Convicted (1938)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Convicted |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1938 |
| length | 58 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Leon Barsha |
| script | Edgar Edwards |
| production | Kenneth J. Bishop |
| camera | George Meehan |
| cut | William Austin |
| occupation | |
| |
Convicted is an American crime film with Charles Quigley and Rita Hayworth from 1938. The story Face Work by Cornell Woolrich was used as a template .
action
Jerry Wheeler works as a rumba dancer in a night club. When she finishes one of her performances one evening, her brother Chick's long-time friend named Mary Allen is waiting for her backstage. She is upset and tells Jerry about Chick's sudden plan to run away with another woman. This woman is called Ruby Rose and is interested in nothing but money and jewels. To keep her happy, Chick turned into a crook and made contacts with the underworld. Worried about her brother, Jerry tries to get Ruby to give up Chick. When she refuses, Jerry finally tries Chick, but he is also unwilling to end the relationship with Ruby.
When Chick wants to pick up his lover for the planned trip, he finds Ruby strangled in her apartment to his horror. He tries to revive her immediately, but his efforts are unsuccessful. Surprised by the police, he becomes the only suspect in the murder case. Jerry is convinced of her brother's innocence and believes that someone has lured him into a trap. She is determined to find out who is actually behind this. With the help of Detective Burns, who was put on the case, she begins her investigation. At an auction where Ruby's belongings are being auctioned, Jerry purchases a music box in which she finds a hidden letter. The document warns Ruby not to leave town with her precious jewelry. As Jerry reads the lines, she remembers how Ruby proudly showed her a $ 10,000 bracelet. The letter was signed by Milton Militis, a seedy businessman who owns several nightclubs and Ruby's apartment building.
To get to Militis, Jerry can be employed as a dancer in one of Militis establishments under the code name "Angel Face". When she gets to know Militis and his sleazy nature better, she is sure that he is the real killer. She just has to be able to prove it. Detective Burns says if they can find Ruby's expensive bracelet in Militis' possession, it would be evidence enough to convict him of the perpetrator. Jerry therefore begins to flirt with Militis. Not much later, they are both alone in his apartment. Under a pretext, she gets him to leave the apartment for a short time in order to search for the bracelet in the meantime. But Militis is returning sooner than expected. He appears with a couple of men who recognize Jerry as Chick's sister. Having revealed her true identity, Jerry must now fear for her own life. Fortunately, Burns had the suspicious nightclub owner monitored by an undercover agent who immediately informed the authorities of the incident. Burns arrives just in time and saves Jerry's life when Militis announces that he will kill her like Ruby. With this confession he is finally put behind bars. Chick remorsefully returns to his old love Mary and Jerry and Burns also find each other.
background
Within two weeks, which was B-movie from Columbia Pictures in Canada turned. The screenplay by Edgar Edwards, who can also be seen here as Rita Hayworth's brother Chick, is based on the story Face Work by the American author Cornell Woolrich, who later also sought the literary basis of classic films such as Witness ( Phantom Lady , 1944) by Robert Siodmak or François Truffauts The bride wore black ( La Mariée etait en noir , 1967) delivered.
Reviews
"What makes the events bearable is the beauty of Rita Hayworth, who adorns the screen in a very attractive way," said the industry journal Boxoffice at the time . Bosley Crowther wrote in the New York Times that there are "frankly some unimportant films" that should be "remembered with appreciation". Convicted will henceforth be one of these films.
Web links
- Convicted in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gerald Peary: Rita Hayworth. Your films - your life . Heyne, Munich 1981, p. 64.
- ↑ "What makes the proceedings tolerable is the beauty of Rita Hayworth that graces the screen in an altogether attractive style." Boxoffice quoted after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 93.
- ↑ "There are some frankly unimportant pictures the memory of which, nevertheless, we shall always cherish, and from now on one of them is going to be Convicted ." Bosley Crowther in The New York Times quoted. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 93.