''The Criminal Code'' is a 1931 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

romantic

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film directed by

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...

and starring

Walter Huston Walter Thomas Huston ( ; April 6, 1883 or 1884 – April 7, 1950) was a Canadian actor and singer. Huston won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in '' The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'', directed by his son John Huston. He ...

and

Phillips Holmes Phillips Raymond Holmes (July 22, 1907 – August 12, 1942) was an American actor. For his contributions to the film industry, he was posthumously given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Early life, education and career Born in ...

. The screenplay, based on a 1929 play of the same name by

Martin Flavin Martin Archer Flavin (November 2, 1883 – December 27, 1967) was an American playwright and novelist. His novel '' Journey in the Dark'' received both the Harper Prize for 1943 and a Pulitzer Prize for 1944. His play ''The Criminal Code'' was pr ...

, was written by Fred Niblo Jr. and

Seton I. Miller Seton Ingersoll Miller (May 3, 1902 – March 29, 1974) was an American screenwriter and producer. During his career, he worked with film directors such as Howard Hawks and Michael Curtiz. Miller received two Oscar nominations and won once f ...

, who were nominated for Best Adaptation at the

4th Academy Awards The 4th Academy Awards were held on November 10, 1931, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Ac ...

but the award went to

Howard Estabrook Howard Estabrook (born Howard Bolles, July 11, 1884 – July 16, 1978) was an American actor, film director and producer, and screenwriter. Biography Born Howard Bolles in Detroit, Michigan, Howard Estabrook began his career in 1904 as a stag ...

for Cimarron. The film is the first of three

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

s of the play released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

. It was followed by ''

Penitentiary A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state, usually ...

'' (1938) and ''

Convicted In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by jud ...

'' (1950).

Plot

Six years of hard labor in the prison

jute mill A jute mill is a factory for processing jute. There is evidence of jute fibre extraction dating back to the Han dynasty, with a fragment of jute paper being discovered in Dunhuang, in the Gansu Province. The first known mechanical jute mills are b ...

has taken its toll on young Graham, convicted of manslaughter after a drunken brawl. The penitentiary's

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

and

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

recommends that he be offered a change of duties before psychological damage become irreversible. When the warden recalls that it was he, as district attorney, that helped put him behind bars, he makes him his valet. Graham enjoys the change, especially the company of the warden's pretty young daughter, Mary. One of Graham's cellmates tries to escape with two others, but one of them is a

stool pigeon An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...

and inadvertently gives away the plan. The guards shoot dead one escapee. Ned Galloway, Graham's other cellmate, vows to avenge this death, planning to murder the informer and warning Graham to stay away from him. However, Graham walks in on the crime. Despite finding him with the body, the warden believes that Graham is not the murderer but knows who is. Promising him parole, the warden demands the name of the killer. Graham remains loyal to the Prisoner's

Code of silence A code of silence is a condition in effect when a person opts to withhold what is believed to be vital or important information voluntarily or involuntarily. The code of silence is usually followed because of threat of force or danger to onese ...

so the warden sends him to " the hole", hoping it will change his mind. Mary returns from a trip and is shocked when she finds out Graham has been punished. She proclaims her love for him and urges his release. The warden promises to do so but meanwhile Captain Gleason is putting pressure on Graham to confess. Galloway is grateful that Graham has stayed true and arranges to be sent to the hole and protect him by killing Gleason, for whom he had a longstanding grudge.

Cast

as Mark Brady *

as Robert Graham *

Constance Cummings Constance Cummings CBE (May 15, 1910 – November 23, 2005) was an American-British actress with a career spanning over 50 years. Early life Cummings was born on 15 May 1910 in Seattle, Washington, the only daughter and younger child of Kate ...

as Mary Brady *

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...

as Ned Galloway *

DeWitt Jennings DeWitt Clarke Jennings (June 21, 1871 – March 1, 1937) was an American film and stage actor. He appeared in 17 Broadway plays between 1906 and 1920, and in more than 150 films between 1915 and 1937. Biography He was born in Cameron, Miss ...

as Yard Captain Gleason * Mary Doran as Gertrude Williams *

Ethel Wales Ethel Wales (April 4, 1878 – February 15, 1952) was an American actress who appeared in more than 130 films during her 30-year career. Biography Born in 1878 in Passaic, New Jersey, Wales graduated from "Wisconsin university". Wales had ...

as Katie Ryan * Clark Marshall as Runch *

Arthur Hoyt Arthur Hoyt (March 19, 1874 – January 4, 1953) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 275 films in his 34-year film career, about a third of them silent films. Career Born in Georgetown, Colorado, in 1874, Hoyt ma ...

as Leonard Nettleford *

John St. Polis John M. St. Polis (born John Marie Sainpolis; November 24, 1873 – October 8, 1946) was an American actor. Biography St. Polis was born John Marie Sainpolis in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Jean Marie Sainpolis and Marie Catherine Bor ...

as Dr Rinewulf *

Paul Porcasi Paul Porcasi (1 January 1879 – 8 August 1946) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than 140 films from 1917 to 1945. Biography Porcasi sang with the Metropolitan Opera. One of his early non-operatic productions was ''The Country B ...

as Tony Spelvin *

Otto Hoffman Otto F. Hoffman (May 2, 1879 – June 23, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in almost 200 films between 1915 and 1944. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California, from lung cancer. Hoffman's Broadway credi ...

as Jim Fales * John Sheehan as McManus

Production

''The Criminal Code'', based on a successful play by

. ''The Criminal Code'' was adapted for the screen by

and Fred Niblo, Jr., son of director

Fred Niblo Fred Niblo (born Frederick Liedtke; January 6, 1874 – November 11, 1948) was an American pioneer film actor, director and producer. Biography He was born Frederick Liedtke (several sources give "Frederico Nobile", apparently erroneously) in Yo ...

. The original play by

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

native author and playwright Martin Flavin was produced on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in 1929 at the Belasco Theater.

, who delivered a strong performance in the stage play, is recast here as Galloway. This film accelerated his career: though appearing in dozens of pictures during the 1920s, he had mostly been cast in bit parts. ''The Criminal Code'' was the first of Hawks' four collaborations with

Harry Cohn Harry Cohn (July 23, 1891 – February 27, 1958) was a co-founder, president, and production director of Columbia Pictures, Columbia Pictures Corporation. Life and career Cohn was born to a working-class Jewish family in New York City. His fath ...

, the others being ''

Twentieth Century The 20th century began on 1 January 1901 (MCMI), and ended on 31 December 2000 (MM). It was the 10th and last century in the 2nd millennium and was marked by new models of scientific understanding, unprecedented scopes of warfare, new modes of ...

'' (1934), ''

Only Angels Have Wings ''Only Angels Have Wings'' is a 1939 American adventure romantic drama film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur, and is based on a story written by Hawks. Its plot follows the manager of an air freight company in a r ...

'' (1939) and ''

His Girl Friday ''His Girl Friday'' is a 1940 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell and featuring Ralph Bellamy and Gene Lockhart. It was released by Columbia Pictures. The plot centers on a newspaper ...

'' (1940). It is Hawks' only picture with Frank Fouce, who produced only five films, all released in 1931. Hawks worked with screenwriter Seton Miller several times in the late 1920s and early 1930s. This is the only occasion he worked with Niblo, Jr. Stock footage from the film was used by Columbia in the following year's ''Behind the Mask'', which also featured Cummings and Karloff, but in different roles.

Analysis

Though an early

talkie A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befo ...

, ''The Criminal Code'' makes a sophisticated use of sound. The intercourse is at times rapid and Hawks uses the emerging technique of overlapping dialogue. Like other prison films of the 1930s, such as ''San Quentin'' (1937) and ''

Each Dawn I Die ''Each Dawn I Die'' is a 1939 gangster film directed by William Keighley and starring James Cagney and George Raft. The plot involves an investigative reporter who is unjustly thrown in jail and befriends a famous gangster. The film was based on ...

'' (1939), ''The Criminal Code'' encouraged its viewers to question the contemporary American legal and penal systems. Hawks exploits the prison genre to illustrate the male friendship and 'group as an organic force' themes often present in his works (cf. ''

'', '' Rio Bravo'', 1959). This is most apparent in the scene in which Brady starts his first day of work as warden, greeted by a prison yard full of men booing him as if they were but one man. The warden (and the camera) peer down on them from the office window. Constance Cummings represents the typical strong and stoic Hawksian woman. She inhabits a masculine world yet prefers to stay and live at the penitentiary.

Adaptations

Radio

''The Criminal Code'' was presented on ''

Philip Morris Playhouse ''Philip Morris Playhouse'' is a 30-minute old-time radio dramatic anthology series.Terrace, Vincent (1981), ''Radio's Golden Years: The Encyclopedia of Radio Programs 1930–1960''. A.S. Barnes & Company, Inc. . P. 214. The program " nerally ...

'' March 2, 1952. The 30-minute adaptation starred

Dane Clark Dane Clark (born Bernhardt Zanvilevitz; February 26, 1912September 11, 1998) was an American character actor who was known for playing, as he labeled himself, "Joe Average." Early life Clark was born Bernhardt Zanvilevitz (later Bernard Zanvill ...

and

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

student Peggy Baskerville.

Foreign-language versions

A Spanish-language version entitled ''El código penal'' was directed by

Phil Rosen Philip E. Rosen (May 8, 1888 – October 22, 1951) was an American film director and cinematographer. He directed more than 140 films between 1915 and 1949. He was born in Malbork, Marienburg, German Empire (now, Malbork, Poland), grew up ...

, which stars

Barry Norton Barry Norton (born Alfredo Carlos Birabén; June 16, 1905 – August 24, 1956) was an Argentine-American actor. He appeared in over 90 films, starting in silent films from 1925 until his death in 1956. He is perhaps best known for his role a ...

, María Alba, and

Carlos Villarías Carlos Villarías (7 July 1892 – 27 April 1976) was a Spanish actor born in Córdoba who died in California, United States. He is best known for his title role in the Dracula (1931), costarring Barry Norton and Lupita Tovar. The film was sho ...

. It had its world premiere in Mexico City on February 19, 1931, followed by its American opening in San Juan, Puerto Rico on March 14, and the New York opening on April 14, 1931. A French version entitled '' Criminel'' was produced in 1932 by Forrester-Parant Productions, and directed by Jack Forrester. It stars

Harry Baur Harry Baur (12 April 1880 – 8 April 1943) was a French actor, famous for his titular role in ''Beethoven's Great Love'' and as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables (1934 film), the 1934 version of ''Les Misérables''. Life Initially a stage actor ...

and

Jean Servais Jean Servais (; 24 September 1910 – 17 February 1976) was a Belgian film and stage actor. He acted in many 20th century French cinema productions, from the 1930s through the early 1970s. He was married to actress Dominique Blanchar (1952 ...

, and made use of certain scenes from the English-language version.

Remakes

remade the picture as ''

'' (1938). It was directed by

John Brahm John Brahm (August 17, 1893 – October 12, 1982) was a German film and television director. His films include ''The Undying Monster'' (1942), ''The Lodger (1944 film), The Lodger'' (1944), ''Hangover Square (film), Hangover Square'' (1945), ''Th ...

and starred Walter Connolly and

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

. The film was remade again by Columbia as ''

'' (1950). It was directed by Henry Levin and starred

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006), known as Glenn Ford, was a Canadian-born American actor. He was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of th ...

and

Broderick Crawford William Broderick Crawford (December 9, 1911 – April 26, 1986) was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Willie Stark in the film ''All the King's Men'' (1949), which earned him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. Of ...

References

External links

* * *
New York Times review
''(January 5, 1931)''
Under the Cover of Darkness: Expressionistic Experimentation in Howard Hawks' ''The Criminal Code''
an article by Christopher Weedman, a
''Senses of Cinema''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Criminal Code, The 1931 films 1931 crime drama films 1930s prison films 1931 romantic drama films American black-and-white films American crime drama films American films based on plays American prison drama films American romantic drama films Columbia Pictures films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Howard Hawks Romantic crime films 1930s American films