''Blackwell's Island'' is a 1939 American

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by William C. McGann and written by

Crane Wilbur Crane Wilbur (November 17, 1886 – October 18, 1973) was an American writer, actor and director for stage, radio and screen. He was born in Athens, New York. Wilbur is best remembered for playing Harry Marvin in ''The Perils of Pauline (1914 s ...

. The film stars

John Garfield John Garfield (born Jacob Julius Garfinkle; March 4, 1913 – May 21, 1952) was an American actor who played brooding, rebellious, working-class characters. He grew up in poverty in New York City. In the early 1930s, he became a member of ...

, Rosemary Lane,

Dick Purcell Richard Gerold Purcell Jr. (August 6, 1905 – April 10, 1944) was an American actor best known for playing Marvel Comics' Captain America in the 1944 film serial, co-starring with Lorna Gray and Lionel Atwill. Purcell also appeared in f ...

Victor Jory Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, such as Oberon in ''A Midsummer Ni ...

, Stanley Fields and

Morgan Conway Morgan Conway (born Sydney Albert Conway, March 16, 1900 – November 16, 1981)https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/191339427/person/172487150866/facts was an American actor, best known for his portrayals of Dick Tracy. Early l ...

. The film was released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

on March 25, 1939. It was based on a real life scandal on Welfare Island.

Plot

A reporter (Garfield) covers the racketeering of a mobster (Fields) which caused the assault of a boat captain. The mobster has a police officer (Purcell) beaten and the reporting causes the mobster to go to prison for it. The reporter then assaults a DA to get thrown into the prison to report on the mobster's corruption from jail.

Cast

as Tim Haydon * Rosemary Lane as Mary 'Sunny' Walsh * Stanley Fields as 'Bull' Bransom *

as Terry Walsh *

as Commissioner Thomas MacNair *

as Steve Cardigan *

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 Prison Warden Stuart 'Stu' Granger * Anthony Averill as Brower * Peggy Shannon as Pearl Murray *

Charley Foy Charley Foy (June 12, 1898 – August 22, 1984), born Charles Richard Fitzgerald, was an American actor of both the vaudeville stage and film. Son of Eddie Foy Sr., he was one of the famous "The Seven Little Foys", the seven children of the senio ...

as Benny Farmer * Norman Willis as Mike Garth * Joe Cunningham as Ben Rawden *

Wade Boteler Wade Boteler (October 3, 1888 – May 7, 1943) was an American film actor and writer. He appeared in more than 430 films between 1919 and 1943. Biography He was born in Santa Ana, California, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart ...

as Capt. Pedersen * William B. Davidson as Defense Attorney Hempel *

Milburn Stone Hugh Milburn Stone (July 5, 1904 – June 12, 1980) was an American actor, best known for his role as "Doc" (Dr. Galen Adams) on the Western (genre), Western series ''Gunsmoke''. Early life Stone was born in Burrton, Kansas, to Herbert Stone an ...

Uncredited

References

External links

*
''Blackwell's Island'' at AllMovie
* * 1939 films 1939 crime drama films 1930s prison films American black-and-white films American crime drama films American prison drama films Crime films based on actual events Films about journalists Films directed by William Clemens Films set in New York City Warner Bros. films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Films scored by Bernhard Kaun Films directed by William C. McGann English-language crime drama films {{1930s-crime-drama-film-stub