''The Tip Off'' (also written as ''The Tip-Off'') is a 1929 American silent

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Leigh Jason Leigh Jason (July 26, 1904 – February 19, 1979) was an American film director and screenwriter. He was born in New York, New York, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. He married Ruth Harriet Louise in 1927 at Temple B'nai B'rith, wi ...

and starring

Bill Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...

George Hackathorne George Hackathorne (February 13, 1896 – June 25, 1940) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1916 and 1939. Hackathorne was born and educated in Pendleton, Oregon. Despite his mother's wishes ...

and

Duane Thompson Duane Thompson (born Lura Duane Malony; July 28, 1903 – August 15, 1970) was an American film actress during Hollywood's silent film era. When Talkies pushed silent films into the background, she worked in stock theater for a time before ...

.Munden p.816 It was shot at

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, just as the company was producing its last silents amidst the conversion to

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

. It was originally registered under the working title ''The Stool Pigeon'', but this was changed possibly due to the similarity to Columbia's '' Stool Pigeon''. In Britain it was released under the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the t ...

''Underworld Love''.

Synopsis

Riley, a

crook Crook is another name for criminal. Crook or Crooks may also refer to: Places * Crook, County Durham, England, a town * Crook, Cumbria, England, village and civil parish * Crook Hill, Derbyshire, England * Crook, Colorado, United States, a ...

is on the run from the law with his associated Jimmy Lamar. They shelter with Riley's girlfriend Annie, a

fortune teller Fortune telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical w ...

. She falls for Lamar, who is planning to go straight. Once he discovers this Riley pressures Lamar into a new job, intending to

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

him up. However, Annie foresees this in her

crystal ball A crystal ball, also known as an orbuculum or crystal sphere, is a crystal or glass ball and common fortune-telling object. It is generally associated with the performance of clairvoyance and scrying in particular. In more recent times, the cry ...

and warns Lamar.

Cast

as Jimmy Lamar *

as 'Shrimp' Riley *

as Crystal Annie * L.J. O'Connor as Capt. McHugh *

Jack Singleton Jack Singleton (born 14 May 1996) is an English professional rugby union player who plays at hooker for Premiership Rugby club Gloucester. Club career Singleton came through the Saracens Academy prior to joining Worcester Warriors in 2014. In O ...

as Confidence Man *

Robert Bolder Robert Bolder (20 July 1859 – 10 December 1937) was an English film actor of the silent film, silent era. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1912 and 1936. He was born in London and died in Los Angeles, California. In the early par ...

as Duke *

Monte Montague Monte Montague (April 23, 1891 – April 6, 1959) was the stage name for Walter H. Montague, an American film actor. He appeared in more than 190 films between 1920 and 1954. He was born in Somerset, Kentucky, and died in Burbank, California ...

as Negro *

Walter Shumway Walter Shumway (1884–1965) was an American film actor.Agrasánchez p.50 A character actor he appeared in a variety of supporting roles in films and serials between 1918 and 1950. He was married to the actress Corra Beach. Selected filmography ...

as Stock Salesman

References

Bibliography

* Munden, Kenneth White. ''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States, Part 1''. University of California Press, 1997.

External links

* 1929 films 1929 drama films 1920s English-language films American silent feature films Silent American drama films American black-and-white films Films directed by Leigh Jason Universal Pictures films 1920s American films {{1920s-US-film-stub