''Delinquent Parents'' is a 1938 American

crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

directed by

Nick Grinde Nick Grinde (January 12, 1893 – June 19, 1979) was an American film director and screenwriter. He directed 57 films between 1928 and 1945. Biography Born Harry A. Grinde in Madison, Wisconsin but nicknamed "Nick", Grinde graduated from th ...

and written by Nicholas T. Barrows and Robert St. Claire. The film stars Doris Weston, Maurice Murphy,

Helen MacKellar Helen MacKellar (February 13, 1895 – August 5, 1966) was an American actress. Born in Detroit, Michigan, MacKeller's ancestry was Scottish and French-Canadian. She studied acting in Chicago and Spokane. Her stage debut came in Spokane in ''Th ...

, Terry Walker,

Richard Tucker Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States. Early life Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticker ...

and Charlotte Treadway. The film was released on July 15, 1938, by Progressive Pictures.

Plot

In the closing days of the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Edith Ellis secretly marries Charles Wharton Jr., a young army lieutenant from an influential family. The

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed in a railroad car, in the Compiègne Forest near the town of Compiègne, that ended fighting on land, at sea, and in the air in World War I between the Entente and their las ...

occurs just prior to her husband's sailing to France, his influential family successfully seeks to have their weakling son's marriage

annulled Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almo ...

. Edith is injured in an automobile accident with Edith and her family keeping her pregnancy secret, putting her child up for adoption. Edith's daughter is adopted and raised as Carol Caldwell, but in a fit of rage her adoption is revealed to her circle of friends by her former friend. Shamed by not knowing she was adopted, Carol cruelly turns her back on her adopted parents and works as a nightclub singer where she attracts a young crowd to the establishment. Carol's adopted parents turn to their friend Edith Ellis, now an unmarried Judge who doesn't know that Carol is really her daughter. More complications ensue when Carol's nightclub is secretly owned by a major criminal and Carol is threatened with being charged with contributing to the delinquency of minors.

Cast

*Doris Weston as Carol Wharton Caldwell * Maurice Murphy as Bruce Jefferson *

as Judge Edith Ellis *Terry Walker as Cousin Betty *

as Harry Jefferson *Charlotte Treadway as Mrs. Harry Jefferson *

Morgan Wallace Morgan Wallace (born Maier Weill, July 26, 1881 – December 12, 1953) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1914 and 1946, including W.C. Fields' ''It's a Gift'' (1934) Introduction by Arthur Knight where he p ...

as Charles Wharton *

Marjorie Reynolds Marjorie Reynolds ( Goodspeed; August 12, 1917 – February 1, 1997) was an American film and television actress who appeared in more than 50 films, including the 1942 musical ''Holiday Inn'', in which she and Bing Crosby introduced the song " ...

as Edythe Ellis *

Theodore von Eltz Julius Theodore von Eltz (November 5, 1893 – October 6, 1964) was an American film actor, appearing in more than 200 films between 1915 and 1957. He was the father of actress Lori March. Early life Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Von Eltz ...

as Carson *Walter Young as Joseph Caldwell * Sibyl Harris as Katherine Caldwell *Carlyle Moore Jr. as Charles Wharton Jr. *Janet Young as Mrs. Mihom *

Byron Foulger Byron Kay Foulger (August 27, 1898 – April 4, 1970) was an American character actor who over a 50-year career performed in hundreds of stage, film, and television productions. Early years Born in Ogden, Utah, Byron was the second of four ...

as Herbert Ellis *

Virginia Brissac Virginia Brissac (June 11, 1883 – July 26, 1979) was a popular American stage actress who headlined theatre companies from Vancouver to San Diego during the heyday of West Coast Stock in the early 1900s. An ingénue and leading lady known for ...

as Mrs. Herbert Ellis *

Harry Hayden Harry Hayden (8 November 1882 – 24 July 1955) was a Canadian-American actor. He was a highly prolific actor, with more than 280 screen credits. Career Born in Canada in 1882, Hayden was slight, greying at the temples and wore glasses, an ...

as Mayor Wharton *

Betty Blythe Betty Blythe (born Elizabeth Blythe Slaughter; September 1, 1893 – April 7, 1972) was an American actress best known for her dramatic roles in exotic silent films such as '' The Queen of Sheba'' (1921). She appeared in 63 silent films and 56 s ...

as Mrs. Wharton *

Marge Champion Marjorie Celeste Champion ( Belcher; September 2, 1919October 21, 2020) was an American dancer and actress. At fourteen, she was hired as a dance model for Walt Disney Studios animated films. Later, she performed as an actress and dancer in film ...

as Dancer

References

External links

* {{Nick Grinde 1938 films 1930s English-language films American crime films 1938 crime films Films directed by Nick Grinde American black-and-white films 1930s American films English-language crime films