''The House Across the Bay'' is a 1940 film directed by Archie Mayo, starring

George Raft George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...

and

Joan Bennett Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She came from a show-business family, one of three acting sisters. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more t ...

, produced by

Walter Wanger Walter Wanger (born Walter Feuchtwanger; July 11, 1894 – November 18, 1968) was an American film producer active from the 1910s, his career concluding with the turbulent production of '' Cleopatra,'' his last film, in 1963. He began at Para ...

, written by

Myles Connolly Myles Connolly (October 7, 1897 – July 15, 1964) was an American writer and a Hollywood screenwriter/ producer. Biography Myles Connolly was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts (a neighborhood-suburb of Boston) in 1897. Connolly received his col ...

and

Kathryn Scola Kathryn Scola (November 6, 1891 – January 4, 1982) was an American screenwriter. She worked on more than thirty films during the 1930s and 1940s. Scola worked in Hollywood for a multitude of prominent production companies during the studio era ...

, and released by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. The supporting cast features

Lloyd Nolan Lloyd Benedict Nolan (August 11, 1902 – September 27, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Among his many roles, Nolan is remembered for originating the role of private investigator Michael Shayne in a series of 1940s B movies. Bi ...

, Walter Pidgeon and Gladys George.

Plot

A gangster Steve Larwitt (George Raft) falls for one his singers Brenda Bartley (Joan Bennett) at his nightclub. They marry and live the high life for awhile. He gets set up and is sent to Alcatraz on charges of racketeering, for ten years. She suspects his lawyer Slant Kolma (Lloyd Nolan) having a hand in this problem. She rents an apartment across San Francisco Bay with a view of the prison. She is befriended by another woman Mary Bogale (Gladys George)whose husband is also jailed but also wants to have fun. One night they meet a man Tim Nolan (Walter Pidgeon) who becomes attracted by Brenda and starts pursuing her, much to her annoyance. He finally wins her over. However, she still loves her husband. Kolma tries to blackmail her and trap her, having sold off her jewelry for his "defense". He is jealous because he saw her at a restaurant with Tim. Brenda finally confides in Mary and tells her about her problems. She returns to singing to earn money. When she visits her husband in jail, that shyster lawyer is waiting for her. She hides the truth from Steve about the money being gone. Tim sees her singing at the nightclub and talking with customers. He continues to pursue her but although she has feelings for Tim, she wants to be faithful to her husband because she knows her love is the only thing that helps him get through his days. The treacherous lawyer is so full of jealousy, he goes to tell Steve about Brenda and Tim. Desperate, Steve escapes and looks for Brenda. He tries to kill her but Tim arrives in time with a gun and tells Steve about the lawyer setting him up and stealing their money. He escapes the nightclub and he tells Brenda to wait for him and at a street corner. He goes looking for the lawyer and finds him and kills him. Then returns to the bay waterfront, swims out and allows the prison posse trolling the water to capture him.

Cast

as Steve Larwitt *

as Brenda Bentley *

as Slant Kolma * Walter Pidgeon as Tim Nolan * Gladys George as Mary Bogel *

Peggy Shannon Peggy Shannon (born Winona Sammon; January 10, 1907 – May 11, 1941) was an American actress. She appeared on the stage and screen of the 1920s and 1930s. Shannon began her career as a Ziegfeld girl in 1923 before moving on to Broadway product ...

as Alice *

June Knight June Knight (born Margaret Rose Valliquietto; January 22, 1913 – June 16, 1987) was an American theatre and film actress and singer. Early years Knight was born in Los Angeles in 1913. Sickly throughout the first years of her life, sh ...

as Bebe * Max Wagner as Jim * Joe Sawyer as Charley * Cy Kendall as Crawley * Joseph Crehan as Federal Man * Edward Fielding as Judge * James Craig as Brenda's Friend (uncredited) * James Farley as Prison Guard (uncredited)

Production

The film was based on an original story by

. In 1939 it was reported Warner Bros were considering buying it as a vehicle for

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...

and

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

. They could not come to an agreement and

bought the rights. Wanger made the film as part of what was meant to be a slate of six films for United Artists. Filming was pushed back so Wanger could make ''Foreign Correspondent''. George Raft was loaned by Warner Bros, dropping out of ''

It All Came True ''It All Came True'' is a 1940 American musical comedy crime film starring Ann Sheridan as a fledgling singer and Humphrey Bogart, who was third-billed on movie posters, as a gangster who hides from the police in a boarding house. It is based ...

'', in which he was replaced by

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

. Walter Pidgeon was borrowed from MGM. Director Archie Mayo was borrowed from Sam Goldwyn. Bennett was under contract to Wanger. Filming started 16 October 1939. Some scenes of Pidgeon and Bennett in an airplane were filmed by

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

as a favor to Wanger, for whom Hitchcock had directed ''

Foreign Correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

'' the same year. Bennett and Wanger married after filming completed.

Reception

Box office

The film recorded a loss of $101,334. It caused tension between Raft and Warner Bros, to whom he was under long-term contract, because in this United Artists film, Raft played a gangster who loses in the end – the sort of role he had refused to play for Warner Bros.Everett Aaker, ''The Films of George Raft'', McFarland & Company, 2013 p 91

Critical

The ''New York Times'' called it a "somewhat less than fascinating tale of one of the more glamorous Rock-widows of Alcatraz" which was "old hat and scarcely worth its maker's bother—or yours." The ''Los Angeles Times'' thought it was "curiously (and unnecessarily) complicated."

References

External links

* *
''The House Across the Bay''
at

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''The House Across the Bay''
at BFI {{DEFAULTSORT:House Across The Bay 1940 films American crime drama films 1940 crime drama films Films directed by Archie Mayo Films produced by Walter Wanger American black-and-white films Films with screenplays by Kathryn Scola Films scored by Werner Janssen 1940s English-language films 1940s American films