Torrid Zone

Last updated
Torrid Zone
Poster - Torrid Zone 01.jpg
Theatrical poster
Directed by William Keighley
Written byRichard Macauley
Jerry Wald
Produced by William Cagney (uncredited)
Starring James Cagney
Ann Sheridan
Pat O'Brien
Cinematography James Wong Howe
Edited by Jack Killifer
Music by Adolph Deutsch
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • May 25, 1940 (1940-05-25)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Torrid Zone is a 1940 adventure film directed by William Keighley and starring James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, and Pat O'Brien. [1] [2] The supporting cast features Andy Devine and George Reeves.

Contents

Plot

Steve Case has to deal with trouble at his tropical fruit company's Central American banana plantation. A revolutionary, Rosario La Mata, is stirring up unrest among the workers, and the only man who can handle the situation, foreman Nick Butler, has just quit. Steve manages to persuade Nick to stick around (for a big bonus). Adding to the complications is Lee Donley, a woman whom Steve has ordered out of the region for causing a different kind of trouble among the men.

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Cagney</span> American actor and dancer (1899–1986)

James Francis Cagney Jr. was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances.

<i>The Front Page</i> 1928 Broadway comedy

The Front Page is a Broadway comedy about newspaper reporters on the police beat. Written by former Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, it was first produced in 1928 and has been adapted for the cinema several times. The play's copyright is set to expire in 2024 in the United States, and subsequently the play will enter the public domain.

<i>Angels with Dirty Faces</i> 1938 American gangster film

Angels with Dirty Faces is a 1938 American crime drama film directed by Michael Curtiz for Warner Brothers. It stars James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, The Dead End Kids, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, and George Bancroft. The screenplay was written by John Wexley and Warren Duff based on the story by Rowland Brown. The film chronicles the relationship of the notorious gangster William "Rocky" Sullivan with his childhood friend and now-priest Father Jerry Connolly. After spending three years in prison for armed robbery, Rocky intends to collect $100,000 from his co-conspirator Jim Frazier, a mob lawyer. All the while, Father Connolly tries to prevent a group of youths from falling under Rocky's influence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Devine</span> American actor (1905–1977)

Andrew Vabre Devine was an American character actor known for his distinctive raspy, crackly voice and roles in Western films, including his role as Cookie, the sidekick of Roy Rogers in 10 feature films. He also appeared alongside John Wayne in films such as Stagecoach (1939), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and How the West Was Won. He is also remembered as Jingles on the TV series The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok from 1951 to 1958, as Danny McGuire in A Star Is Born (1937), and as the voice of Friar Tuck in the Disney Animation Studio film Robin Hood (1973).

The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney films Pinocchio and Fantasia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Sheridan</span> American actress and singer (1915–1967)

Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan was an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in the films San Quentin (1937) with Humphrey Bogart, Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) with James Cagney and Bogart, They Drive by Night (1940) with George Raft and Bogart, City for Conquest (1940) with Cagney and Elia Kazan, The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) with Bette Davis, Kings Row (1942) with Ronald Reagan, Nora Prentiss (1947), and I Was a Male War Bride (1949) with Cary Grant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat O'Brien (actor)</span> American actor (1899–1983)

William Joseph Patrick O'Brien was an American film actor with more than 100 screen credits. Of Irish descent, he often played Irish and Irish-American characters and was referred to as "Hollywood's Irishman in Residence" in the press. One of the best-known screen actors of the 1930s and 1940s, he played priests, cops, military figures, pilots, and reporters. He is especially well-remembered for his roles in Knute Rockne, All American (1940), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), and Some Like It Hot (1959). He was frequently paired onscreen with Hollywood star James Cagney. O'Brien also appeared on stage and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Carson</span> Canadian-American actor (1910–1963)

John Elmer Carson, known as Jack Carson, was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including The Strawberry Blonde (1941) with James Cagney and Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) with Cary Grant. He appeared in such dramas as Mildred Pierce (1945), A Star is Born (1954), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). He worked for RKO and MGM, but most of his notable work was for Warner Bros.

The following is a list of players, past and present, who have appeared in at least one competitive game for the Boston Red Sox American League franchise, known previously as the Boston Americans (1901–07).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lottie Williams</span> American actress (1874–1962)

Lottie Williams was an American character actress whose career spanned both the silent and sound film eras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inkpot Award</span> Comics award

The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual convention, the San Diego Comic-Con. Also eligible are members of Comic-Con's Board of Directors and convention committee.

The Atlanta Braves are a National League ballclub (1966–present) previously located in Milwaukee 1953–1965 and in Boston 1871–1952. The Boston teams are sometimes called Boston Red Stockings 1871–1876, Boston Red Caps 1876–1882, Boston Beaneaters 1883–1906, Boston Doves 1907–1910, Boston Rustlers 1911, Boston Braves 1912–1935, Boston Bees 1936–1940, Boston Braves 1941–1952. Here is a list of all their players in regular season games beginning 1871.

This is a list of players, both past and present, who appeared in at least one game for the New York Giants or the San Francisco Giants.

<i>City for Conquest</i> 1940 film by Anatole Litvak

City for Conquest is a 1940 American epic drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and starring James Cagney, Ann Sheridan and Arthur Kennedy. The picture is based on the 1936 novel of the same name by Aben Kandel. The supporting cast features Elia Kazan, Anthony Quinn, Donald Crisp, Frank McHugh, Frank Craven and Lee Patrick.

<i>The Crowd Roars</i> (1932 film) 1932 American film

The Crowd Roars is a 1932 American pre-Code film directed by Howard Hawks starring James Cagney and featuring Joan Blondell, Ann Dvorak, Eric Linden, Guy Kibbee, and Frank McHugh. A film of the same name was made in 1938 with a different story, starring Robert Taylor.

<i>Castle on the Hudson</i> 1940 film by Anatole Litvak

Castle on the Hudson is a 1940 American film noir drama directed by Anatole Litvak and starring John Garfield, Ann Sheridan, and Pat O'Brien. A thief is sent to Sing Sing Prison, where he is befriended by the reform-minded warden. The film was based on the book Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing, written by Lewis E. Lawes, on whom the warden in the film was based. Castle on the Hudson was actually a remake of an earlier Spencer Tracy prison film, 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932), also based on Lawes's book.

<i>His Butlers Sister</i> 1943 film

His Butler's Sister is a 1943 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Deanna Durbin. The supporting cast includes Franchot Tone, Pat O'Brien, Akim Tamiroff, Evelyn Ankers and Hans Conried. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound Recording.

<i>Boy Meets Girl</i> (1938 film) 1938 film

Boy Meets Girl is a 1938 American screwball comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring James Cagney and Pat O'Brien. The supporting cast features Marie Wilson, Ralph Bellamy, Frank McHugh, Dick Foran and Ronald Reagan. The screenplay by Bella and Sam Spewack is based on their 1935 stage play of the same name, which ran for 669 performances on Broadway. The two zany screenwriters played by Cagney and O'Brien were based on Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, while Ralph Bellamy's part as the producer was based on Darryl Zanuck of 20th Century Fox.

<i>Town Tamer</i> 1965 film by Lesley Selander

Town Tamer is a 1965 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander, written by Frank Gruber, and starring Dana Andrews, Terry Moore, Pat O'Brien, Lon Chaney Jr., Bruce Cabot, Lyle Bettger and Richard Arlen. It was released on July 7, 1965, by Paramount Pictures.

<i>Indianapolis Speedway</i> (film) 1939 film by Lloyd Bacon

Indianapolis Speedway is a 1939 American drama film directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Sig Herzig and Wally Kline.The film stars Ann Sheridan, Pat O'Brien, John Payne, Gale Page, Frank McHugh and Grace Stafford. The film was released by Warner Bros. on August 5, 1939.

References

  1. Variety film review; May 8, 1940, page 12.
  2. Harrison's Reports film review; May 18, 1940, page 78.