth as Satin</i> 1925 film

Smooth as Satin is a 1925 American silent drama film based upon the stage play, The Chatterbox, by Bayard Veiller. It was directed by Ralph Ince and stars Evelyn Brent. The film was remade in 1930, entitled Alias French Gertie.

<i>Alias Jimmy Valentine</i> (1920 film) 1920 American film

Alias Jimmy Valentine is a 1920 American silent crime drama film starring Bert Lytell, directed by Edmund Mortimer and Arthur Ripley, and released through Metro Pictures.

<i>Going Crooked</i> 1926 film

Going Crooked is a 1926 American silent crime film produced and distributed by the Fox Film Corporation. It was directed by George Melford and stars Bessie Love.

<i>The Solitaire Man</i> 1933 film by Jack Conway

The Solitaire Man is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by Jack Conway and starring Herbert Marshall and Mary Boland.

<i>Once a Thief</i> (1950 film) 1950 film by W. Lee Wilder

Once a Thief is a 1950 American crime film noir directed by W. Lee Wilder starring Cesar Romero, June Havoc, Marie McDonald and Lon Chaney Jr.

Melville W. Brown was an American film director, screenwriter and occasional actor. He began his career on the local stage in Oregon, in stock companies and vaudeville, before moving to California and working in the silent film industry in 1916, at the suggestion of Charlie Chaplin. His career was cut short when he died of a heart attack in January 1938.

<i>Sweepstakes</i> (film) 1931 film

Sweepstakes is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Albert S. Rogell from a screenplay written by Lew Lipton and Ralph Murphy. The film stars Eddie Quillan, James Gleason, Marian Nixon, Lew Cody, and Paul Hurst, which centers around the travails and romances of jockey Buddy Doyle, known as the "Whoop-te-doo Kid" for his trademark yell during races. Produced by the newly formed RKO Pathé Pictures, this was the first film Charles R. Rogers would produce for the studio, after he replaced William LeBaron as head of production. The film was released on July 10, 1931, through RKO Radio Pictures.

<i>Captain Swagger</i> 1928 film

Captain Swagger is a 1928 American synchronized sound crime drama film directed by Edward H. Griffith and stars Rod La Rocque. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects utilizing the RCA Photophone sound-on-film sound system. The film was released with both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film formats. The film was produced and distributed by the Pathé Exchange company.

References

  1. ↑ "Alias French Gertie: Technical Details". theiapolis.com. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Alias French Gertie, Credits". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on June 23, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Alias French Gertie: Detail View". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 23, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  4. ↑ Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress page 4, c. 1978 by The American Film Institute
  5. ↑ Donnelley, Paul (2003). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries. Music Sales Group. p. 191. ISBN   0-711-99512-5.
  6. ↑ Jewell, Richard B.; Harbin, Vernon (1982). The RKO Story. New York: Arlington House. p. 26. ISBN   0-517-546566.
  7. ↑ Hall, Mordaunt (April 14, 1930). "The Screen: Safe Crackers". The New York Times . p. 24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.