''The Great O'Malley'' is a 1937 crime film directed by

William Dieterle William Dieterle (July 15, 1893 – December 9, 1972) was a German-born actor and film director who emigrated to the United States in 1930 to leave a worsening political situation. He worked in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood primarily a ...

and starring

Pat O'Brien Pat O'Brien may refer to: Politicians * Pat O'Brien (Canadian politician) (born 1948), member of the Canadian House of Commons *Pat O'Brien (Irish politician) (c. 1847–1917), Irish Nationalist MP in the United Kingdom Parliament Others *Pat O'Br ...

Sybil Jason Sybil Jason (born Sybil Jacobson; 23 November 1927 – 23 August 2011) was a South African-born, American child film actress who, in the late 1930s, was presented as a rival to Shirley Temple. Career Born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 23 ...

, Humphrey Bogart, and Ann Sheridan. The 1925 silent version ''

The Making of O'Malley ''The Making of O'Malley'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Lambert Hillyer and written by Eugene Clifford. The film stars Milton Sills, Dorothy Mackaill, Helen Rowland, Warner Richmond, Thomas Carrigan and Julia Hurley. The f ...

'' starred

Milton Sills Milton George Gustavus Sills (January 12, 1882 – September 15, 1930) was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century. Biography Sills was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a wealthy family. He was the son of William Henr ...

Dorothy Mackaill Dorothy Mackaill (March 4, 1903 – August 12, 1990) was a British-American actress, most active during the silent-film era and into the pre-Code era of the early 1930s. Early life Born in Sculcoates, Kingston upon Hull in 1903 (although she ...

and

Helen Rowland Helen May Rowland (; 1875–1950) was an American journalist and humorist. For many years she wrote a column in the ''New York World'' called "Reflections of a Bachelor Girl". Many of her pithy insights from these columns were published in book ...

Plot

James O'Malley (

) is an overzealous, unforgiving officer who abides by the letter of the law and hands out citations for petty infractions. He pulls over John Phillips ( Humphrey Bogart) for a noisy muffler, delaying him long enough to cause him to be late for arriving at his new job that would help him to take care of his wife (

Frieda Inescort Frieda Inescort (born Frieda Wrightman, 29 June 1901 – 26 February 1976) was a Scottish-born actress best known for creating the role of Sorel Bliss in Noël Coward's play ''Hay Fever'' on Broadway. She also played the shingled lady in Joh ...

) and crippled daughter, Barbara (

). After losing the job for being late, Phillips becomes desperate and attempts to pawn his war medals and a revolver. The store owner does not want to pay him what the items are worth, causing Phillips to become enraged, knocking the clerk down, and taking money from the cash register. This leads to Phillips being arrested and sentenced to prison for robbery. Meanwhile, O'Malley is being ridiculed for being too hard on normal working people and gets demoted by Captain Cromwell (

Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...

), being reassigned as a school crossing guard at the same school where Phillips' daughter attends. Barbara and O'Malley strike up a friendship, while he falls in love with her teacher, Judy Nolan ( Ann Sheridan), whose disdain softens his disciplinarian attitude. After O'Malley finds out that Barbara is the daughter of the man that he sent to jail, he provides for her and her mother, secretly finding the physician to fix Barbara's crippled leg, working out a payment plan to fund it, and helping to get Phillips paroled. Unaware of O'Malley's help, Phillips, seeking revenge, shoots the officer out of desperation, thinking O'Malley is simply hounding him straight after his parole. O'Malley, further humanized by this experience, decides to exonerate Phillips, claiming that the shooting was accidentally brought on by himself, after tripping down the stairs. O'Malley soon recovers, and is reinstated to his old beat, with the respect of his fellow officers and the loving admiration of Judy.

Cast

as James Aloysius O'Malley *

as Barbara "Babs" Phillips * Humphrey Bogart as John Phillips * Ann Sheridan as Judy Nolan *

as Mrs. Phillips *

as Captain Cromwell * Henry O'Neill as Defense Attorney * Craig Reynolds as Motorist *

Hobart Cavanaugh Hobart Cavanaugh (September 22, 1886 – April 26, 1950 ) was an American character actor in films and on stage. Biography He was born in Virginia City, Nevada on September 22, 1886. Cavanaugh attended the University of California. He worked in ...

as Pinky Holden * Gordon Hart as Doctor * Mary Gordon as Mrs. O'Malley *

Mabel Colcord Mabel Colcord was an American actress who was born in San Francisco on August 13, 1873. She acted in over 30 films throughout her career, and is best known for her roles in Little Women, David Copperfield, and The Great O'Malley. Active mostly i ...

as Mrs. Flaherty * Frank Sheridan as Father Patrick *

Lillian Harmer Lillian Harmer (September 8, 1883 – May 14, 1946) was an American character actress. Biography Born in Philadelphia in 1883, Harmer had a brief film career during the 1930s. During her short career she would appear in over 60 films, mos ...

as Miss Taylor *

Delmar Watson David Delmar Watson (July 1, 1926 – October 26, 2008) was an American child actor and news photographer.Nelson, Valerie J"Delmar Watson, child actor turned news photographer, dies at 82" ''Los Angeles Times''. October 28, 2008.Andres, Holly J.F ...

as Tubby *

Frank Reicher Frank Reicher (born Franz Reicher; December 2, 1875 – January 19, 1965) was a German-born American actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Captain Englehorn in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Early life Reicher was born in Mu ...

as Dr. Larson *

Granville Bates Granville Bates (January 7, 1882 – July 8, 1940) was an American character actor and bit player, appearing in over ninety films. Biography Bates was born in Chicago in 1882 to Granville Bates, Sr., a developer and builder, and Adaline Bates ...

as Jake, Bar Proprietor (uncredited)Clifford McCarty, Bogey- The Films of Humphrey Bogart, 1965, p.40

References

External links

''The Great O'Malley''
in the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

* * * 1937 films 1937 crime drama films American crime drama films American black-and-white films Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department Films directed by William Dieterle Warner Bros. films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-crime-drama-film-stub