''Grief Street'' is a 1931 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 ...

mystery crime film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring

Barbara Kent Barbara Kent ( Barbara Cloutman) December 16, 1907 – October 13, 2011) was a Canadian film actress, prominent from the silent film era to the early talkies of the 1920s and 1930s. In 1925, Barbara Kent won the Miss Hollywood Beauty Pageant. ...

and John Holland. It was produced and distributed by the

Chesterfield Motion Pictures Corporation Chesterfield Motion Picture Corporation, generally shortened to Chesterfield Pictures, was an American film production company of the 1920s and 1930s. The company head was George R. Batcheller, and the company worked in tandem with its sister stu ...

Plot

A womanizing matinée idol is found strangled in his dressing room. The door is locked from the inside and there is no other way into the room. He had been having an affair with his leading lady, while his actress wife is doing the same with the stage manager. Everyone, including a young actress who had been fired from the play, and an old actor now relegated to a stage-doorman, has a motive. The explanation for the murder lies within the script of the play.

Cast

as Jean Royce * John Holland as Jim Ryan *

Dorothy Christy Dorothy Christy (born Dorothea J. Seltzer, later Dorothy Rucker; May 26, 1906 – May 21, 1977) was an American actress. She was sometimes billed as Dorothy Christie. Early years Christy was born Dorothea J. Seltzer on May 26, 1906, in Readin ...

as Mrs. Alvin Merle aka Ethel Wynn *

Crauford Kent Crauford Kent (12 October 1881 – 14 May 1953) was an English character actor based in the United States. He has also been credited as Craufurd Kent

as Alvin Merle * Lillian Rich as Pamela Gregory *James P. Burtis as Police Sgt. Jardine *

Larry Steers Lawrence Wells Steers (February 14, 1888 – February 15, 1951) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 550 films between 1917 and 1951. He was born in Indiana, and died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Partial filmography * ...

as Ralph Burns *

Lloyd Whitlock Lloyd Whitlock (January 2, 1891 – January 8, 1966) was a prolific American actor who began working during Hollywood's silent era. Born in 1891, he appeared in nearly 200 films between 1916 and 1949. Distinguished by his height and stature, he ...

as Frank Murray * Lafe McKee as Michael - Stage Doorman *

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s. Career Born in Cou ...

as Ted *Raymond Largay as Police Capt. Blake *

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

as Walt

External links

* * * 1931 films American crime films 1930s mystery films 1930s crime films 1930s romance films 1930s English-language films American black-and-white films American mystery films Chesterfield Pictures films Films directed by Richard Thorpe 1930s American films {{mystery-film-stub