''Show Them No Mercy!'' is a 1935 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

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry ...

and written by

Kubec Glasmon Kubec Glasmon (August 12, 1897 – March 13, 1938) was an American screenwriter from Poland, who was nominated for the now defunct category of Best Story at the 4th Academy Awards. He was nominated for Best Story with John Bright for '' The Publ ...

and

Henry Lehrman Henry Lehrman (March 30, 1881 – November 7, 1946) was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. Lehrman was a very prominent figure of Hollywood's silent film era, working with such cinematic pioneers as D. W. Griffith and Mack S ...

. The film stars

Rochelle Hudson Rochelle Hudson (born Rachael Elizabeth Hudson; March 6, 1916 – January 17, 1972) was an American film actress from the 1930s through the 1960s.Cesar Romero Cesar Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in c ...

, Bruce Cabot,

Edward Norris Septimus Edward Norris (March 10, 1911 – December 18, 2002) was an American film actor. Early years Norris was born in 1911, the son of a prominent Philadelphia gynecologist, who was described in a newspaper article as "a famous surgeon and ...

Edward Brophy Edward Santree Brophy (February 27, 1895 – May 27, 1960) was an American character actor and comedian, as well as an assistant director and second unit director during the 1920s. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he frequently ...

and

Warren Hymer Edgar Warren Hymer (February 25, 1906 – March 25, 1948) was an American theatre and film actor. Early life He was born in New York City. His father, John Bard Hymer (1875/1876 – 1953) was a playwright (with nine Broadway plays to ...

. The film was released on December 6, 1935, by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

Plot

At their home, the Hansen family await news of their kidnapped son, Tom. A ransom demand for $200,000 is delivered by messenger. F.B.I. agents advise the family to pay with marked bills in an attempt to catch the kidnappers. The family are reluctant in fear of what might happen to Tom. Later, Joe and Loretta Martin, their baby daughter Trudy and dog are driving through a heavy storm when their car gets stuck in mud. The family break into a nearby house to shelter for the night, finding the seemingly abandoned home stocked with new food and clothing. Four kidnappers, Tobey, Pitch, Buzz and Gimp return to the house - their hideout – having collected the ransom money for Tom Hansen and released the boy. Tobey decides to let the Martins stay at the house for the night so they will leave without trouble, but the Martins quickly realise who the men are, and the gang take them prisoner. The kidnappers decide to test if the ransom money is marked by holding Loretta and Trudy hostage while forcing Joe Martin to go into town with Tobey to spend some of the bills. A drunk and impatient Pitch plans to kill Loretta and Trudy, but he is prevented when Tobey and Joe return from town just in time. As the gang are packing to leave, they hear a radio broadcast confirming that every bill of the ransom payment is marked. The Martin’s dog has picked up some of the marked money and runs away. Frustrated, Pitch shoots and injures the dog. Tobey plans to lay low at the house with the imprisoned Martins, while the rest of the gang go their separate ways. Pitch and Buzz pay with a marked bill at a gas station, and are reported and chased by police, which ends with Buzz being shot dead and Pitch winged by a bullet. Gimp tries to buy a streetcar ticket but is also spotted by police and killed. The Martin’s injured dog has been taken to a veterinarian by a passing farmer, who has found a marked bill near the dog, allowing the F.B.I. to close in on the hideout. The injured Pitch returns to the house. Pitch promises to help Tobey to get a fake passport, but double crosses and kills him. Pitch breaks into the room where the Martins are being held, meaning to murder them, but Joe fights Pitch and runs, allowing Loretta the chance to grab a gun and shoot Pitch just before he can kill Joe. The police arrive. Joe, Loretta and Trudy are safe, and their dog is given a bravery medal.

Cast

as Tobey * Bruce Cabot as Pitch *

as Joe Martin *

as Buzz *

as Gimp *

Herbert Rawlinson Herbert Banemann Rawlinson (15 November 1885 – 12 July 1953) was an English-born stage, film, radio, and television actor. A leading man during Hollywood's silent film era, Rawlinson transitioned to character roles after the advent of sound f ...

as Kurt Hansen *

Robert Gleckler Robert Gleckler (January 11, 1887 – February 25, 1939) was an American film and stage actor who appeared in nearly 60 movies between 1927 until his death in 1939. He was cast for the role of Jonas Wilkerson, overseer of the slaves at Tara in ...

as Gus Hansen * Charles C. Wilson as Clifford *

William B. Davidson William Beatman Davidson (June 16, 1888 – September 28, 1947) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1915 and 1947. Early life Davidson was born in Dobbs Ferry, New York. He attended Columbia University, w ...

as Chief Haggerty * Frank Conroy as Reed *

Edythe Elliott Edythe Elliott (born Edythe Fletcher; July 14, 1886 – April 9, 1978) was an American character actress active primarily during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Biography Edythe Elliott was born in San Francisco, California where her parents were ...

as Mrs. Hansen *Orrin Burke as Judge Fry

Title Change

The film's original title was ''Snatched'' and the kidnapping element of the plot was more prominent, but the title and plot emphasis were revised after the

Production Code Administration The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the Major film studios#Present, five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Pic ...

banned detailed depiction of kidnapping in films because of an increase in real-life cases and the fear of glorifying criminals. The

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

reviewer

Andre Sennwald Andre David Sennwald (August 4, 1907 — Jan 12, 1936) was a motion picture critic for ''The New York Times''. Life After graduating from Columbia University School of Journalism, Sennwald was hired as a reporter for ''The New York Times'' in 1930 ...

described the film's title change as 'witless' and noted that there was similarity between the plot of ''Show Them No Mercy'' and the then recent George Weyerhauser Kidnapping case.

References

External links

* 1935 films Twentieth Century Pictures films American crime films 1935 crime films Films directed by George Marshall American black-and-white films 20th Century Fox films Films produced by Darryl F. Zanuck Films with screenplays by Kubec Glasmon 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-crime-film-stub