''Unknown Blonde'' is a 1934 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 ...

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

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 ...

directed by

Hobart Henley Hobart Henley (born Hess Manassah Henle; November 23, 1887 – May 22, 1964) was an American silent film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He was involved in over 60 films either as an actor or director or both in his twenty-year career ...

and starring Edward Arnold, Barbara Barondess and

Dorothy Revier Dorothy Revier (born Doris Valerga; April 18, 1904 – November 19, 1993) was an American actress. Early years Born as Doris Valerga in San Francisco on April 18, 1904, Revier was one of five siblings of the famous Valerga performing fami ...

. It was released by the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Majestic Pictures Majestic Pictures was an American film production and distribution company active during the 1930s. Under the control of Larry Darmour the company specialized in low-budget production, and was one of the more stable Poverty Row outfits during the ...

.Pitts, p. 234 It was based on the 1932 novel ''Collusion'' by Theodore D. Irwin. The film's sets were designed by the art director

Ralph Oberg Ralph Oberg (1899–1961) was an American art director.Pitts p.232 Selected filmography * '' Curtain at Eight'' (1933) * ''The Sin of Nora Moran'' (1933) * '' Unknown Blonde'' (1934) * ''Down Mexico Way'' (1941) * ''Bells of Capistrano'' (1942) ...

Synopsis

Frank Rodie emerges as a very successful

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

lawyer, embittered after his own wife tricks him into innocently appearing as a

co-respondent In English law, a co-respondent is, in general, a respondent to a petition, or other legal proceeding, along with another or others, or a person called upon to answer in some other way. 7.4.19 Divorce More particularly, since the Matrimonial Ca ...

in a case and then divorcing him so she could marry a wealthy stockbroker. His wife turns their daughter Judith against him and, now with her husband in financial difficulties, she is spending money that Frank sends for their daughter. He manages to get even by trapping his wife into a compromising situation after her husband sues for divorce. Finally Frank is called in to save his daughter's reputation when she is dragged into a divorce case, eventually winning her appreciation.

Cast

* Edward Arnold as Frank Rodie * Barbara Barondess as Mrs. Van Brunt, Jr. *

Barry Norton Barry Norton (born Alfredo Carlos Birabén; June 16, 1905 – August 24, 1956) was an Argentine-American actor. He appeared in over 90 films, starting in silent films from 1925 until his death in 1956. He is perhaps best known for his role a ...

as Bob Parker *

John Miljan John Miljan (November 9, 1892 – January 24, 1960) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1924 and 1958. Biography Born in 1892, Miljan was the tall, smooth-talking villain in Hollywood films for almost four deca ...

as Frank Wilson *

as Helen Rodie *

Leila Bennett Leila Bennett (November 17, 1892 – January 5, 1965) was an American film actress who primarily appeared in supporting roles as either slapstick sidekicks, mousy maids, and scatterbrains. Early life Bennett was born in Newark, New Jerse ...

as The Maid *

Walter Catlett Walter Leland Catlett (February 4, 1889 – November 14, 1960) was an American actor and comedian. He made a career of playing excitable, meddlesome, temperamental, and officious blowhards. Career Catlett was born on February 4, 1889, in S ...

as Publicity Man *

Helen Jerome Eddy Helen Jerome Eddy (February 25, 1897 – January 27, 1990) was a motion picture actress from New York City. She was noted as a character actress who played genteel heroines in films such as ''Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'' (1917). Early years Edd ...

as Miss Adams *

Claude Gillingwater Claude Benton Gillingwater (August 2, 1870 – November 1, 1939) was an American stage and screen actor. He first appeared on the stage then in more than 90 films between 1918 and 1939, including the Academy Award-nominated ''A Tale of Two ...

as Papa Van Brunt, Sr. * Arletta Duncan as Judith Rodie *

Maidel Turner Maidel Turner (May 12, 1888 – April 12, 1953) was an American movie actress featured in almost 60 films between 1913 and 1951, beginning as the leading lady of ''The Angel of the Slums'' (1913) and becoming a comical character actress as she a ...

as Mrs Parker *

Franklin Pangborn Franklin Pangborn (January 23, 1889 – July 20, 1958) was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films '' Interna ...

as Male Co-Respondent * Esther Muir as Mrs. Vail * Clarence Wilson as Max Keibel *

Arthur Hoyt Arthur Hoyt (March 19, 1874 – January 4, 1953) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 275 films in his 34-year film career, about a third of them silent films. Career Born in Georgetown, Colorado, in 1874, Hoyt mad ...

as Mr. Vail * Franklyn Ardell as Rodie's Lawyer *

Kernan Cripps Kernan may refer to: People Surname * Catherine Kernan (born 1948), American artist *Edward Kernan (1771–1844), Irish clergyman * Francis Kernan (1816–1892), American politician *Francis Joseph Kernan (1859-1945), American general * James Kerna ...

as Detective * Henry Hall as Judge

References

Bibliography

* Pitts, Michael R. ''Poverty Row Studios, 1929–1940: An Illustrated History of 55 Independent Film Companies, with a Filmography for Each''. McFarland & Company, 2005.

External links

* 1934 films American drama films 1934 drama films American black-and-white films Films directed by Hobart Henley Majestic Pictures films Films about divorce 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-drama-film-stub