The Criminal Code
Encyclopedia
The Criminal Code is a Hollywood crime film
, directed by Howard Hawks
, based on a play by Martin Flavin
with cinematic adaptation by screenwriters Seton I. Miller
and Fred Niblo, Jr.
Shot in black-and-white
, the picture stars Walter Huston
as District Attorney
Mark Brady, who gets a dapper young law intern named Robert Graham, played by Phillips Holmes
, convicted for ten years.
Like other prison films of the 1930s, such as San Quentin
and Each Dawn I Die
, The Criminal Code encouraged its viewers to question the contemporary American legal and penal systems.
The film also features Constance Cummings
as Mary Brady, the warden's daughter, DeWitt Jennings
as Yard Captain Gleason, and, reprising his onstage role as Ned Galloway, one of Graham's two cellmates, English-born actor Boris Karloff
, who gives an electrifying proto-Frankenstein
performance. He would be cast only a few months later as James Whale
's infamous screen monster.
mill has taken its toll on young Robert Graham. The penitentiary's resident doctor
and psychiatrist
recommends that Warden Brady see him and proposes that he offer him a drastic change of environment and duties before his psychological damages become irreversible. When the warden realizes who the inmate is, or rather was, and recalls that it was he that helped put him behind bars (as with many of the prisoners), he agrees to give him a chance and offers him a job as his valet. Graham enjoys his new employment, especially since he is frequently in the company of the warden's pretty young daughter, Mary. He improves in general character and demeanor and regains his morale.
Meanwhile, one of Graham's cellmates tries to escape at night with two other prisoners. One turns out to be a stool pigeon, breaking the Prisoner's Code of silence and lures the men into a death trap. The guards brutally shoot down and kill Graham's cellmate. Ned Galloway, Graham's other cellmate, vows to avenge this death and, more importantly, punish the violator of the unwritten code. He develops an elaborate plan secretly to murder the culprit and carefully warns Graham to stay away from the man. Ill-fated Graham, of course, walks in on the crime no one was supposed to witness.
Upon finding Graham with the dead body, the perspicacious warden again knows that Graham is not the murderor. He does however clearly see that Graham knows who committed the crime. Promising him a speedy parole, though his sincerity is somewhat doubtful, the warden pushes Graham to reveal the name of the killer. He is morally torn. Still an inmate, Graham cannot bring himself to go against the Prisoner's Code and remains loyal to Galloway and the other inmates, who in this case represent the Hawksian group, an ever-present theme in the director's films. The situation also deeply troubles Brady, who feels impelled to send Graham to "the hole
," hoping it will change his mind.
A week or so later, after a short trip, Mary returns home to the penitentiary and is surprised not to see Graham working as valet. Her surprise turns to shock when she finds out where Graham has been sent. She urges her father to release him. The warden criticizes his daughter for her naïveté, but reconsiders her plea once she proclaims her love for Graham. Along with Gleason and a few guards, he descends into the prison dungeon to let out the devastated prisoner. The other inmates logically think that Graham has spoken the name of the killer. Having previously smuggled a pocket knife down to another man in the hole, they hope Graham will be punished for squealing.
Galloway, on the other hand, understands what is really happening. He purposely insults a guard in the jute mill and is promptly sent downstairs faithfully to protect his cellmate and loyal friend. Once in the dungeon, he kills the other prisoner and, in addition, cuts Gleason's throat. (The Yard Captain was, in fact, the man responsible for Galloway's lengthy incarceration). The other guards finally shoot him down. Graham, safe and unharmed, is immediately sent up to see Mary Brady. The two lovers embrace passionately for the first time.
and Fred Niblo, Jr., son of director Fred Niblo
. The original play by San Francisco Bay Area
native author and playwright Martin Flavin was produced on Broadway
in 1929 at the Belasco Theater. Boris Karloff, who delivered a strong performance in the stage play, is recast here as Galloway. This film served as the vehicle which would essentially launch his career. Though appearing in dozens of pictures during the 1920s, he had mostly bit parts.
The film is the first of two collaborations with infamously foul-mouthed producer Harry Cohn
, the second being Twentieth Century
(1934). It is Hawks' only picture with Frank Fouce, who produced only five films, all of them in 1931. Hawks worked with screenwriter Seton Miller several times in the late 1920s and early 1930s. This is the only occasion he worked with Niblo, Jr.
The Criminal Code was remade the following year in France as Criminel, directed by Jack Forrester, starring Daniel Mendaille and Harry Baur
.
Though an early talkie, The Criminal Code makes a sophisticated use of sound. The intercourse is at times rapid and Hawks seems to be experimenting with overlapping dialogue.
, Rio Bravo). This is most apparent in the scene in which Brady starts his first day of work as warden, greeted by a prison yard full of men booing him as if they were but one man. The warden (and the camera) peer down on them from the office window.
Constance Cummings is a far cry from, say Lauren Bacall
, and has little to work with here, a small part with lackluster lines. Nonetheless, she does not fail to represent the typical Hawksian woman
. Her character is strong and, to a certain degree, stoic. She inhabits an utterly masculine world. Yet, although she can leave, she prefers to stay and live at the penitentiary (cf. Mary Rutledge in Barbary Coast
).
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
, directed by Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
, based on a play by Martin Flavin
Martin Flavin
Martin Archer Flavin was an American playwright and novelist.He was awarded the 1944 Pulitzer Prize for his novel Journey in the Dark.Flavin was born in San Francisco, California, and died in Carmel, California....
with cinematic adaptation by screenwriters Seton I. Miller
Seton I. Miller
Seton Ingersoll Miller was a Hollywood screenwriter and producer. During his career, he worked with many notable American film directors, such as Howard Hawks and Michael Curtiz....
and Fred Niblo, Jr.
Fred Niblo, Jr.
Fred Niblo, Jr. was a successful Hollywood screenwriter. His career began in 1930 and lasted a little over twenty years. He died in Los Angeles, California, in February 1973, aged 70. Niblo, Jr. was the son of director Fred Niblo.- Awards :He was nominated with Seton I...
Shot in black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
, the picture stars Walter Huston
Walter Huston
Walter Thomas Huston was a Canadian-born American actor. He was the father of actor and director John Huston and the grandfather of actress Anjelica Huston and actor Danny Huston.-Life and career:...
as District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
Mark Brady, who gets a dapper young law intern named Robert Graham, played by Phillips Holmes
Phillips Holmes
Phillips Holmes was an American film actor who appeared in 44 films between 1928 and 1938. His credits included Grumpy, An American Tragedy, Broken Lullaby, Dinner at Eight, and Great Expectations....
, convicted for ten years.
Like other prison films of the 1930s, such as San Quentin
San Quentin (1937 film)
San Quentin is a 1937 Warner Bros. drama film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart and Ann Sheridan. It was shot on location at San Quentin State Prison.-Plot summary:...
and Each Dawn I Die
Each Dawn I Die
Each Dawn I Die is a 1939 gangster film featuring James Cagney and George Raft in their only movie together as leads, although Raft had made an unbilled appearance in a 1932 Cagney vehicle called Taxi! in which he won a dance contest against Cagney, after which he and Cagney brawl...
, The Criminal Code encouraged its viewers to question the contemporary American legal and penal systems.
The film also features Constance Cummings
Constance Cummings
Constance Cummings, CBE was an American-born British actress, known for her work on both screen and stage.Born Constance Halverstadt in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Dallas Vernon Halverstadt, a lawyer, and his wife, Kate Logan Cummings, a concert soprano. she began as a stage actress,...
as Mary Brady, the warden's daughter, DeWitt Jennings
DeWitt Jennings
DeWitt Clarke Jennings was an American film actor. He appeared in 153 films between 1915 and 1937.-Biography:...
as Yard Captain Gleason, and, reprising his onstage role as Ned Galloway, one of Graham's two cellmates, English-born actor Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
, who gives an electrifying proto-Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
performance. He would be cast only a few months later as James Whale
James Whale
James Whale was an English film director, theatre director and actor. He is best remembered for his work in the horror film genre, having directed such classics as Frankenstein , The Old Dark House , The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein...
's infamous screen monster.
Plot
Six years of stress and hard labor working in the prison juteJute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, which has been classified in the family Tiliaceae, or more recently in Malvaceae....
mill has taken its toll on young Robert Graham. The penitentiary's resident doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
recommends that Warden Brady see him and proposes that he offer him a drastic change of environment and duties before his psychological damages become irreversible. When the warden realizes who the inmate is, or rather was, and recalls that it was he that helped put him behind bars (as with many of the prisoners), he agrees to give him a chance and offers him a job as his valet. Graham enjoys his new employment, especially since he is frequently in the company of the warden's pretty young daughter, Mary. He improves in general character and demeanor and regains his morale.
Meanwhile, one of Graham's cellmates tries to escape at night with two other prisoners. One turns out to be a stool pigeon, breaking the Prisoner's Code of silence and lures the men into a death trap. The guards brutally shoot down and kill Graham's cellmate. Ned Galloway, Graham's other cellmate, vows to avenge this death and, more importantly, punish the violator of the unwritten code. He develops an elaborate plan secretly to murder the culprit and carefully warns Graham to stay away from the man. Ill-fated Graham, of course, walks in on the crime no one was supposed to witness.
Upon finding Graham with the dead body, the perspicacious warden again knows that Graham is not the murderor. He does however clearly see that Graham knows who committed the crime. Promising him a speedy parole, though his sincerity is somewhat doubtful, the warden pushes Graham to reveal the name of the killer. He is morally torn. Still an inmate, Graham cannot bring himself to go against the Prisoner's Code and remains loyal to Galloway and the other inmates, who in this case represent the Hawksian group, an ever-present theme in the director's films. The situation also deeply troubles Brady, who feels impelled to send Graham to "the hole
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
," hoping it will change his mind.
A week or so later, after a short trip, Mary returns home to the penitentiary and is surprised not to see Graham working as valet. Her surprise turns to shock when she finds out where Graham has been sent. She urges her father to release him. The warden criticizes his daughter for her naïveté, but reconsiders her plea once she proclaims her love for Graham. Along with Gleason and a few guards, he descends into the prison dungeon to let out the devastated prisoner. The other inmates logically think that Graham has spoken the name of the killer. Having previously smuggled a pocket knife down to another man in the hole, they hope Graham will be punished for squealing.
Galloway, on the other hand, understands what is really happening. He purposely insults a guard in the jute mill and is promptly sent downstairs faithfully to protect his cellmate and loyal friend. Once in the dungeon, he kills the other prisoner and, in addition, cuts Gleason's throat. (The Yard Captain was, in fact, the man responsible for Galloway's lengthy incarceration). The other guards finally shoot him down. Graham, safe and unharmed, is immediately sent up to see Mary Brady. The two lovers embrace passionately for the first time.
Cast
- Walter HustonWalter HustonWalter Thomas Huston was a Canadian-born American actor. He was the father of actor and director John Huston and the grandfather of actress Anjelica Huston and actor Danny Huston.-Life and career:...
as Mark Brady - Phillips HolmesPhillips HolmesPhillips Holmes was an American film actor who appeared in 44 films between 1928 and 1938. His credits included Grumpy, An American Tragedy, Broken Lullaby, Dinner at Eight, and Great Expectations....
as Robert Graham - Constance CummingsConstance CummingsConstance Cummings, CBE was an American-born British actress, known for her work on both screen and stage.Born Constance Halverstadt in Seattle, Washington, the daughter of Dallas Vernon Halverstadt, a lawyer, and his wife, Kate Logan Cummings, a concert soprano. she began as a stage actress,...
as Mary Brady - Boris KarloffBoris KarloffWilliam Henry Pratt , better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , and Son of Frankenstein...
as Ned Galloway - DeWitt JenningsDeWitt JenningsDeWitt Clarke Jennings was an American film actor. He appeared in 153 films between 1915 and 1937.-Biography:...
as Yard Captain Gleason - Mary Doran as Gertrude Williams
- Ethel WalesEthel WalesEthel Wales was a Passaic, New Jersey-born American actress, who appeared in 130 films between the years 1920 and 1950. She had one son named Wellington Charles Wales.- Selected filmography :* Miss Lulu Bett * Manslaughter...
as Katie Ryan - Clark Marshall as Runch
- Arthur HoytArthur HoytArthur Hoyt was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 275 films in his 34 year film career, about a third of them silent films. He was a brother of Harry O...
as Leonard Nettleford - John St. PolisJohn St. PolisJohn St. Polis was an American actor. He appeared in 126 films between 1914 and 1943.He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Shadows...
as Dr Rinewulf - Paul PorcasiPaul PorcasiPaul Porcasi was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 142 films between 1917 and 1945.He was born in Palermo, Sicily and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:* Broadway...
as Tony Spelvin - Otto HoffmanOtto HoffmanOtto Hoffman was an American film actor. He appeared in 199 films between 1915 and 1944.He was born in New York and died in Los Angeles, California from lung cancer.-Selected filmography:* The Haunted Bedroom...
as Jim Fales - John Sheehan as 'Mac' McManus
Production
The Criminal Code was adapted for the screen by Seton I. MillerSeton I. Miller
Seton Ingersoll Miller was a Hollywood screenwriter and producer. During his career, he worked with many notable American film directors, such as Howard Hawks and Michael Curtiz....
and Fred Niblo, Jr., son of director Fred Niblo
Fred Niblo
Fred Niblo was an American pioneer film actor, director and producer.-Biography:He was born Frederick Liedtke in York, Nebraska, to a French mother and a father who had served as a captain in the American Civil War and was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg...
. The original play by San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
native author and playwright Martin Flavin was produced on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1929 at the Belasco Theater. Boris Karloff, who delivered a strong performance in the stage play, is recast here as Galloway. This film served as the vehicle which would essentially launch his career. Though appearing in dozens of pictures during the 1920s, he had mostly bit parts.
The film is the first of two collaborations with infamously foul-mouthed producer Harry Cohn
Harry Cohn
Harry Cohn was the American president and production director of Columbia Pictures.-Career:Cohn was born to a working-class German-Jewish family in New York City. In later years, he appears to have disparaged his heritage...
, the second being Twentieth Century
Twentieth Century (film)
Twentieth Century is a 1934 American screwball comedy film. Much of the film is set on the 20th Century Limited train as it travels from Chicago to New York. The film was directed by Howard Hawks, stars John Barrymore and Carole Lombard, and features Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns and Edgar Kennedy...
(1934). It is Hawks' only picture with Frank Fouce, who produced only five films, all of them in 1931. Hawks worked with screenwriter Seton Miller several times in the late 1920s and early 1930s. This is the only occasion he worked with Niblo, Jr.
The Criminal Code was remade the following year in France as Criminel, directed by Jack Forrester, starring Daniel Mendaille and Harry Baur
Harry Baur
Harry Baur was a French actor. Baur was Jewish and tortured to death by the Gestapo during World War II....
.
Though an early talkie, The Criminal Code makes a sophisticated use of sound. The intercourse is at times rapid and Hawks seems to be experimenting with overlapping dialogue.
Analysis
Hawks easily exploits the prison genre to illustrate the male friendship and 'group as an organic force' themes often present in his works (cf. Only Angels Have WingsOnly Angels Have Wings
Only Angels Have Wings is a movie directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur. It is generally regarded as being among Hawks' finest films, particularly in its portrayal of the professionalism of the pilots, its atmosphere, and the flying sequences.It inspired the 1983 television...
, Rio Bravo). This is most apparent in the scene in which Brady starts his first day of work as warden, greeted by a prison yard full of men booing him as if they were but one man. The warden (and the camera) peer down on them from the office window.
Constance Cummings is a far cry from, say Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
, and has little to work with here, a small part with lackluster lines. Nonetheless, she does not fail to represent the typical Hawksian woman
Hawksian woman
The "Hawksian woman" is, in film theory, a character archetype of the tough-talking woman, popularized in film by director Howard Hawks through his use of actresses such as Katharine Hepburn, Ann Dvorak, Rosalind Russell, and Angie Dickinson...
. Her character is strong and, to a certain degree, stoic. She inhabits an utterly masculine world. Yet, although she can leave, she prefers to stay and live at the penitentiary (cf. Mary Rutledge in Barbary Coast
Barbary Coast (film)
Barbary Coast is a period film directed by Howard Hawks. Shot in black-and-white and set in San Francisco during the Gold Rush era, the film combines elements of crime, Western, melodrama and adventure genres, features a wide range of actors, from good-guy Joel McCrea to bad-boy Edward G...
).
External links
- New York Times review (January 5, 1931)
- Under the Cover of Darkness: Expressionistic Experimentation in Howard Hawks' The Criminal Code, an article by Christopher Weedman, at Senses of Cinema.