''Sinners' Holiday'' is a 1930 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, 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 censorshi ...

all-talking crime drama film starring

Grant Withers Granville Gustavus Withers (January 17, 1905 – March 27, 1959) was an American film actor who acted under the screen name Grant Withers. With early beginnings in the silent era, Withers moved into sound films, establishing himself with a lis ...

and

Evalyn Knapp Evalyn Knapp (born Evelyn Pauline Knapp; June 17, 1906 – June 12, 1981) was an American film actress of the late 1920s, 1930s and into the 1940s. She was a leading B-movie serial actress in the 1930s. She was the younger sister of the orch ...

, and featuring

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...

(in his film debut),

Lucille La Verne Lucille La Verne (November 7, 1872 – March 4, 1945) was an American actress known for her appearances in early sound films, as well as for her triumphs on the American stage. She is most widely remembered as the voices of the Old Witch in the 19 ...

, and

Joan Blondell Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...

. It is based on the 1930 play ''Penny Arcade'' by Marie Baumer. Both Cagney and Blondell reprised the roles they played in the original

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production.

Plot

Ma Delano (

) runs a

penny arcade ''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have establish ...

on an amusement pier at

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

with her children Jennie, Joe, and Harry (

Ray Gallagher Ray Gallagher (April 17, 1885 – March 6, 1953) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1912 and 1936. He appeared in many productions at Universal.''Pictorial History of the Silent Screen'' p.91 c. ...

and

). Underneath La Verne's establishment, Mitch McKane (

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 ...

) is running a bootleg operation. In order to escape detection, McKane doubles as a sideshow operator. Angel Harrigan (

), who works as a barker, is in love with Jennie. When McKane attempts to flirt with Jennie he is thwarted by Angel. Harry secretly becomes involved in McKanes's bootlegging operation, against the wishes of his mother. When McKane gets picked up by the police on suspicion of bootlegging, Harry takes over his operations and pockets the proceeds. McKane is unexpectedly released from prison and discovers Harry's treachery. He encounters Harry on a darkened pier but Harry shoots him before he can act. Harry confesses everything to his mother, but she attempts to place the blame on Angel, whom she does not like, by placing the murder weapon in his briefcase. As Angel is about to be taken away by the police, Jennie, who witnessed the crime and is in love with Angel, tells the police the truth, and her brother Harry confesses to the crime much to the chagrin of his mother.

Cast

as Angel Harrigan *

as Jennie Delano *

as Harry Delano *

as Ma Delano (as Lucille LaVerne) *

Noel Madison Noel Madison (born Noel Nathaniel Moscovitch; April 30, 1897 – January 6, 1975) was an American character actor in the 1930s and 1940s and appeared in 75 films, often as a gangster. Born in New York City, Madison was the son of actor Ma ...

as Buck Rogers *

Otto Hoffman Otto F. Hoffman (May 2, 1879 – June 23, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in almost 200 films between 1915 and 1944. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California, from lung cancer. Hoffman's Broadway credit ...

as George *

as Mitch McKane *

as Joe Delano *

as Myrtle *

Hank Mann Hank Mann (born David William Lieberman, May 28, 1887 – November 25, 1971) was a Russian Empire-born and American comedian and silent screen star who was a member of the Keystone Cops. According to fellow actor and original member of th ...

as Happy *

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 D ...

as Detective Sikes

Reception

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine felt that the story was credible and that it was refreshing to see a feature that was less than an hour long, with a concise story, as opposed to unnecessarily long hour-and-a-half features, which had recently been released.

Preservation status

The film survives complete; a print is preserved at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'', (<-book title) p.166 c.1978 by The American Film Institute

Home media

In 2015 ''Sinners' Holiday'' was released by

Warner Archive The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

on DVD.

References

External links

* * * * 1930 films 1930 crime drama films American crime drama films American black-and-white films American films based on plays Films directed by John G. Adolfi Warner Bros. films 1930s American films 1930s English-language films {{1930s-crime-drama-film-stub