Frisco Jenny
Encyclopedia
Frisco Jenny is a Pre-Code
drama film starring Ruth Chatterton
and directed by William A. Wellman
.
, wants to marry piano player Dan McAllister (James Murray
), but her saloonkeeper father Jim (Robert Emmett O'Connor) is adamantly opposed to it. An earthquake
kills both men and devastates the city. In the aftermath, Jenny gives birth to a son, whom she names Dan.
With financial help from crooked lawyer Steve Dutton (Louis Calhern
), who himself came from the Tenderloin, she sets herself up in the vice
trade, providing women on demand. Jenny has one loyal friend, the Chinese woman Amah (Helen Jerome Eddy
), who helps take care of the baby.
At a party in Steve's honor, he catches gambler Ed Harris (an uncredited J. Carroll Naish) cheating him in a back room. In the ensuing struggle, Steve kills him, with Jenny the only eyewitness. The pair are unable to dispose of the body before it is found and are questioned by the police. However, neither is charged. The scandal forces Jenny to temporarily give up her baby to a very respectable couple who owe Steve a favor to keep the child from being taken away from her.
After three years, she tries to take her son back, but the boy clings to the only mother he can remember, so she leaves him where he is. He grows up and goes to Stanford University
, where he becomes a football star, graduates with honors, and becomes first a lawyer, then an assistant district attorney. Jenny lovingly follows his progress. Meanwhile, she takes over the vice and bootlegging
in the city.
When Dan runs for district attorney, his opponent is Tom Ford (an uncredited Edwin Maxwell
), who does Jenny's bidding. Against her best interests, she frames Ford so that Dan can win.
When Steve tries to bribe Dan to free some of his men, he is arrested. Out on bail, Steve asks Jenny to blackmail Dan into dropping the charges, but she refuses to jeopardize her son's future. In fact, she intends to retire to France with Amah. When Steve threatens to reveal that Jenny is Dan's real mother, she shoots and kills him at Dan's office.
She is quickly arrested and prosecuted by Dan. Refusing to defend herself, she is condemned to death by hanging. Amah pleads with her to tell Dan the truth in the hope that he can help her, but when he comes to see her, she remains silent.
According to Robert Osborne
of Turner Classic Movies
, George Brent
was originally slated for the role of Dan Reynolds. However, Chatterton and the younger Brent were soon to be married, and she did not like the idea of playing his mother.
Pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood refers to the era in the American film industry between the introduction of sound in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines. Although the Code was adopted in 1930, oversight was poor and it did not become rigorously...
drama film starring Ruth Chatterton
Ruth Chatterton
Ruth Chatterton was an American actress, novelist, and early aviatrix.- Early life :Chatterton was born in New York City, on Christmas Eve 1892, to Walter Smith and Lillian Reed Chatterton...
and directed by William A. Wellman
William A. Wellman
William Augustus Wellman was an American film director. Although Wellman began his film career as an actor, he worked on over 80 films, as director, producer and consultant but most often as a director, notable for his work in crime, adventure and action genre films, often focusing on aviation...
.
Plot
In 1906 San Francisco, Frisco Jenny Sandoval (Ruth Chatterton), a denizen of the notorious Tenderloin districtTenderloin, San Francisco, California
The Tenderloin is a neighborhood in downtown San Francisco, California, in the flatlands on the southern slope of Nob Hill, nestled between the Union Square shopping district to the northeast and the Civic Center office district to the southwest...
, wants to marry piano player Dan McAllister (James Murray
James Murray (actor)
James Murray was an American movie actor.-Background:Born in The Bronx, New York, James Murray went to Hollywood in the 1920s to try to succeed as an actor. After several years of work, mostly as an extra, with little hope of a starring role, he was "discovered" by director King Vidor, who saw...
), but her saloonkeeper father Jim (Robert Emmett O'Connor) is adamantly opposed to it. An earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
kills both men and devastates the city. In the aftermath, Jenny gives birth to a son, whom she names Dan.
With financial help from crooked lawyer Steve Dutton (Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern
Louis Calhern was an American stage and screen actor.- Early life :Louis Calhern was born Carl Henry Vogt on February 19, 1895 in Brooklyn, New York. His family left New York City while he was still a child and moved to St. Louis, Missouri where he grew up...
), who himself came from the Tenderloin, she sets herself up in the vice
Vice
Vice is a practice or a behavior or habit considered immoral, depraved, or degrading in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a defect, an infirmity, or merely a bad habit. Synonyms for vice include fault, depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness, and corruption...
trade, providing women on demand. Jenny has one loyal friend, the Chinese woman Amah (Helen Jerome Eddy
Helen Jerome Eddy
Helen Jerome Eddy was a motion picture actress from New York, New York. She was noted as a character actress who played genteel heroines in films such as Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm .-Biography:...
), who helps take care of the baby.
At a party in Steve's honor, he catches gambler Ed Harris (an uncredited J. Carroll Naish) cheating him in a back room. In the ensuing struggle, Steve kills him, with Jenny the only eyewitness. The pair are unable to dispose of the body before it is found and are questioned by the police. However, neither is charged. The scandal forces Jenny to temporarily give up her baby to a very respectable couple who owe Steve a favor to keep the child from being taken away from her.
After three years, she tries to take her son back, but the boy clings to the only mother he can remember, so she leaves him where he is. He grows up and goes to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, where he becomes a football star, graduates with honors, and becomes first a lawyer, then an assistant district attorney. Jenny lovingly follows his progress. Meanwhile, she takes over the vice and bootlegging
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
in the city.
When Dan runs for district attorney, his opponent is Tom Ford (an uncredited Edwin Maxwell
Edwin Maxwell
Edwin Maxwell was an Irish character actor in Hollywood movies of the 1930s and 1940s, frequently cast as shady businessmen and shysters, though often ones with a dignified bearing....
), who does Jenny's bidding. Against her best interests, she frames Ford so that Dan can win.
When Steve tries to bribe Dan to free some of his men, he is arrested. Out on bail, Steve asks Jenny to blackmail Dan into dropping the charges, but she refuses to jeopardize her son's future. In fact, she intends to retire to France with Amah. When Steve threatens to reveal that Jenny is Dan's real mother, she shoots and kills him at Dan's office.
She is quickly arrested and prosecuted by Dan. Refusing to defend herself, she is condemned to death by hanging. Amah pleads with her to tell Dan the truth in the hope that he can help her, but when he comes to see her, she remains silent.
Cast (in credits order)
- Ruth ChattertonRuth ChattertonRuth Chatterton was an American actress, novelist, and early aviatrix.- Early life :Chatterton was born in New York City, on Christmas Eve 1892, to Walter Smith and Lillian Reed Chatterton...
as Frisco Jenny Sandoval - Louis CalhernLouis CalhernLouis Calhern was an American stage and screen actor.- Early life :Louis Calhern was born Carl Henry Vogt on February 19, 1895 in Brooklyn, New York. His family left New York City while he was still a child and moved to St. Louis, Missouri where he grew up...
as Steve Dutton - Helen Jerome EddyHelen Jerome EddyHelen Jerome Eddy was a motion picture actress from New York, New York. She was noted as a character actress who played genteel heroines in films such as Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm .-Biography:...
as Amah - Donald CookDonald Cook (actor)Donald Cook was an American stage and film actor.Born in Portland, Oregon, he originally studied farming but later started business with a lumber company. He joined the Kansas Community Players and through this received an offer of stage work...
as Dan Reynolds - James MurrayJames Murray (actor)James Murray was an American movie actor.-Background:Born in The Bronx, New York, James Murray went to Hollywood in the 1920s to try to succeed as an actor. After several years of work, mostly as an extra, with little hope of a starring role, he was "discovered" by director King Vidor, who saw...
as Dan McAllister - Hallam CooleyHallam CooleyHallam Cooley was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 106 films between 1913 and 1936.He was born in Brooklyn, New York and died in Tiburon, California.-Selected filmography:*Bull's Eye...
as Willie Gleason - Pat O'MalleyPat O'MalleyPatrick O'Malley or Pat O'Malley may refer to:*Patrick H. O'Malley, Jr. , American actor*J. Pat O'Malley , English singer and actor*Patrick O'Malley , former Illinois State Senator...
as Policeman Pat O'Hoolihan - Harold HuberHarold HuberHarold Huber was an American actor who appeared on film, radio and television.-Early life:Huber was born Harold Joseph Huberman in the Bronx to Joseph Huberman and "Mammie" Glassberg, Jewish immigrants from Imperial Russia, who had arrived in the United States as infants. His father was the...
as George Weaver - Robert Emmett O'Connor as Jim Sandoval
- Willard RobertsonWillard RobertsonWillard Robertson was an American actor. He appeared in 146 films between 1924 and 1948. He was born in Runnels, Texas and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:*Graft *Shanghaied Love...
as Police Captain Tom
According to Robert Osborne
Robert Osborne
Robert Jolin Osborne is an American actor and film historian best known as the primary host for Turner Classic Movies, and previously a host of The Movie Channel.-Life and career:...
of Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
, George Brent
George Brent
George Brent was an Irish film and television actor in American cinema.-Early life:He was born George Brendan Nolan in Raharabeg, County Roscommon on the opposite bank of the River Shannon from the town of Shannonbridge, County Offaly, Ireland, the son of a British Army officer.During the Irish...
was originally slated for the role of Dan Reynolds. However, Chatterton and the younger Brent were soon to be married, and she did not like the idea of playing his mother.