''Kick In'' is a 1931 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

produced by

Famous Players-Lasky Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and ...

and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film, based on the 1914 Broadway play by

Willard Mack Willard Mack (September 18, 1873 – November 18, 1934) was a Canadian-American actor, director, and playwright. Life and career He was born Charles Willard McLaughlin in Morrisburg, Ontario. At an early age his family moved to Brooklyn, New ...

which had starred

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

, was directed by Richard Wallace and starred the legendary

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

in her last film for Paramount Pictures. The movie was filmed twice in the silent era: a version filmed in 1917 by Pathé and a 1922 version released by Paramount. The 1922 film, lost for over 80 years, was discovered to have been in the

Gosfilmofond Gosfilmofond is a state film archive in Russia. It is the main film archive of the Russian Federation and a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). It is a state cultural institution — curator of films collection and oth ...

archive in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

and returned to the U.S. in 2010. The 1931 version of ''Kick In'' is currently controlled by

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

, who own or control all Paramount films made between 1929 and 1949. The 1931 ''Kick In'' has (as of 2011) never been broadcast on television.The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: ''Kick In''
/ref>

Cast

as Molly Hewes *

Regis Toomey John Francis Regis Toomey (August 13, 1898October 12, 1991) was an American film and television actor. Early life Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey, and attended Peabody High ...

as Chick Hewes *

Wynne Gibson Winifred Elaine "Wynne" Gibson (July 3, 1898 – May 15, 1987) was an American actress of the 1930s. Early years Gibson was born in New York City, the daughter of Frank W. Gibson and Elaine Coffin Gibson. Her father was an efficiency expert, and ...

as Myrtle Sylvester *

Juliette Compton Juliette Compton (May 3, 1899 – March 19, 1989) was an American actress whose career began in the silent film era and concluded with ''That Hamilton Woman'' in 1941. Career Compton was born in Columbus, Georgia, on May 3, 1899. She was a ...

as Piccadilly Bessie *

Leslie Fenton Leslie Fenton (12 March 1902 – 25 March 1978) was an English actor and film director. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1923 and 1945. Early life Fenton was born on 12 March 1902 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England. He emigrated to ...

as Charlie * James Murray as Benny LaMarr *

Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...

as Police Commissioner Harvey *

Paul Hurst Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town. As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, b ...

as Detective Whip Fogarty *

Wade Boteler Wade Boteler (October 3, 1888 – May 7, 1943) was an American film actor and writer. He appeared in more than 430 films between 1919 and 1943. Biography He was born in Santa Ana, California, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart ...

as Detective Jack Davis ''uncredited'' *

Edward LeSaint Edward LeSaint (January 1, 1871 – September 10, 1940) was an American stage and film actor and director whose career began in the silent era. He acted in over 300 films and directed more than 90. He was sometimes credited as Edward J. Le Sa ...

as Purnell, Chick's Boss * J. Carrol Naish as Sam *

Ben Taggart Ben Taggart (April 5, 1889 – May 17, 1947) was an American actor. Taggart's stage experience began in Seattle, and he went on to play leading roles in Washington, Portland, San Francisco, Trenton, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia. He was described ...

as Detective Johnson *Phil Tead as Burke, Reporter

Adaptation

A one-hour radio adaptation was presented on ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

'' on April 6, 1936, featuring

Edmund Lowe Edmund Dantes Lowe (March 3, 1890 – April 21, 1971) was an American actor. His formative experience began in vaudeville and silent film. Biography Lowe was born in San Jose, California. His father was a local judge. His childhood home was a ...

and

Ann Sothern Ann Sothern (born Harriette Arlene Lake; January 22, 1909 – March 15, 2001) was an American actress who worked on stage, radio, film, and television, in a career that spanned nearly six decades. Sothern began her career in the late 1920 ...

. It was the show's one-hundredth broadcast.

References

External links

* *
Poster for ''Kick In''
1931 films American films based on plays Films directed by Richard Wallace Famous Players-Lasky films 1931 drama films Remakes of American films Sound film remakes of silent films American black-and-white films American drama films Paramount Pictures films 1930s American films 1930s English-language films {{1930s-drama-film-stub