''The Hoodlum Saint'' is a 1946 American

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

Norman Taurog Norman Rae Taurog (February 23, 1899 – April 7, 1981) was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Skippy (film), Skippy' ...

and starring

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor, known primarily for his film career. Under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin M ...

Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...

and Angela Lansbury.

Plot

Major Terry O'Neill (William Powell) returns to Baltimore in 1919, after the end of

World War I 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 ...

, expecting to get his old newspaper night editor job back. However, the paper has recently changed owners, the job has been filled, and his friend and former editor, Allan Smith (an uncredited Will Wright), has been told to cut costs. Disillusioned, Terry decides to abandon his ideals and make his fortune by whatever means necessary. Leaving the building, he runs into two less-than-savory friends, "Fishface" ( Rags Ragland) and "Three Finger" ( Frank McHugh). When the pair are arrested for bookmaking, it takes all his money to pay their fines and that of "Snarp" ( James Gleason). He crashes a high society wedding party in the hope of meeting businessman Lewis J. Malbery (

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 ...

). When a guard insists on seeing his invitation, Terry grabs guest Kay Lorrison (Esther Williams) and kisses her, much to her surprise. After the guard goes away, she slaps Terry in the face, but after his honest confession, begins to warm to him. She introduces him to her uncle, publisher Joe Lorrison (

Charles Trowbridge Charles Silas Richard Trowbridge (January 10, 1882 – October 30, 1967) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films from 1915 to 1958 principally playing patrician authority figures. Biography Trowbridge was born in Verac ...

). Terry impresses him with his ideas on how to fight a bitter foe – none other than Malbery – and lands a job. He and Kay, who works on occasion at the paper, develop a relationship. After masterminding a skillful newspaper campaign against Malbery, Terry surprises his boss by quitting his relatively low-paying job to go to work for Malbery in New York. Snarp, Fishface, Three Finger and "Eel" ( Slim Summerville) tag along and open a pool room. When after three years, Malbery promotes him to executive vice president of the company, he returns to Baltimore to see Kay. He finds her once again at a wedding. To his dismay, however, she informs him that this time she is the bride.

Nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

"Dusty" Millard ( Angela Lansbury) gets him on the rebound. After a while, Terry crosses paths with Kay once more. She is a widow, and interested in picking up where they left off. Dusty gives up, realizing she has no chance against her rival. However, Kay learns that Terry has become hard and cynical. When Snarp's bookmaking operation was uncovered, his disreputable pals appealed to Terry; he secretly had Snarp freed, but saw to it that his good fortune was attributed to Saint Dismas. Terry loses everything in the Wall Street crash of 1929. Nearly all his friends and associates, who invested in the stock market on his advice, make him a scapegoat. The only exceptions are Snarp and Dusty. A reformed Snarp tries to get Terry to put his faith in Saint Dismas, without success. Dusty offers Terry an expensive bracelet he once gave her, but he turns her down. Embittered by the rejection, she takes over a charity Snarp set up dedicated to Saint Dismas, intending to steal the donations and place the blame on Terry. When Terry leaves town on business, he falls ill and is cared for by Father Nolan (

Lewis Stone Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular '' Andy ...

). Snarp comes to see him to tell him what Dusty and their old associates are doing. Then a concerned Kay shows up. Terry drives into town to plead with Dusty to return the money. Dusty and the others are unmoved at first, but when they see how sincere he is, Dusty gives it all back, and more.

Cast

as Terry O'Neill *

as Kay Lorrison * Angela Lansbury as "Dusty" Millard (singing voice dubbed b
Doreen Tryden
* James Gleason as "Snarp" *

as Father Nolan * Rags Ragland as "Fishface" * Frank McHugh as "Three Finger" * Slim Summerville as "Eel" *

Roman Bohnen Roman Aloys Bohnen (November 24, 1901 – February 24, 1949) was an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the films ''Of Mice and Men (1939 film), Of Mice and Men'' (1939), ''The Song of Bernadette (film), The Song of Be ...

as Father O'Doul * Charles Arnt as O'Neill's Secretary * Louis Jean Heydt as Mike Flaherty *

as Uncle Joe Lorrison *

as Lewis J. Malbery * William "Bill" Phillips as Dave Fernby * Matt Moore as Father Duffy *

Trevor Bardette Trevor Bardette (born Terva Gaston Hubbard; November 19, 1902 – November 28, 1977) was an American film and television actor. Among many other roles in his long and prolific career, Bardette appeared in several episodes of ''Adventures of Su ...

as Rabbi Meyerberg *

Addison Richards Addison Whittaker Richards, Jr. (October 20, 1902 – March 22, 1964) was an American actor of film and television. Richards appeared in more than 300 films between 1933 and his death in 1964. Biography A native of Zanesville, Ohio, Richard ...

as Rev. Miller * Tom Dugan as Buggsy *

Emma Dunn Emma Dunn (26 February 1875 – 14 December 1966) was an English actress. After starting her acting career on stage in London, she became known for her works in numerous films and Broadway productions. Career Emma Dunn appeared onstage in ...

as Maggie * Mary Gordon as Trina * Charles D. Brown as Ed Collner

Production

The film was announced in 1943. It was based on the life of Dempster MacMurphy a

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

newspaper executive who engaged in

philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

under the name of St Dismas.

Casey Robinson Kenneth Casey Robinson (October 17, 1903 – December 6, 1979) was an American producer and director of mostly B movies and a screenwriter responsible for some of Bette Davis' most revered films. Film critic Richard Corliss once described him as ...

was signed to write the script. Rev Edward Dowling was hired as a consultant. Eventually Frank Wead was assigned to the script.

Reception

The film received mixed to negative reviews. According to MGM records the film made $1,156,000 in the US and Canada and $413,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $918,000.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoodlum Saint 1946 films American romantic drama films American black-and-white films Films directed by Norman Taurog Films set in 1919 Films set in the 1920s Films set in Baltimore Films set in New York City Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films produced by Cliff Reid Films scored by Nathaniel Shilkret 1946 romantic drama films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language romantic drama films