''Behind Stone Walls'' is a 1932 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 ...

film directed by Frank R. Strayer and starring Edward J. Nugent,

Priscilla Dean Priscilla Dean (November 25, 1896 – December 27, 1987) was an American actress popular in silent film as well as in theatre, with a career spanning two decades. Career Dean made her film debut at the age of fourteen in one-reelers for Biograph ...

and Ann Christy.Pitts p.238

Plot

Esther Clay, the wife of district attorney John Manson Clay, is carrying on an affair with her husband's friend Jack Keene. When Keene announces he wants to end it, she grabs a gun and shoots him. Her stepson Bob comes upon the scene and helps her escape, but Bob is discovered with the gun and body by Keene's valet, Drugget, who has Bob arrested. His father offers to resign as DA and defend him. Bob refuses to cooperate, so his father takes over the prosecution, sending him to jail. Drugget, who knows the truth, starts blackmailing Esther. Bob's girlfriend Peg Harper, believes in his innocence and works to get the evidence to clear Bob. She finds the truth and asks John to come to Esther's apartment to discover it. He confronts Esther and she threatens him with a gun. She leads him to another room and there's a shot. Esther staggers in, mortally wounded. John is charged with murder. Bob has been released from prison and represents him, showing it was self-defense.

Cast

* Edward J. Nugent as Bob Clay *

as Esther Clay, DA John Manson Clay's cheating wife * Ann Christy as Peg Harper, Bob's girlfriend * Robert Elliott as District Attorney John Manson Clay * Robert Ellis as Jack Keene *

George Chesebro George Newell Chesebro (July 29, 1888 – May 28, 1959) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 400 films between 1915 and 1954. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and died in Los Angeles, California. Partial filmography * ''Mi ...

as Druggett, the blackmailing butler *

Allan Cavan Allan Cavan (March 25, 1880 – January 19, 1941) was an American film actor. He appeared in 145 films between 1917 and 1941. Cavan was the son of Mrs. Averila Cavan, and he had a brother, Carl. He began working on films with Sam Goldwyn S ...

as Prosecuting Attorney * Harold Nelson as Judge * Stanley Mack as Reporter at Trial * Vance Carroll as Reporter at Trial * Frank Meredith as Court Guard

References

Bibliography

* Pitts, Michael R. ''Poverty Row Studios, 1929–1940: An Illustrated History of 55 Independent Film Companies, with a Filmography for Each''. McFarland & Company, 2005.

External links

* * 1932 films American crime drama films 1932 romantic drama films American black-and-white films Films directed by Frank R. Strayer American romantic drama films 1932 crime drama films Mayfair Pictures films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language crime drama films English-language romantic drama films {{1930s-crime-drama-film-stub