Half a Sinner (1940 film)
Encyclopedia
Half a Sinner is a 1940
American film directed by Al Christie
. It stars Heather Angel
as a schoolteacher who in one day becomes Public Enemy Number One
in Pennsylvania
. The film is based on Dalton Trumbo
's short story
Lady Takes a Chance. The working title
s of this film were Everything Happens to Ann and The Lady Takes a Chance.
Returning to her home Anne decides to have one day of excitement in her life. She spends her savings on an expensive dress and hosiery
and releases her pet canary Delilah in the open air for a taste of freedom. Sitting in a public park she is bothered by rude man who propositions her. When Anne sees he is carrying a concealed revolver she knocks him down and drives off with his car. The man she has pushed down is a gangster, the car she has driven off with is one that he stole, and on the floor of the back seat is the body of a man that he just murdered. The dead man is covered by the overcoat of the murderer's employer; a powerful crime boss. Unaware of her back seat passenger and that she is being pursued by the police and murderous criminals, Ann picks up a handsome hitchhiker.
's second screen credit and the last of Jack Skirball's Arcadia Pictures. Skirball, an ordained Rabbi
later produced Alfred Hitchcock
's Shadow of a Doubt
. The film started production in February 1939 and was to be released by Grand National Films. After the 1939 demise of Grand National, the completed film was picked up for release by Universal Pictures.
Heather Angel had played Phyllis Clavering opposite John Howard
in five Bulldog Drummond
films. A Universal contract star, John King had played Ace Drummond
in a serial. This film was the last on his Universal Pictures contract that led him to finish his motion picture career playing a singing cowboy in Mongram's Range Busters
B Western series.
1940 in film
The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
American film directed by Al Christie
Al Christie
Al Christie was a Canadian-born motion picture director, producer and screenwriter.-Career:Born Alfred Ernest Christie, in London, Ontario, Canada, he was one of a number of Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood who made their way to Hollywood, California, attracted by the newly developing motion...
. It stars Heather Angel
Heather Angel (actress)
Heather Grace Angel was an English actress.-Life and career:Born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, she was brought up on a farm near Banbury....
as a schoolteacher who in one day becomes Public Enemy Number One
Public Enemy
Public Enemy is an American hip hop group consisting of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff and his S1W group, DJ Lord , and Music Director Khari Wynn...
in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. The film is based on Dalton Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo
James Dalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter and novelist, and one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of film professionals who refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry...
's short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
Lady Takes a Chance. The working title
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
s of this film were Everything Happens to Ann and The Lady Takes a Chance.
Plot summary
On the last day of school for the year, 25 year old schoolteacher Miss Anne Gladden has one of her students writing punishment lines reading I WILL TRY TO BE GOOD on the blackboard. After the class is dismissed, she releases the boy from his punishment where she tells him that not everyone can do what they want to do in their life so they might as well make the best of what they have. She is overheard by an older teacher who remarks to Miss Gladden that she prefers the troublemaking students as they are the ones who can think for themselves. Anne is surprised at what she says with the older teacher replying that she has just turned 40 that day and has had regrets about not doing wild things when she was young. She advises Anne to do what she never did as one day she too will be old before she expects to be.Returning to her home Anne decides to have one day of excitement in her life. She spends her savings on an expensive dress and hosiery
Hosiery
Hosiery, also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically as hose...
and releases her pet canary Delilah in the open air for a taste of freedom. Sitting in a public park she is bothered by rude man who propositions her. When Anne sees he is carrying a concealed revolver she knocks him down and drives off with his car. The man she has pushed down is a gangster, the car she has driven off with is one that he stole, and on the floor of the back seat is the body of a man that he just murdered. The dead man is covered by the overcoat of the murderer's employer; a powerful crime boss. Unaware of her back seat passenger and that she is being pursued by the police and murderous criminals, Ann picks up a handsome hitchhiker.
Production
The film is Dalton TrumboDalton Trumbo
James Dalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter and novelist, and one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of film professionals who refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry...
's second screen credit and the last of Jack Skirball's Arcadia Pictures. Skirball, an ordained Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
later produced Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Shadow of a Doubt
Shadow of a Doubt
Shadow of a Doubt is a 1943 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten. Written by Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, and Alma Reville, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story for Gordon McDonell...
. The film started production in February 1939 and was to be released by Grand National Films. After the 1939 demise of Grand National, the completed film was picked up for release by Universal Pictures.
Heather Angel had played Phyllis Clavering opposite John Howard
John Howard (American actor)
John Howard was an American actor noted for his work in film and television.-Background:Born John R. Cox, Jr. in Cleveland, Ohio, he was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of what is now Case Western Reserve University. At college he discovered a love for the theater, and took part in student productions...
in five Bulldog Drummond
Bulldog Drummond
Bulldog Drummond is a British fictional character, created by "Sapper", a pseudonym of Herman Cyril McNeile , and the hero of a series of novels published from 1920 to 1954.- Drummond :...
films. A Universal contract star, John King had played Ace Drummond
Ace Drummond
Ace Drummond was an aviation comic strip scripted by Eddie Rickenbacker, the celebrated World War I aviator, and illustrated by Clayton Knight , well-known aviation author and artist, who was the father of illustrator Hilary Knight...
in a serial. This film was the last on his Universal Pictures contract that led him to finish his motion picture career playing a singing cowboy in Mongram's Range Busters
Range Busters
The Range Busters were a film series of 25 Westerns of the adventures of a trio of cowboys, many filmed at the Corriganville Movie Ranch, produced by George W. Weeks and distributed by Monogram Pictures.-Production:...
B Western series.
Cast
- Heather AngelHeather Angel (actress)Heather Grace Angel was an English actress.-Life and career:Born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, she was brought up on a farm near Banbury....
as Anne Gladden - John "Dusty" King as Larry Cameron
- Constance CollierConstance CollierConstance Collier was an English film actress and acting coach.-Life and career:Born Laura Constance Hardie, in Windsor, Berkshire, Collier made her stage debut at the age of 3, when she played Fairy Peasblossom in A Midsummer's Night Dream...
as Mrs. Jefferson Breckenridge - Walter CatlettWalter CatlettWalter Catlett was an American actor. As a San Francisco citizen, he started out in vaudeville with a detour for a while in opera before breaking into films.-Early career:...
as Turnpike Gas Station Attendant - Tom DuganTom DuganTom Dugan was an Irish film actor. He appeared in over 260 films between 1927 and 1955. He was born in Dublin, Ireland and died in Redlands, California....
as Red Egan - Robert Elliott as Officer Kelly
- Clem BevansClem BevansClem Bevans was a character actor best remembered for playing eccentric, grumpy old men.Bevans had a very long career, starting in vaudeville in 1900 in an act with Grace Emmett. He progressed to burlesque, Broadway, and even light opera, before making his film debut at the age of 55 in Way Down...
as Snuffy - Emma DunnEmma DunnEmma Dunn was an English-born American film actress. She appeared in 108 films between 1914 and 1948....
as Granny Gladden - Henry Brandon as Handsome, Red's Sidekick
- William B. DavidsonWilliam B. DavidsonWilliam B. Davidson was an American film actor. He attended Columbia University where he played football. He became a popular football star. This fame eventually led to his foray into motion pictures after he had spent some time as a lawyer...
as Slick Kopesco - Fern EmmettFern EmmettFern Emmett was an American film actress. She appeared in 212 films between 1930 and 1946.-Selected filmography:The following were with John Wayne:* Riders of Destiny...
as Margaret Reed - Sonny BuppSonny BuppSonny Bupp was an American child film actor and businessman.Born as Moyer MacClaren Bupp in New York City, "Sonny" Bupp appeared in over 60 films during his career, including two Our Gang comedies, 1935's Our Gang Follies of 1936 and 1938's Men in Fright.He appeared in Citizen Kane and was the...
as Willy - Wilbur MackWilbur MackWilbur Mack was an American film actor and early vaudeville performer from the 1920s through the 1960s. His film acting career began during the silent film era....
as Chauffeur Mason - Joe Devlin as Steve, Kopesco Goon