''Man to Man'' is an
all-talking 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 ...
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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
produced by
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
in 1930. The film was directed by
Allan Dwan
Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.
Early life
Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan was ...
and stars
Phillips Holmes
Phillips Raymond Holmes (July 22, 1907 – August 12, 1942) was an American actor. For his contributions to the film industry, he was posthumously given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Early life, education and career
Born in ...
. The film is based on the story "Barber John's Boy" by
Ben Ames Williams
Ben Ames Williams (March 7, 1889 – February 4, 1953) was an American novelist and writer of short stories; he wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels. Among his novels are ''Come Spring'' (1940), ''Leave Her to Heaven'' (1944) ...
.
Plot
John Martin Bolton, a barber, is paroled after serving time for killing a man who murdered his brother. His son, Michael Bolton, ashamed of his father, works at a bank when the older Bolton is paroled. Michael wants nothing to do with John, despite John desiring to establish a relationship. Feeling that people are judging him because of his father, Michael decides to leave town with his girlfriend, Emily. However, Michael is financially unable to marry her. One of Michael's co-workers, Vint Glade, is also in love with Emily. Glade embezzles two thousand dollars from Michael's bank drawer hoping Mike will stand accused, thus ending any future with Emily. Michael assumes his father stole the money as he visited him at the bank earlier in the day. Michael falsely confesses to the embezzlement to prevent his father from returning to prison. At the same time, John confesses to stealing the money to prevent Michael from being charged. Emily suspects Glade stole the money and tricks him into confessing his crime. The Boltons, father and son, are happily reunited.
Cast
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Phillips Holmes
Phillips Raymond Holmes (July 22, 1907 – August 12, 1942) was an American actor. For his contributions to the film industry, he was posthumously given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Early life, education and career
Born in ...
as Michael Bolton
*
Grant Mitchell as Barber John Martin Bolton
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Lucille Powers as Emily
*
Otis Harlan
Otis Harlan (December 29, 1865 – January 20, 1940) was an American actor and comedian. He voiced Happy, one of the Seven Dwarfs in the Disney animated film '' Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''. This made him the earliest born actor to feature ...
as Rip Henry
*
Dwight Frye
Dwight Iliff Frye (born Fry; February 22, 1899 – November 7, 1943) was an American character actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his portrayals of neurotic, murderous villains in several classic Universal horror films, such as Re ...
as Vint Glade
*
Russell Simpson as Uncle Cal
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George F. Marion as Banker Jim McCord
*
Robert Emmett O'Connor
Robert O'Connor, also known professionally as Robert Emmett O'Connor and Robert E. O'Connor (March 18, 1885 – September 4, 1962) was an Irish-American actor. He had a lengthy career as a stage actor on Broadway and in vaudeville from 190 ...
as the Sheriff
Preservation
The film survives complete and has been released by
Warner Archive
The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the int ...
on DVD. A print has also been preserved at the Library of Congress since the 1970s.
[''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'', (<-book title) p.111 c.1978 the American Film Institute]
References
External links
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1930 films
1930 drama films
American drama films
American black-and-white films
1930s English-language films
Films based on short fiction
Films directed by Allan Dwan
Warner Bros. films
Films scored by Louis Silvers
1930s American films
English-language drama films
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