''Wild Company'' 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 ...

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

Leo McCarey Thomas Leo McCarey (October 3, 1898 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was involved in nearly 200 films, the most well known today being ''Duck Soup (1933 film), Duck Soup'', ''Make Way for Tomo ...

and written by Bradley King. The film stars

Frank Albertson Francis Healey Albertson (February 2, 1909 – February 29, 1964) was an American actor who had supporting roles in films such as ''It's a Wonderful Life'' (1946) and '' Psycho'' (1960). Early life Albertson was a native of Fergus Falls ...

Joyce Compton Olivia Joyce Compton (January 27, 1907 – October 13, 1997) was an American actress. Biography Compton was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the daughter of Henry and Golden Compton. (Despite frequent reports to the contrary, her name was not ...

Sharon Lynn Sharon Lynn (born D'Auvergne Sharon Lindsay, April 9, 1901 – May 26, 1963) was an American actress and singer. She began playing in silent films but enjoyed her biggest success in the early sound years of motion pictures before fading away i ...

H. B. Warner Henry Byron Warner (born Henry Byron Lickfold, 26 October 1876 – 21 December 1958) was an English film and theatre actor. He was popular during the silent era and played Jesus Christ in '' The King of Kings''. In later years, he successfu ...

, Richard Keene and Frances McCoy. The film was released on July 5, 1930, by

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film ...

. Although

Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...

had a relatively brief role in this film as a nightclub owner, his character's murder provides a pivotal plot point.

Plot

Wastrel Larry Grayson constantly drains his wealthy father Henry Grayson's fortune to spend the money in a speakeasy where singer Sally Curtis entertains. Gangster Joe Hardy tells Sally to befriend Larry so that he can pin a murder rap on the young man. Larry winds up getting framed for the shooting murder of nightclub owner Felix Brown (Lugosi), and his wealthy father turns him over to the police. A criminal trial results in the young man receiving a suspended sentence and a lengthy lecture about how "partying and jazz music" can lead to the downfall of youths.

Cast

as Larry Grayson, rich wastrel *

as millionaire Henry Grayson *

as Anita Grayson *

Claire McDowell Claire McDowell ( MacDowell; November 2, 1877 – October 23, 1966) was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 350 films between 1908 and 1945. Early years Claire MacDowell was born in New York City on November 2, 1877, th ...

as Mrs. Laura Grayson *

as Sally Curtis, nightclub singer *

Kenneth Thomson Kenneth Roy Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet (September 1, 1923 – June 12, 2006), known in Canada as Ken Thomson, was a Canadian/British businessman and art collector. At the time of his death, he was listed by ''Forbes'' as the richest per ...

as Joe Hardy, gangster *Richard Keene as Dick *Frances McCoy as Cora Diltz *Mildred Van Dorn as Natalie *Bob Callahan as Eddie Graham *

as Felix Brown, nightclub owner

References

External links

* 1930 films Fox Film films American drama films 1930 drama films Films directed by Leo McCarey American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-drama-film-stub