''The House on 56th Street'' is a 1933 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 ...
drama film. The film's plot involves a
miscarriage of justice
A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal procedure, criminal or civil procedure, civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they actual innocence, did not commit. Mis ...
, wrongful conviction and imprisonment, and alienation of a prisoner from her only living relative.
Plot summary
Kay Francis
Kay Francis (born Katharine Edwina Gibbs; January 13, 1905 – August 26, 1968) was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 an ...
stars as a woman
sent to prison for twenty years for a murder she did not commit. When she is released, her husband is dead, and her daughter (played by
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 ...
) has been told Peggy is also dead.
Cast
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Kay Francis
Kay Francis (born Katharine Edwina Gibbs; January 13, 1905 – August 26, 1968) was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 an ...
as Peggy Martin Van Tyle aka Peggy Stone
*
Ricardo Cortez
Ricardo Cortez (born Jacob Kranze or Jacob Krantz; September 19, 1900 – April 28, 1977) was an American actor and film director. He was also credited as Jack Crane early in his acting career.
Early years
Ricardo Cortez was born Jacob K ...
as Bill Blaine
*
Gene Raymond
Gene Raymond (born Raymond Guion; August 13, 1908 – May 3, 1998) was an American film, television, and stage actor of the 1930s and 1940s. In addition to acting, Raymond was also a singer, composer, screenwriter, director, producer, and decorat ...
as Monte Van Tyle (Monty Van Tyle in the opening credits)
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John Halliday as Lyndon Fiske
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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 ...
as Eleanor Van Tyle Burgess
*
Frank McHugh
Francis Curry McHugh (May 23, 1898 – September 11, 1981) was an American stage, radio, film and television actor.
Early years
Born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, of Irish descent, McHugh came from a theatrical family. His parents, Edward A. ...
as Chester Hunt
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William "Stage" Boyd
William H. Boyd (December 18, 1886 in New York City, New York – March 20, 1935 in Los Angeles, California) was an American actor billed as William "Stage" Boyd or William Stage Boyd.
Biography
Boyd was an early 20th century stage actor who appe ...
as Mr. Bonelli (as William Boyd)
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Hardie Albright
Hardie Hunter Albright (born Hardie Hunter Albrecht; December 16, 1903 – December 7, 1975) was an American actor.
Early years
Albright was born on December 16, 1903, in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, to traveling vaudeville performers. He made his ...
as Henry Burgess
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Sheila Terry as Dolly
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Phillip Reed
Phillip Reed (born Milton LeRoy; March 25, 1908 – December 7, 1996) was an American actor. He played Steve Wilson in a series of four films (1947–1948) based on the ''Big Town'' radio series.
Early years
Reed was a star athlete at Eras ...
as Freddy
*
Walter Walker as Dr. Wyman
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Nella Walker
Nella Walker (March 6, 1886 – March 22, 1971) was an American actress and vaudeville performer of the 1920s through the 1950s.
Biography
The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Walker, she was born and raised in Chicago. In 1910, she marrie ...
as Eleanor Van Tyle
Reception
According to Warner Bros records, the film earned $410,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $284,000 elsewhere.
References
External links
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1933 films
American black-and-white films
Films directed by Robert Florey
Films set in New York City
1933 romantic drama films
Warner Bros. films
American romantic drama films
1930s American films
Films scored by Bernhard Kaun
Films about miscarriage of justice
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