''Now I'll Tell'' is a 1934 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 ...

directed by Edwin J. Burke starring

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the ...

, Helen Twelvetrees, and Alice Faye. It was produced by

Fox Film The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1914 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox. It was the corporate successor to his earlier Greater Ne ...

shortly before the company's merger with

Twentieth Century Pictures Twentieth Century Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film, independent Cinema of the United States, Hollywood motion picture production company created in 1933 by Joseph Schenck (the former president of United Artists) and Darryl F. Za ...

. It marked the final screen appearance of former silent star Alice Calhoun.

Plot

Murray Golden is an unscrupulous New York City gambler and casino operator who wants to live life to the fullest. His philosophy is encapsulated in something he keeps saying: "You're only wrong when you fail." His wife, Virginia, has extracted a promise that he will quit the business once he makes $500,000. However, when he does, he breaks his word. He also starts seeing Peggy Warren behind his wife's back. Murray learns that gangster Al Mossiter has fixed a championship boxing match. He pays one of the fighters to take a dive in the second round, before Mossiter's man goes down in the fifth, and wins a lot of money. (Mossiter's boxer is later murdered.) However, Virginia hears about Peggy and threatens to leave Murray. He manages to convince her that Peggy is the mistress of Freddie, Murray's friend and associate. He also tells her that he has made enough money and is getting into the insurance business. Later, Mossiter learns who double-crossed him and vows to get back everything Murray won from the fight. An associate suggests he kidnap Virginia. When Murray is told about the kidnapping, he races back to the city, but is injured and Peggy is killed in a car crash. Virginia is freed unharmed when the ransom is paid, but she has had enough. She decides to get a divorce. Years later, Murray receives a telegram from Virginia, telling him she is sailing home from Europe and has a "surprise". He is overjoyed, assuming she is coming back to him. However, she tells him that she is going to marry someone else. She asks him for her jewelry. He promises to give it to her in a week, though he is down on his luck and has pawned them. He gets into a poker game with Mossiter and others. After playing for a day and a half, he owes $210,000. Mossiter buys up all of his IOUs and gives him a deadline to come up with the money. Murray shows up at Mossiter's hotel room and declares he is not going to pay. Furthermore, he says he is going to tell the district attorney who killed the boxer. After Mossiter shoots him, Murray reveals he took out a life insurance policy on himself in order to raise the money to get Virginia's jewelry back. He boasts that he has outsmarted his killer (winning a $20 bet they had made). The doctor informs Virginia that Murray is dying, so she lies and tells him she is returning to him.

Cast

as Murray Golden * Helen Twelvetrees as Virginia Golden * Alice Faye as Peggy Warren * Robert Gleckler as Al Mossiter *

Henry O'Neill Henry O'Neill (August 10, 1891 – May 18, 1961) was an American actor known for playing gray-haired fathers, lawyers, and similarly dignified roles on film during the 1930s and 1940s. Early life Henry O'Neill was born in Orange, New J ...

as Tommy Doran * Hobart Cavanaugh as Freddie * G. P. Huntley as Hart *

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

as Mary Doran * Ronnie Cosby as Tommy Doran Jr. * Ray Cooke as Eddie Traylor * Frank Marlowe as George Curtis * Clarence Wilson as Attorney Joe Davis * Barbara Weeks as Wynne * Theodore Newton as Joe * Vince Barnett as Peppo * James Donlan as Honey Smith *

Leon Ames Leon Ames (born Harry Leon Wycoff;U.S. Federal Census for 1910 for Fowler, Center Township, Benton County, State of Indiana, access via Ancestry.com January 20, 1902 – October 12, 1993) was an American film and television actor. He is best rem ...

as Max * Alice Calhoun as Mrs. Doran *

Donald Haines Donald Haines (May 9, 1919 – February 20, 1943) was an American child actor who had recurring appearances in the '' Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1930 to 1933. He appeared in '' Our Gang'' during the early sound days along with ...

as Messenger Boy (uncredited) *

Nelson McDowell Nelson McDowell (August 14, 1870 – November 3, 1947) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 170 films between 1917 and 1945. McDowell was born in Greenville, Missouri. His parents were N. B. McDowell and Anne Hampton. He attend ...

as Bettor (uncredited) * Jack Mower as Gangster (uncredited)

Production

The film was directed and written by Edwin J. Burke and is loosely based on the autobiography of Carolyn Green Rothstein, wife of New York gambler

Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 – November 6, 1928), nicknamed "The Brain", was an American racketeer, crime boss, businessman, and gambler who became a kingpin of the Jewish Mob in New York City. Rothstein was widely reputed to have orga ...

. Co-star Alice Faye was 18 years old. Five-year-old future child star

(in a smaller role) also appeared in the film.

External links

* *{{TCMDb title, id=85300 1934 films 1934 drama films 1930s American films American black-and-white films American drama films Films based on biographies American films about gambling Films set in 1909 Films set in 1919 Films set in 1928 Films set in New York City Fox Film films Arnold Rothstein