''Shadow of the Law'' is a 1930 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 ...

film directed by

Louis J. Gasnier Louis Joseph Gasnier (September 15, 1875 – February 15, 1963) was a French-American film director, producer, screenwriter and stage actor. A cinema pioneer, Gasnier shepherded the early career of comedian Max Linder, co-directed the enormously ...

and starring

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the '' Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters cr ...

Richard Tucker Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States. Early life Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticke ...

, and

Regis Toomey John Francis Regis Toomey (August 13, 1898October 12, 1991) was an American film and television actor. Early life Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey, and attended Peabody High ...

Plot

Mechanical engineer James "Jim" Montgomery escorts attractive blonde Ethel George to her apartment, one floor up from where he himself lives. However, inside she is startled to find an angry Lew Durkin, a "Chicago millionaire". Jim leaves, but later she flees to his place, chased by Durkin. When Durkin starts strangling the woman, Jim intervenes. In the ensuing fight, Jim punches Durkin, who then falls out the window to his death. Anxious to avoid the scandal and publicity, the woman runs away. When Police Lieutenant Mike Kearney arrives, Jim makes a mistake and claims there was nobody else in the room. When Kearney tells him that an eyewitness saw him push Durkin out the window, he tells the truth, but Kearney does not believe his changed story. They go upstairs to see Miss George, but she is gone. Without her testimony, Jim is convicted and sent to prison for life. He shares a cell with Pete for three years. Then the warden asks him to find out who Pete's accomplices were and the hiding place of the loot from a robbery Pete is suspected of having committed, giving him a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

's cushy job and dangling the possibility of "executive clemency". However, Jim tells Pete right away. Pete has been plotting an escape, but he convinces Jim to take his place instead, as Pete only has two more years to serve. Jim gets away. Two years later, Jim is in Suffolk, North Carolina, working as mill manager "John Nelson". His girlfriend, Edith Wentworth, is the daughter of the mill's owner. Jim is reunited with his friend Pete. Private detectives have located Ethel George, but now he needs someone he can trust completely to go see her in New York and make her tell the truth. Despite his distrust of all "Janes", Pete agrees to do it. Ethel "Barry" at first denies being Ethel George, but changes her mind after Pete tells her that Jim has become successful and can pay a lot of money. However, when Pete leaves, she telephones the police, having obtained from Pete where Jim is living. Pete is picked up, questioned by Kearney and jailed on suspicion of robbery when Pete refuses to say where he got $5000. Kearney has the new bills traced. Meanwhile, Ethel shows up at Colonel Wentworth's party. She tells Jim privately that she wants $50,000, a sum he does not have, but she points out that Colonel Wentworth would pay that much to protect his daughter. Jim decides to quit his job, but when Edith confronts him, he tells her everything. She then tells her father that he is not leaving after all. Colonel Wentworth is delighted with his future son-in-law. Then Kearney shows up. Jim desperately claims he is not the escaped convict. When Ethel comes in, Jim offers her the $50,000, but having been told that Kearney is a police officer, she claims Jim is trying to bribe her to commit perjury. To temporarily avoid being identified by his fingerprints, Jim deliberately injures his hands in some mill machinery. Kearney decides to take a chance that Jim is telling the truth and promises to get the truth out of Ethel.

Cast

as Jim Montgomery / John Nelson *

Marion Shilling Marion Helen Schilling (December 3, 1910 – November 6, 2004) was an American stage and film actress. She was one of the most famous " B" leading ladies of the 1930s. Biography Marion Helen Schilling was born in Denver, Colorado in 1910. Her ...

as Edith Wentworth *

Natalie Moorhead Natalie Moorhead (born Nathalian Morehead, July 27, 1901 – October 6, 1992) was an American film and stage actress of the 1920s and 1930s. She was known for distinctive platinum blond hair. Early years Moorehead grew up in Pittsburgh. ...

as Miss Barry *

as Tom Owens *

Paul Hurst Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town. As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, b ...

as Pete * George Irving as Colonel Wentworth * Frederick Burt as Mike Kearney * James Durkin as Warden *

as Lew Durkin *

Walter James Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1 ...

as Captain of the Guards

Reception

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.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 ...

'', called the movie "an interesting but albeit somewhat implausible talking pictorial melodrama" and praised the actors: "Mr. Powell's acting is capital. So is that of Paul Hurst, who plays Pete. Natalie Moorehead does well as the strange Ethel Barry."

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, 0021359 1930 films 1930 crime drama films American black-and-white films American crime drama films Films based on American novels Films directed by Louis J. Gasnier Films set in New York City Films set in North Carolina 1930s mystery drama films American mystery drama films 1930s American films