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Gangs of Chicago | |
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Directed by | Arthur Lubin |
Written by | Karl Brown |
Produced by | Robert North (associate producer) |
Starring | Lloyd Nolan Barton MacLane Lola Lane |
Cinematography | Elwood Bredell |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 66 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Gangs of Chicago is a 1940 crime film, starring Lloyd Nolan, Barton MacLane, Lola Lane, Ray Middleton, Astrid Allwyn, and Horace McMahon. Alan Ladd has a small uncredited role. [2]
After the death of his corrupt father, young Matty Burns enrolls in law school, not to seek justice but to learn how to represent criminal organizations while remaining within the law. He graduates with roommate Bill Whitaker, a judge's son, and is invited to come live at the Whitaker farm, where June Whitaker finds herself attracted to her brother Bill's friend.
With a federal agent named Evans keeping a close eye on his activities, Matty becomes the legal mouthpiece of Jim Ramsey, a racketeer. Bill is beseeched by agent Evans to spy on his friend, which he does reluctantly at the urging of his law-abiding dad.
Ramsey and his moll, Virginia Brandt, don't trust Bill and spring a trap, catching him red-handed seeking evidence. Bill is seriously wounded by thug Pinky's gunshot and rushed to a doctor by Matty, his friend. Both later hide out at the family farm, where Ramsey and his men come to finish the job. They are vanquished, but Matty must now do time behind bars.
The film was announced in March 1940 with Nolan and Lubin attached. Lubin had just finished directing Black Friday. [3] Filming started in late March 1940. [4] It was shot at Grand National Studios. [5]
It was one of the last appearances of Dwight Frye. [6]
The Los Angeles Times said Nolan and Middleton are "very good, but it is really Lola Lane... who rings bells." [7] The New York Times called it "a stock cops and robbers melodrama... the only surprise in the picture is the sincere performance turned in by Ray Middleton." [8]
The film was banned in Chicago by the censors. However they allowed the film to be released there after Republic changed the title to Gangs of a City. [9]
Diabolique called it "a classy B". [10]
Black Friday is a 1940 American science fiction horror film starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.
Arthur Lubin was an American film director and producer who directed several Abbott & Costello films, Phantom of the Opera (1943), the Francis the Talking Mule series and created the talking-horse TV series Mister Ed. A prominent director for Universal Pictures in the 1940s and 1950s, he is perhaps best known today as the man who gave Clint Eastwood his first contract in film.
Footsteps in the Fog is a 1955 British Technicolor Victorian-era crime thriller starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons, with a screenplay co-written by Lenore Coffee and Dorothy Davenport, and released by Columbia Pictures. Directed by Arthur Lubin, the film is based on the W. W. Jacobs short story "The Interruption".
Astrid Allwyn was an American stage and film actress.
Robert Kent, was an American film actor. His career included starring roles in several film serials of the 1940s, including The Phantom Creeps, Who's Guilty?, and The Phantom Rider. He also had a role in the 1938 film The Gladiator and was Virginia Vale's leading man in Blonde Comet, a 1941 movie about a female racing driver.
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Risky Business is a 1939 film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring George Murphy and Dorothea Kent.
Big Town Czar is a 1939 American mystery film directed by Arthur Lubin starring Barton MacLane and Tom Brown.
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Where Did You Get That Girl? is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Arthur Lubin and starring Leon Errol, Helen Parrish and Charles Lang. The title comes from the popular song of the same name, which dates to 1913 and was written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Puck. The song figures prominently in the film. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. The plot of the film is about the misadventures of a swing band trying to break into the big time. Helen Parrish plays the band's vocalist.
The Spider Woman Strikes Back is a 1946 American horror film starring Gale Sondergaard, with a running time of 59 minutes. Despite the similar title and role played by Sondergaard, the film is not a sequel to the Sherlock Holmes film, The Spider Woman. In The Spider Woman, Sondergaard's character is named Adrea Spedding. This time it is Zenobia Dollard.
Mystery Ship is a 1941 American spy thriller film directed by Lew Landers and starring Paul Kelly, Lola Lane and Larry Parks. It was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures.
Zanzibar is a 1940 American adventure film directed by Harold Schuster and starring James Craig, Lola Lane and Eduardo Ciannelli.
The Leather Pushers is a 1940 American comedy action film directed by John Rawlins and starring Andy Devine, Richard Arlen and Astrid Allwyn. It was part of the Aces of Action series with the two stars.
Lola Lane was an American actress and one of the Lane Sisters with her sisters Leota, Rosemary, and Priscilla Lane. She appeared on Broadway and in films from the 1920s to 1940s.