The Reckless Hour

Last updated

The Reckless Hour
The Reckless Hour.jpg
Directed by John Francis Dillon
Written by Florence Ryerson
Based onAmbush by Arthur Richman
Starring Dorothy Mackaill
Conrad Nagel
H.B. Warner
Joan Blondell
Cinematography James Van Trees
Edited by Harold Young
Music byDavid Mendoza
Oscar Potoker
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • August 15, 1931 (1931-08-15)
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Reckless Hour is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by John Francis Dillon and starring Dorothy Mackaill, Conrad Nagel, H.B. Warner and Joan Blondell. It was produced and distributed by First National Pictures, which was controlled by Warner Brothers. [1] [2] It was based on the play Ambush by Arthur Richman.

Contents

Plot

In New York City, a young model is swept off her feet by a debonair, handsome young man. Unfortunately for her, he didn't want to get married but had been stringing her along. When she realizes he doesn't want her, she will not force him even though she learned she was pregnant. She becomes bitter and angry at all men, until she meets a gentle and kind artist who tries to show her that her life can be better than it is.

Cast

Preservation status

The film is preserved at the Library of Congress. [3]

Home media

It was released on Warner Archive DVD with another Mackaill film, Bright Lights .

Related Research Articles

<i>The Divorcee</i> 1930 film

The Divorcee is a 1930 American pre-Code drama film written by Nick Grindé, John Meehan, and Zelda Sears, based on the 1929 novel Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, and won Best Actress for its star Norma Shearer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Blondell</span> American actress (1906–1979)

Rose Joan Blondell was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years.

<i>Blonde Crazy</i> 1931 film

Blonde Crazy is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic comedy-drama film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Noel Francis, Louis Calhern, Ray Milland, and Guy Kibbee. The film is notable for one of Cagney's lines, a phrase often repeated by celebrity impersonators: "That dirty, double-crossin' rat!"

<i>Night Nurse</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Night Nurse is a 1931 American pre-Code crime drama mystery film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. directed by William A. Wellman, and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Ben Lyon, Joan Blondell and Clark Gable. The film is based on the 1930 novel of the same name by Dora Macy, the pen name of Grace Perkins. The film was considered risqué at the time of its release, particularly the scenes where Stanwyck and Blondell are shown in their lingerie. Clark Gable portrays a viciously violent chauffeur who is gradually starving two little girls to death after having already purposely run over their slightly older sister with a limousine, killing her.

<i>Bright Lights</i> (1930 film) 1930 film

Bright Lights, later retitled Adventures in Africa, is a 1930 American pre-Code musical comedy film produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. It premiered in Los Angeles in July 1930 but was edited and rereleased in early 1931. Although it was photographed entirely in Technicolor, the only surviving print is in black and white. The film stars Dorothy Mackaill, Frank Fay, Noah Beery and Frank McHugh. It also features the screen debut of John Carradine, who appears in a small, uncredited role.

<i>The Office Wife</i> (1930 film) 1930 film

The Office Wife is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic drama film directed by Lloyd Bacon, released by Warner Bros., and based on the novel of the same name by Faith Baldwin. It was the talkie debut for Joan Blondell who would become one of the major Warner Bros. stars for the following nine years.

<i>Gods Gift to Women</i> 1931 film

God's Gift to Women is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic musical comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Frank Fay, Laura LaPlante, and Joan Blondell. The film, based on the play The Devil Was Sick by Jane Hinton, was originally completed as a musical film; however, because of audience dislike for musicals at that time, all the songs were cut in American prints. The full film was released intact in other countries, where there was no such decline in popularity.

<i>Blondie Johnson</i> 1933 film

Blondie Johnson is a 1933 American pre-Code gangster film directed by Ray Enright and starring Joan Blondell and Chester Morris. It was produced by Warner Bros.

<i>Other Mens Women</i> 1931 film

Other Men's Women is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by William A. Wellman and written by Maude Fulton. The film stars Grant Withers, Regis Toomey, Mary Astor, James Cagney and Joan Blondell. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros.

<i>Safe in Hell</i> 1931 film

Safe in Hell is a 1931 American pre-Code melodrama directed by William A. Wellman and starring Dorothy Mackaill and Donald Cook, with featured performances by Morgan Wallace, Ralf Harolde, Nina Mae McKinney, Clarence Muse, and Noble Johnson. The screenplay by Joseph Jackson and Maude Fulton is based on a play by Houston Branch.

<i>Sinners Holiday</i> 1930 film

Sinners' Holiday is a 1930 American pre-Code all-talking crime drama film starring Grant Withers and Evalyn Knapp, and featuring James Cagney, Lucille La Verne, and Joan Blondell. It is based on the 1930 play Penny Arcade by Marie Baumer. Both Cagney and Blondell reprised the roles they played in the original Broadway production.

<i>The Flirting Widow</i> 1930 film

The Flirting Widow is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Dorothy Mackaill, Basil Rathbone, Leila Hyams and Claude Gillingwater. It was produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros.

<i>The Great Divide</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

The Great Divide is a 1929 American pre-Code Western film directed by Reginald Barker and starring Dorothy Mackaill. Released in both silent and sound versions, it was produced and distributed by First National Pictures. The film is a remake of The Great Divide, made at MGM in 1925 and also directed by Barker. There was another remake in 1931 as the full sound film Woman Hungry. All three films are based on the 1906 Broadway play The Great Divide by William Vaughn Moody.

<i>Central Park</i> (1932 film) 1932 film

Central Park is a 1932 United States pre-Code feature-length crime drama film directed by John G. Adolfi. This rarely seen film stars Wallace Ford and Joan Blondell and exists in a nitrate print at the Library of Congress. It has seen a DVD release by Teakwood Video.

<i>Party Husband</i> 1931 film

Party Husband is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film produced by First National Pictures and released through their parent company Warner Bros. It was directed by Clarence G. Badger and stars Dorothy Mackaill. It is preserved at the Library of Congress.

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

Illicit is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Archie Mayo and starring Barbara Stanwyck, James Rennie, Ricardo Cortez, and Natalie Moorhead. Based on a play by Edith Fitzgerald and Robert Riskin, the film is about a young couple living together out of wedlock because the woman does not believe in marriage. When they finally get married, both become unfaithful to each other. Illicit was produced and distributed by Warner Bros.

My Past is a 1931 American Pre-Code drama film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Bebe Daniels. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and was also known under the alternative title The Ex-Mistress.

<i>Big Business Girl</i> 1931 film by William A. Seiter

Big Business Girl is a 1931 American pre-Code First National sound comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Loretta Young, then eighteen years old. It was released theatrically through First National's parent company Warner Bros.

<i>Classified</i> (1925 film) 1925 film by Alfred Santell

Classified is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Alfred Santell and produced by and starring Corinne Griffith. It was based on a novel by Edna Ferber and distributed through First National Pictures.

<i>His Captive Woman</i> 1929 film

His Captive Woman is a 1929 American sound part-talkie part-talking drama film directed by George Fitzmaurice and starring Milton Sills and Dorothy Mackaill. In addition to sequences with audible dialogue or talking sequences, the film features a synchronized musical score and sound effects along with English intertitles. The soundtrack was recorded using the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system. This film is "based on the short story "Changeling" by Donn Byrne in Changeling and Other Stories ." It was produced and distributed by First National Pictures which was already a subsidiary of the Warner Brothers studios. Both Mackaill and Sills as well as director Fitzmaurice had worked together on the previous year's The Barker.

References

  1. The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1931-40 published by The American Film Institute, c. 1993
  2. The AFI Catalog of Feature Films 1893-1993:The Reckless Hour
  3. Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress (<-book title) p.150 by The American Film Institute, c.1978