''Four Hours to Kill!'' is a 1935 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

Mitchell Leisen James Mitchell Leisen (October 6, 1898 – October 28, 1972) was an American director, art director, and costume designer. Film career He entered the film industry in the 1920s, beginning in the art and costume departments. He directed his f ...

and starring

Richard Barthelmess Richard Semler Barthelmess (May 9, 1895 – August 17, 1963) was an American film actor, principally of the Hollywood silent era. He starred opposite Lillian Gish in D. W. Griffith's ''Broken Blossoms'' (1919) and ''Way Down East'' (1920) and w ...

Plot

Taft, a policeman, has fugitive murderer Tony Mako in custody and in handcuffs, two thousand miles from the prison from which Mako escaped. With four hours to kill, Taft takes his prisoner to a theater where the cop's wife, Mae, is a hostess. Mae is an unfaithful schemer. She is trying to extort $200 from coat-check kid Eddie, insinuating she is pregnant. Eddie doesn't want his fiancee Helen to hear this, true or otherwise, so he tries to raise the money to pay Mae's blackmail. Eddie is also suspected of stealing an expensive piece of jewelry. Mako made the journey this far in the hope of gaining revenge against Anderson, a man who informed on him. After telling Taft he would prefer a quick death to a painful execution, Mako breaks free and shoots Anderson before being shot by Taft, dying the kind of death he wanted. Eddie is cleared and now free to marry Helen, while Mae is taken away to jail.

Cast

as Tony Mako *

Joe Morrison Joseph R. Morrison (August 21, 1937 – February 5, 1989) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants from 1959 to 1972. Morrison served as the head footbal ...

as Eddie *

Gertrude Michael Lillian Gertrude Michael (June 1, 1911 – December 31, 1964) was an American film, stage and television actress. Biography The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carl H. Michael, she was born in Talladega, Alabama. She graduated from Talladega High s ...

as Mrs. Sylvia Temple *

Helen Mack Helen Mack (born Helen McDougall; November 13, 1913 – August 13, 1986) was an American actress. She started her career as a child actress in silent films, moving to Broadway plays and touring one of the vaudeville circuits. Her greater succ ...

as Helen *

Dorothy Tree Dorothy Tree (born Dorothy Estelle Triebitz, May 21, 1906 – February 13, 1992) was an American actress, voice teacher and writer. She appeared in a wide range of character roles in at least 49 films between 1927 and 1951. Her roles includ ...

as Mae Danish *

Roscoe Karns Roscoe, also spelled Rosco or Roscow, may refer to: People * Roscoe (name) Places United States * Roscoe, California (disambiguation) * Roscoe Township (disambiguation) * Roscoe, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Roscoe, Illinois, a villag ...

as Johnson *

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...

as Carl Barrett *

Charles C. Wilson Charles Cahill Wilson (July 29, 1894 – January 7, 1948) was an American screen and stage actor. He appeared in numerous films during the Golden Age of Hollywood from the late 1920s to late 1940s. Biography Born in New York City in 1894, the ...

as Taft *

Henry Travers Travers John Heagerty (5 March 1874 – 18 October 1965), known professionally as Henry Travers, was an English film and stage character actor. His best known role was the guardian angel Clarence Odbody in the 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life' ...

as Mac Mason *

Noel Madison Noel Madison (born Noel Nathaniel Moscovitch; April 30, 1897 – January 6, 1975) was an American character actor in the 1930s and 1940s and appeared in 75 films, often as a gangster. Born in New York City, Madison was the son of actor Ma ...

as Anderson *

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 Capt. Seaver *

Olive Tell Olive Tell (September 27, 1894 – June 8, 1951) was a stage and screen actress from New York City. Biography Tell was educated in several cities in Europe. She and her younger actress sister Alma graduated from the American Academy of Dramat ...

as Mrs. Madison *

Lee Kohlmar Lee Kohlmar (27 February 1873 – 14 May 1946) was a German film actor and director. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1916 and 1941. He also directed nine films between 1916 and 1921. He was born in Forth and died in Hollywood, Cali ...

as Pa Herman

Production

Paramount bought the film rights to the stage play in December 1934.

Reception

The ''New York Times'' called it "a gripping, although extremely theatrical, melodrama with a neatly dovetailed plot, a uniformly excellent cast and well paceed direction".

Proposed remake

In 1944 Paramount Pictures announced it would create a new film adaptation of ''Small Miracle'', the play that was the basis of ''Four Hours to Kill''. Leisen was to direct the new version;

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake ...

in the lead. The project was not realized. In 1947

Jack LaRue Jack La Rue (born Gaspare Biondolillo; May 3, 1902 – January 11, 1984) was an American film and stage actor. Early years The son of Sicilian immigrants Pasquale and Concetta Biondolillo, La Rue was born in New York City. His father sailed to ...

presented a stage version.EQUITY STAGE UNIT TO CUT PRODUCTION: New York Times (Oct 25, 1947: 13.

References

External links

*
''Four Hours to Kill''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...

*
Four Hours to Kill!
' review at Mystery File
Review of film
at Variety {{Norman Krasna 1935 films 1935 drama films American black-and-white films American drama films American films based on plays Films directed by Mitchell Leisen Paramount Pictures films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films