''Conspiracy'' is a 1930 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

mystery melodrama film produced and distributed by

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

and directed by

Christy Cabanne William Christy Cabanne (April 16, 1888 – October 15, 1950) was an American film director, screenwriter, and silent film actor. Biography Born in 1888, Cabanne (pronounced CAB-a-nay) started his career on stage as an actor and director. He a ...

. It is the second adaptation of the play ''The Conspiracy'' by Robert B. Baker and John Emerson and stars

Bessie Love Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton; September 10, 1898April 26, 1986) was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned ei ...

and

Ned Sparks Ned Sparks (born Edward Arthur Sparkman, November 19, 1883 – April 3, 1957) was a Canadian-born character actor of the American stage and screen. He was known for his deadpan expression and comically nasal, monotone delivery. Life and career ...

Plot

After their father is killed, brother and sister Margaret and Victor Holt devote themselves to bringing down the drug gang responsible for his death. Victor rises to become an attorney in the district attorney's office, and eventually Margaret wangles her way into becoming the secretary for James (Marco) Morton, the head of the drug ring. When Morton discovers Margaret's true identity, he contrives a plot to lure her brother into a trap and kill him. Margaret learns of the plot and rushes to save her brother. In the ensuing melee, she kills Morton in her attempt to save Victor, who is also seemingly killed. Afraid of being convicted of murder, she flees the scene. In hiding, she becomes friends with a mystery author, Winthrop Clavering, and a reporter, John Howell, the truth about the murder is revealed, and it is discovered that Victor was not killed, but is being held prisoner by the drug ring. Victor is rescued, and Margaret and John develop a romantic relationship.

Cast

Production

This film is the second adaptation of the Baker/Emerson play, the earlier version being the silent film, ''The Conspiracy'', filmed in 1914 by the

Famous Players Film Company The Famous Players Film Company was a film company founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor in partnership with the Frohman brothers, powerful New York City theatre impresario. History Discussions to form the company were held at The Lambs, a famous th ...

, produced by

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Notably, he produced ''Peter Pan'', both in London and the US, the latter production ...

, and starring Emerson himself in the role of Clavering, reprised from his stint in the Broadway play. It ran from December 1912 through May 1914 at

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play ...

in New York City. This film is not connected to another RKO film made in 1939 also called ''

Conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

''.

Reception

The film recorded a loss of $50,000.

Preservation

This film is preserved at the Library of Congress. In 1958, the film entered the public domain in the U.S. because the copyright claimants did not renew the

copyright registration The purpose of copyright registration is to place on record a verifiable account of the date and content of the work in question, so that in the event of a legal claim, or case of infringement or plagiarism, the copyright owner can produce a cop ...

in the 28th year after publication. See note 60, p. 143

References

External links

* * * 1930 films Films directed by Christy Cabanne American films based on plays RKO Pictures films American black-and-white films Articles containing video clips American drama films 1930 drama films Melodrama films Films set in Manhattan Films scored by Roy Webb 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-US-film-stub