''Sinner Take All'' is a 1936 murder mystery film directed by

Errol Taggart Errol Taggart (July 15, 1895 – August 30, 1940) was a Canadian film director and film editor who worked in Hollywood during the 1920s and 1930s. He was the editor of four movies directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney: '' The Unkn ...

and starring Bruce Cabot and

Margaret Lindsay Margaret Lindsay (born Margaret Kies; September 19, 1910 – May 9, 1981) was an American film actress. Her time as a Warner Bros. contract player during the 1930s was particularly productive. She was noted for her supporting work in successf ...

Plot

When millionaire

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

businessman Aaron Lampier (

Charley Grapewin Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956) was an American vaudeville and circus performer, a writer, and a stage and film actor. He worked in over 100 motion pictures during the silent and sound eras, most notably portr ...

) receives a death threat in the mail, he sends for his offspring. Ernie Hyams (Bruce Cabot), a newspaper reporter turned lawyer, is dispatched by MacKelvey (

Stanley Ridges Stanley Charles Ridges (17 July 1890 – 22 April 1951) was an English-born, American actor who made more than 100 appearances in theatre and movies from 1917 to 1951. After his American film debut in '' Success'' (1923), he appeared in films ...

), his former editor, to track down Lampier's daughter Lorraine (Margaret Lindsay). She does not appreciate being dragged away from the nightclub/casino of Frank Penny (

Joseph Calleia Joseph Calleia ( ; born Joseph Alexander Caesar Herstall Vincent Calleja, August 4, 1897 – October 31, 1975) was a Maltese-born American actor and singer on the stage and in films, radio and television. After serving in the British Transport ...

). She and her perpetually drunk brother Stephen ( George Lynn) have also received similar mail. When their brother David is killed in a car crash that night, Ernie soon discovers it was not an accident; a wire cable strung across the road was used to cause it. Ernie is pressured into investigating. Lampier's will leaves everything equally to his children. If they predecease him, the estate goes to various charities. Stephen is the next victim. An associate of Penny's is driving Stephen's car when he is stopped by the police. They find Stephen's body inside with six shots to the head; the driver claims he did not know it was there when he stole the automobile. Captain Bill Royce (

Edward Pawley Edward Joel Pawley (March 16, 1901 in Kansas City, Missouri – January 27, 1988 in Charlottesville, Virginia) was an American actor of radio, films and Broadway. The full name on his birth certificate is Edward Joel Stone Pawley; he never ...

) of the Homicide Squad arrests Penny, but has to release him for lack of evidence. It turns out that David is still alive and in hiding. By the time Ernie and MacKelvey track him down, though, he has been stabbed to death. Next is Aaron Lampier. A man climbs down to his suite and, after a struggle, flings him over the terrace to his death. To protect Lorraine (to whom he has become attracted), Ernie sets a trap. He spreads the word that she is flying away at midnight, then gathers all the prime suspects at Penny's nightclub to see her off. Her drink is poisoned, but a doctor is standing by and she is saved. Ernie sadly identifies the killer; MacKelvey was the only one who had the opportunity to slip poison into the liquor. The editor confesses that he needed more money to keep his wife Alicia (

Vivienne Osborne Vivienne Osborne (born Vera Vivienne Spragg; December 10, 1896 – June 10, 1961) was an American stage and film actress known for her work in Broadway theatre and in silent and sound films. Career Osborne began her career on stage when s ...

) happy. He figured that with the Lampiers all dead, he would be put in charge of one of their businesses. Afterward, Ernie and Lorraine get married.

Cast

* Bruce Cabot as Ernie *

as Lorraine *

as Penny *

as MacKelvey *

as Alicia *

as Aaron *

as Royce * George Lynn as Stephen *

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 David (as Theodore Von Eltz) * Eadie Adams as Shirley *

George Zucco George Zucco (11 January 1886 – 27 May 1960) was a British character actor who appeared in plays and 96 films, mostly American-made, during a career spanning over two decades, from the 1920s to 1951. In his films, he often played a suave ...

as Bascomb *

Dorothy Kilgallen Dorothy Mae Kilgallen (July 3, 1913 – November 8, 1965) was an American columnist, journalist, and television game show panelist. After spending two semesters at the College of New Rochelle, she started her career shortly before her 18th birth ...

as Reporter *

Raymond Hatton Raymond William Hatton (July 7, 1887 – October 21, 1971) was an American film actor who appeared in almost 500 motion pictures. Biography Hatton was born in Red Oak, Iowa. His physician father steered him toward a career in medicine. Howev ...

as Hotel Clerk * Richard Terry as Pete

References

External links

* * * * {{AFI film, 11142 American mystery films American black-and-white films Films based on American novels Films set in New York City Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films directed by Errol Taggart 1936 films 1936 mystery films Films scored by Edward Ward (composer) 1930s American films