George Raft in Invisible Stripes trailer

Humphrey Bogart in Invisible Stripes trailer

William Holden and George Raft in Invisible Stripes trailer

''Invisible Stripes'' is a 1939 Warner Bros.

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

starring

George Raft George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...

as a gangster unable to go straight after returning home from prison. The movie was directed by

Lloyd Bacon Lloyd Francis Bacon (December 4, 1889 – November 15, 1955) was an American screen, stage and vaudeville actor and film director. As a director he made films in virtually all genres, including westerns, musicals, comedies, gangster films, an ...

and also features

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

Jane Bryan Jane Bryan (born Jane O'Brien, June 11, 1918 – April 8, 2009) was an American actress groomed by Warner Bros. to become one of its leading ladies but she chose to retire from acting in 1940 at age 22, after which she became a philanthropist an ...

and

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

. The screenplay by Warren Duff was based on the novel of the same name by Warden Lewis E. Lawes, a fervent crusader for prison reform, as adapted by Jonathan Finn.

Plot

Cliff Taylor is an ex-con who wants to go straight, but since being released from prison on parole, he finds it hard to find and hold a job due to his criminal past. Cliff's younger brother Tim is worried and increasingly disillusioned because he cannot afford to marry his girlfriend Peggy and fears he will not be able to honestly find a position for himself in the world. Afraid that Tim might end up leading a life of crime like himself, Cliff decides to help him find the money to settle down. He tells his family he has found a job as a salesman, but in reality he reunites with fellow ex-convict Charles Martin and Martin's gang. They organize a number of robberies. With the money he gets from his criminal activities, Cliff is able to buy a garage for his brother, who is now able to get married. His mission completed, Cliff decides to quit the gang. After a failed robbery in which people are killed, a wounded Martin and his pals hide in Tim's garage and force the young man to help them by telling him Cliff was part of the botched robbery. The police get wind that the gang was in the garage and arrest Tim as an accomplice. Cliff manages to swing a deal for his brother that will see him free of all charges, but he must identify the robbers and testify against them. Ahead of the police, Cliff goes to see Martin and tells him he must escape to avoid arrest and likely execution. However, Martin's pals, who have been shadowing Cliff since he quit the gang, see the two men together and move to prevent their escape. A shoot-out ensues, the police eventually become involved. Cliff and Martin are both killed. Later, Tim and Peggy admire the new sign over the garage advertising it as the Taylor Bros. Garage, and reflect on Cliff's sacrifice and how he will be considered a "silent partner".

Cast

Cast notes: * Leo Gorcey, who would later become known for playing "Slip Mahoney" in the Bowery Boys series of films, has a small part as the head stockroom boy.

Production

The film was originally set to star

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...

and

John Garfield John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle, March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...

. Raft then replaced Garfield. Holden ended up replacing Cagney. (The source for this information might have mistakenly reversed the names.) Raft had just signed a long-term contract with Warner Bros. During a fight scene, William Holden accidentally hit George Raft and caused a gash. Raft and Bogart made another film together the following year,

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He wa ...

's smash hit '' They Drive by Night'', again starring Raft with Bogart billed fourth (under Raft,

Ann Sheridan Clara Lou "Ann" Sheridan (February 21, 1915 – January 21, 1967) 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 Ida Lupino) in a supporting role. Bogart and Holden worked together again fifteen years later in '' Sabrina'', with Holden billed under Bogart and

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen ...

Reception

The film was only a minor success.

Critical reaction

Time Out Film Guide Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to c ...

'' calls ''Invisible Stripes'' "A thoroughly predictable tale of the tribulations of an ex-con." A ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' review from 1940 commented about the unusual lack of prison scenes in the movie. "Let us hasten in all gratitude to add that "Invisible Stripes" is a prison picture in which the stripes are much less visible than usual, most of the action being paroled to the outside in the capable custody of George Raft, Jane Bryan, William Holden and Humphrey Bogart. There are no jute mill scenes, no bullying guards, no big prison break sequence; in fact, we don't understand why they've suddenly commuted our sentence from the customary duration of the picture to a brief prison prelude, a mere graduating exercise at the beginning: good behavior, maybe."

Notes

External links

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Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{Lloyd Bacon 1939 films 1939 crime drama films American black-and-white films American crime drama films 1930s English-language films Films based on American novels Films directed by Lloyd Bacon Films scored by Heinz Roemheld Films set in New York City First National Pictures films 1930s prison films Warner Bros. films American prison drama films 1930s American films