''S.O.S. Tidal Wave'' is a 1939 American

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

John H. Auer John H. Auer (August 3, 1906 in Budapest, Hungary – March 15, 1975 in North Hollywood, Los Angeles) was a Hungarian-born child actor who, on coming to the Americas in 1928, became a movie director and producer, initially in Mexico but, from th ...

and written by

Gordon Kahn Gordon Kahn (1902–1962) was an American writer and screenwriter who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era; he is the father of broadcaster and author Tony Kahn.and physician Jim Kahn. Background Gordon Jacques Kahn was born on May 1 ...

and

Maxwell Shane Maxwell Shane (August 26, 1905 – October 25, 1983) was an American movie and television director, screenwriter, and producer. Biography Before embarking in a career in show business, Shane studied law at USC and UCLA law schools. He later b ...

. The film stars

Ralph Byrd Ralph Byrd (April 22, 1909 – August 18, 1952) was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, films and television. Early life and career The son of George and Edna May ...

, George Barbier,

Kay Sutton Katherine Warburton "Kay" Sutton (June 14, 1915 – March 1, 1988) was an American actress. Personal life Sutton was married four times, Frederick Moulton Alger, Dan Topping (his fourth marriage), Clifton Stokes Weaver and Edward Cronjager. P ...

Frank Jenks Frank Jenks (November 4, 1902 – May 13, 1962) was an acid-voiced American supporting actor of stage and films. Biography Early years Jenks was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and his mother gave him a trombone when he was 9 years old. By his ...

Marc Lawrence Marc Lawrence (born Max Goldsmith; February 17, 1910 – November 28, 2005) was an American character actor who specialized in underworld types. He has also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C. Lawrence. Early life Lawrence w ...

and Dorothy Lee. It was released on June 2, 1939 by

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

Plot

Reporter Jeff Shannon stops trying to expose political corruption after his son and wife are threatened. On election day, corrupt politicians broadcast the 1933 apocalyptic science-fiction film ''Deluge'' on the news, hoping to trick voters into believing that New York City has been hit by a tidal wave to discourage them from voting.

Cast

as Jeff Shannon * George Barbier as Uncle Dan Carter *

as Laurel Shannon *

as Peaches Jackson *

as Melvin Sutter * Dorothy Lee as Mable *

Oscar O'Shea Oscar O'Shea (8 October 1881 – 6 April 1960) was a Canadian-American character actor with over 100 film appearances from 1937 to 1953. Early years O'Shea was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Acting O'Shea was a comic actor who earne ...

as Mike Halloran *

Mickey Kuhn Theodore Matthew Michael Kuhn Jr. (September 21, 1932 – November 20, 2022) was an American actor. He started his career as a child actor, active on-screen during the Golden Age of Hollywood from the 1930s until the early 1950s. He is noted for ...

as Buddy Shannon *

Ferris Taylor Robert Ferris Taylor (March 25, 1888 – March 7, 1961) was an American film actor and vaudeville performer. Biography Taylor owned a vaudeville company, the Taylor Players. Besides his acting, Taylor sometimes sang in vaudeville programs. ...

as Clifford Farrow *

Don "Red" Barry Donald Barry de Acosta (January 11, 1912 – July 17, 1980), also known as Red Barry and Milton Poimboeuf, was an American film and television actor. He was nicknamed "Red" after appearing as the first Red Ryder in the highly successful 19 ...

as Curley Parsons *

Raymond Bailey Raymond Thomas Bailey (May 6, 1904 – April 15, 1980) was an American actor, and comedian on the Broadway stage, films, and television. He is best known for his role as greedy banker Milburn Drysdale in the television series ''The Beverly Hill ...

as Roy Nixon

Production

acquired the rights to the 1933 disaster film ''

Deluge A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood. The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the Biblical book of Genesis. Deluge may also refer to: History *Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian Comm ...

'', which begins with a special-effects sequence of Manhattan being destroyed by a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

References

External links

* 1939 films 1930s English-language films American crime films 1939 crime films Republic Pictures films Films directed by John H. Auer American black-and-white films 1930s American films {{1930s-crime-film-stub