''The Widow from Chicago'' is a 1930 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 ...

crime drama 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 comb ...

film directed by Edward F. Cline and starring

Alice White Alice White (born Alva White; August 25, 1904Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. , pg. 1228. – February 19, 1983) was an American film ac ...

Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...

, Neil Hamilton, and

Frank McHugh Francis Curry McHugh (May 23, 1898 – September 11, 1981) was an American stage, radio, film and television actor. Early years Born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, of Irish descent, McHugh came from a theatrical family. His parents, Edward A ...

. It was released by

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Planned as a full-scale musical, the songs were cut from the film before release due to the public's aversion for musicals.

Plot

Two detectives, Finnegan and Jimmy, board a train in pursuit of a gangster, “swifty” Dorgan. Swifty is traveling to New York to work for Dominic, a notorious gangster who owns a nightclub. Swifty jumps off the train near a bridge crossing and since no trace of him can be found the police believe him to be dead. Jimmy assumes Swifty's identity and joins Dominic's gang but is quickly discovered to be an imposter and shot. Determined to find out who killed her brother, Polly poses as Swifty's widow and attempts to get a job at Dominic's nightclub. Swifty eventually shows up and Polly is almost exposed as an imposter. Swifty, however, is eventually persuaded by Polly and he promises not to tell Dominic the truth. Polly and Swifty fall in love. During a hold-up, Polly protects Swifty by shooting at a cop in the back. Swifty begins to think of reforming due to Polly's influence. Polly eventually gets Dominic to confess that he shot her brother by pretending to be interested in him. She leaves the phone off the hook while the police listen in on his confession. When the police show up, Dominic realizes what Polly has done and uses her as a shield against the police but Swifty manages to save her and Dominic is forced to surrender to the police.

Cast

as Polly *

as Dominic * Neil Hamilton as 'Swifty' Dorgan *

as Slug * Lee Shumway as Johnston *

Brooks Benedict Brooks Benedict (born Harold J. Mann, February 6, 1896 – January 1, 1968) was an American actor of the silent and sound film eras, when he played supporting and utility roles in over 300 films, mostly uncredited. Life He was born to Alice Jul ...

as Mullins * John Elliott as Lieutenant Finnegan *

E.H. Calvert Elisha Helm Calvert (born William Helm; June 27, 1863 – October 5, 1941) was an American film actor and director. He appeared in more than 170 films, as well as directing a further 60 titles. Biography He was born William Helm in Madison, Wi ...

as Davis *

Betty Francisco Betty Francisco (born Elizabeth Barton; September 26, 1900 – November 25, 1950) was an American silent-film actress, appearing primarily in supporting roles. Her sisters Evelyn and Margaret were also actresses. Early years Francisco w ...

as Helen * Harold Goodwin as Jimmy

Preservation

A 62 minute version of the film survives and has been broadcast on television and cable. Due to the public's backlash against musicals late in 1930, all of the musical numbers were cut from the film to make it more marketable. These cuts accounts for the short length of the film. The film was advertised as a gangster picture, a genre which had become very popular with the public. The complete musical film was released intact in countries outside the United States where a backlash against musicals never occurred. It is unknown whether a copy of this full version still exists.

Preservation status

A print is preserved in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

collection

Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation The National Audiovisual Conservation Center, also known as the Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation, is the Library of Congress's audiovisual archive located inside Mount Pony in Culpeper, Virginia. Establishment From 1969 to 1988, th ...

.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'' (<-book title) p.209 c.1978 the American Film Institute

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Widow from Chicago, The 1930 films Films directed by Edward F. Cline American black-and-white films American crime drama films 1930 crime drama films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films