''Ladies of the Big House'' is a 1931 American
pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the 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 censorship guidelines, popularly known ...
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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Marion Gering
Marion Gering (June 9, 1901 in Rostov-on-Don – April 19, 1977 in New York City) was a Russian-born American stage producer and director. He moved to the United States in 1923 as an artist. He became involved in the theatrical community in Chicag ...
and written by
Ernest Booth,
William Slavens McNutt
William Slavens McNutt (September 12, 1885 – January 25, 1938), was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 28 films between 1922 and 1939. He was nominated for an Academy Award on two occasions. At the 5th Academy Awards, he was nominate ...
and
Grover Jones
Grover Jones (November 15, 1893 – September 24, 1940) was an American screenwriter - often teamed with William Slavens McNutt - and film director. He wrote more than 100 films between 1920 and his death. He also was a film journal publish ...
. The film stars
Sylvia Sidney,
Gene Raymond
Gene Raymond (born Raymond Guion; August 13, 1908 – May 3, 1998) was an American film, television, and stage actor of the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to acting, Raymond was also a singer, composer, screenwriter, director, producer, and decorat ...
,
Wynne Gibson
Winifred Elaine "Wynne" Gibson (July 3, 1898 – May 15, 1987) was an American actress of the 1930s.
Early years
Gibson was born in New York City, the daughter of Frank W. Gibson and Elaine Coffin Gibson. Her father was an efficiency expert, and ...
,
Earle Foxe
Earle Foxe (born Earl Aldrich Fox; December 25, 1891 – December 10, 1973) was an American actor.
Early years
Foxe was born in Oxford, Ohio, to Charles Aldrich Fox, originally of Flint, Michigan, and Eva May Herron. He was educated at Ohio Sta ...
,
Rockliffe Fellowes
Rockliffe St. Patrick Fellowes (17 March 1884 – 28 January 1950),''Who Was Who on Screen'' c.1977 by Evelyn Mack Truitt..Retrieved 22 June 2018 was a Canadian actor born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He starred in films such as '' Regenerat ...
,
Purnell Pratt
Purnell Pratt (October 20, 1885 – July 25, 1941) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1914 and 1941. He was born in Bethel, Illinois and died in Hollywood, California.
Partial filmography
* ''The Great ...
and
Frank Sheridan. The film was released on December 26, 1931, by
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
.
Plot
Young florist Kathleen Storm (
Sylvia Sidney) is instantly the object of desire of a young man standing in front of the shopwindow, where she is arranging flowers. They have two wonderful weeks in their life together before they marry. The same day her criminal ex-boyfriend Kid Athens (
Earle Foxe
Earle Foxe (born Earl Aldrich Fox; December 25, 1891 – December 10, 1973) was an American actor.
Early years
Foxe was born in Oxford, Ohio, to Charles Aldrich Fox, originally of Flint, Michigan, and Eva May Herron. He was educated at Ohio Sta ...
), who heard about her wedding, decides to frame her and her new husband. She and her husband Standish (
Gene Raymond
Gene Raymond (born Raymond Guion; August 13, 1908 – May 3, 1998) was an American film, television, and stage actor of the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to acting, Raymond was also a singer, composer, screenwriter, director, producer, and decorat ...
) end up in prison. He is sentenced to
death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
on a charge of murder and she to a life sentence. In prison she meets a woman, Susie Thompson (
Wynne Gibson
Winifred Elaine "Wynne" Gibson (July 3, 1898 – May 15, 1987) was an American actress of the 1930s.
Early years
Gibson was born in New York City, the daughter of Frank W. Gibson and Elaine Coffin Gibson. Her father was an efficiency expert, and ...
), who was Kid Athens' girlfriend before her, who after an initial raging jealousy ends up helping her to tell the authorities the truth about Kid Athens and she and her husband's innocence. Justice wins and the couple can finally have a
honeymoon
A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds immediately after their wedding, to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase ...
on a ship.
Cast
*
Sylvia Sidney as Kathleen Storm McNeil
*
Gene Raymond
Gene Raymond (born Raymond Guion; August 13, 1908 – May 3, 1998) was an American film, television, and stage actor of the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to acting, Raymond was also a singer, composer, screenwriter, director, producer, and decorat ...
as Standish McNeil
*
Wynne Gibson
Winifred Elaine "Wynne" Gibson (July 3, 1898 – May 15, 1987) was an American actress of the 1930s.
Early years
Gibson was born in New York City, the daughter of Frank W. Gibson and Elaine Coffin Gibson. Her father was an efficiency expert, and ...
as Susie Thompson
*
Earle Foxe
Earle Foxe (born Earl Aldrich Fox; December 25, 1891 – December 10, 1973) was an American actor.
Early years
Foxe was born in Oxford, Ohio, to Charles Aldrich Fox, originally of Flint, Michigan, and Eva May Herron. He was educated at Ohio Sta ...
as Kid Athens
*
Rockliffe Fellowes
Rockliffe St. Patrick Fellowes (17 March 1884 – 28 January 1950),''Who Was Who on Screen'' c.1977 by Evelyn Mack Truitt..Retrieved 22 June 2018 was a Canadian actor born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He starred in films such as '' Regenerat ...
as Martin Doremus
*
Purnell Pratt
Purnell Pratt (October 20, 1885 – July 25, 1941) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1914 and 1941. He was born in Bethel, Illinois and died in Hollywood, California.
Partial filmography
* ''The Great ...
as John Hartman
*
Frank Sheridan as Warden Hecker
*
Louise Beavers
Louise Beavers (March 8, 1902 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress. From the 1920s until 1960, she appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows. She was most often cast in the roles of a maid, servan ...
as Ivory
*Miriam Goldina as Maria
*
Hilda Vaughn
Hilda Vaughn (December 27, 1898 – December 28, 1957) was an American actress of the stage, film, radio, and television.
Early years
Hilda Weiller Strouse, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eli Strouse, Vaughn attended Vassar College and the Ame ...
as Millie
*
Fritzi Ridgeway
Fredericka Berneice "Fritzi" Ridgeway (April 8, 1898 – March 29, 1961) was an American silent film actress, vaudeville performer, and hotelier. Though she starred in numerous films, she is perhaps best known for her work in silent Western films ...
as Reno Maggie
*
Esther Howard
Esther Howard (April 4, 1892 – March 8, 1965) was an American stage and film character actress who played a wide range of supporting roles, from man-hungry spinsters to amoral criminals, appearing in 108 films in her 23-year screen career ...
as Clara Newman
*Edna Bennett as The Countess
*Ruth Lyons as Gertie
*
Jane Darwell
Jane Darwell (born Patti Woodard; October 15, 1879 – August 13, 1967) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. With appearances in more than 100 major movies spanning half a century, Darwell is perhaps best remembered for her p ...
as Mrs. Turner
*Mary Foy as Mrs. Lowry
*
Noel Francis
Noel Francis (born Noel Frances Sweeney, August 31, 1906 – October 30, 1959) was an American actress of the stage and screen during the 1920s and 1930s. Born in Texas, she began her acting career on the Broadway stage in the mid-1920s, befo ...
as Thelma
*
Theodore von Eltz
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.
Von Eltz was a Yale University professor's son. After 12 ...
as Frazer
*
Evelyn Preer
Evelyn Preer (née Jarvis; July 26, 1896 – November 17, 1932), was a pioneering American stage and screen actress and jazz and blues singer of the 1910s through the early 1930s. Preer was known within the black community as "The First Lady of ...
as Inmate
See also
*''
The House That Shadows Built
''The House That Shadows Built'' (1931) is a feature compilation film from Paramount Pictures, made to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the studio's founding in 1912. The film was a promotional film for exhibitors and never had a regular thea ...
'' (1931) Paramount promotional film with excerpts of ''Ladies of the Big House''
References
External links
*
1931 films
1931 drama films
1930s prison films
American black-and-white films
American prison drama films
Films directed by Marion Gering
Paramount Pictures films
Women in prison films
1930s English-language films
1930s American films
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