''Big City'' is a 1937 American

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

Frank Borzage Frank Borzage (; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an Academy Award-winning American film director and actor, known for directing '' 7th Heaven'' (1927), '' Street Angel'' (1928), '' Bad Girl'' (1931), ''A Farewell to Arms'' (1932), '' Man's ...

and starring Luise Rainer and

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

. The film was also released as ''Skyscraper Wilderness''.

Plot

Joe Benton (

) and his wife Anna ( Luise Rainer) are suspected of starting a taxi war. Although innocent, they are blamed for everything that has happened and the officials demand that Anna be deported from the United States. While trying to prove their innocence, the couple feels forced to hide. The film also casts a number of popular sports figures including Jack Dempsey, James J. Jeffries,

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

, and Frank Wykoff in minor comic roles.

Cast

* Luise Rainer as Anna Benton *

as Joe Benton * Charley Grapewin as Robert, the Mayor * Janet Beecher as Sophie Sloane * Eddie Quillan as Mike Edwards * Victor Varconi as Paul Roya *

Oscar O'Shea Oscar O'Shea (8 October 1881 – 6 April 1960) was a Canadian-American character actor with over 100 film appearances from 1937 to 1953. Early years O'Shea was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Acting O'Shea was a comic actor who earne ...

as John C. Andrews * Helen Troy as Lola Johnson * William Demarest as Beecher * John Arledge as Bud *

Irving Bacon Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Jos ...

as Jim Sloane * Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as Danny Devlin * Regis Toomey as Fred Hawkins * Edgar Dearing as Tom Reilley *

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

as District Attorney Gilbert * Andrew Tombes as Inspector Matthews * Clem Bevans as Grandpa Sloane * Grace Ford as Mary Reilley *

Alice White Alice White (born Alva White; August 25, 1904Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. , pg. 1228. – February 19, 1983) was an American film ac ...

as Peggy Devlin *

Paul Fix Peter Paul Fix (March 13, 1901 – October 14, 1983) was an American film and television character actor who was best known for his work in Westerns. Fix appeared in more than 100 movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career b ...

as Comet Night Watchman (uncredited) * Ray Walker as Eddie Donogan, Independent Cab Driver (uncredited) * George Godfrey as himself

Reception

Writing for '' Night and Day'' in 1937,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

gave the film a poor review, describing it as "just possible to sit through". Greene's primary complaint was about the acting which he found to be "heavily laid on" with "people in this film eing''too'' happy before disaster: no one is as happy as all that, no one so little prepared for what life is bound to do sooner or later". The only consolation for Greene was that of Borzage's direction which Greene described as "sentimental but competent". (reprinted in: )

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $906,000 in the US and Canada and $695,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $462,000.

References

External links

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Review of film
at Variety {{Norman Krasna 1937 films 1937 drama films American black-and-white films American drama films Films directed by Frank Borzage Films produced by Frank Borzage Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films