A Man Betrayed (1936 film): Difference between revisions

A Man Betrayed
A Man Betrayed
	Theatrical poster
Directed by	John H. Auer
Written by	Dorrell McGowan (story and screenplay); Stuart E. McGowan (story and screenplay)
Produced by	William Berke (associate producer); Nat Levine (producer)
Starring	Edward J. Nugent ; Kay Hughes ; Lloyd Hughes
Cinematography	Ernest Miller
Edited by	Roy V. Livingston
Production; company	Republic Pictures
Distributed by	Republic Pictures
Release date	December 28, 1936;
Running time	58 minutes; 53 minutes (American edited version)
Country	United States
Language	English

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A Man Betrayed is a 1936 American comedy crime drama film directed by John H. Auer and starring Edward J. Nugent, Kay Hughes and Lloyd Hughes.^[1] It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures.

Plot

Frank Powell sells stock for an oil company. When he learns that the company is a scam, he confronts his three bosses: Carlton, Richards and Burns. He then travels to Miami to investigate the company's oil wells. Worried that Frank might discover that the three bosses used investors' money to play the stock market, Carlton commits suicide. Scheming to claim the $100,000 life insurance payout, Richards and Burns hire Tony Maroc and his gang to position Carlton's body in Frank's apartment to make it appear as if Carlton was murdered. Frank is arrested, tried and found guilty of murder.

While being moved to the penitentiary to await execution, Frank escapes. He goes to Burns' apartment and threatens Burns and Richards with a gun. Frank's brother Reverend Curtis appears, and together they flee the police and hide at the headquarters of the Sparks gang, a boxing gym. When the police arrive, Curtis poses as a boxer and knocks out defeats the champion, Roundhouse. With his jaw now broken, Roundhouse cannot compete in the upcoming match, so Sparks tells Curtis to take Roundhouse's place. If Curtis loses, Sparks will surrender Frank to the police, but if he wins, Sparks will pay Curtis $500. Curtis trains for the fight, but Tony, worried that Curtis will win, has his girlfriend pursue Curtis, hoping to distract him, but she is unsuccessful.

Tony learns that Curtis, who is wanted for aiding a criminal, is Frank's brother and has him arrested. Sparks wants to prove Frank innocent so that Curtis will be set free. Sparks, his gang and Frank investigate at Frank's old apartment and discover that Carlton could not have been shot there. Insurance investigators find proof that Smokey, one of Tony's henchmen, had been at the apartment. Sparks and two of his men interrogate Smokey until he confesses.

Richards and Burns discover a dictation machine recording in which Carlton confesses his guilt and suicide. Richards destroys the recording just before the police arrive to arrest the men for Carlton's murder. Richards argues that Carlton committed suicide, but he is now unable to prove it.

Cast

Edward J. Nugent as Frank Powell
Kay Hughes as Marjorie Norton
Lloyd Hughes as Curtis Powell
John Wray as Sparks
Edwin Maxwell as Richards
Theodore von Eltz as Burns
Thomas E. Jackson as Detective Ryan
William Newell as Gabby
Smiley Burnette as Hillbilly
Christine Maple as Helen Vincent
John Hamilton as Mr. Carlton
Ralf Harolde as Tony Maroc
Grace Durkin as Gertrude
Carleton Young as Henchman Smokey
Mary Bovard as Apartment House Tenant

Reception

In a contemporary review for the New York Daily News, critic Wanda Hale called A Man Betrayed "a humorous, if not too convincing, piece of entertainment" and wrote: "[W]e've become so little calloused to plots wherein an innocent man or woman suffers through trial, conviction up to the inevitable last-minute reprieve. Republic's 'A Man Betrayed' gives so little of that harrowing stuff and so much of the brighter side of the case that we found ourselves liking it despite the fact that this case might not have been taken from the records."^[2]

References

^ Fetrow p.394
^ Hale, Wanda (January 29, 1937). ""A Man Betrayed" At Brooklyn Strand". New York Daily News. p. 52.

Bibliography

Fetrow, Alan G. . Sound films, 1927-1939: a United States Filmography. McFarland, 1992.

External links

A Man Betrayed at IMDb
A Man Betrayed is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive

[1] Fetrow p.394

[nytreview-2] Hale, Wanda (January 29, 1937). ""A Man Betrayed" At Brooklyn Strand". New York Daily News. p. 52.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 | screenplay     =
 | story          =
-| based on       =
+| based_on       =
+| starring       =[[Edward J. Nugent]] <br> [[Kay Hughes]] <br> [[Lloyd Hughes (actor)|Lloyd Hughes]]
-| starring       =
 | music          =
 | cinematography = [[Ernest Miller (cinematographer)|Ernest Miller]]
 | editing        = [[Roy V. Livingston]]
-| studio         =
+| studio         =[[Republic Pictures]]
-| distributor    = [[Republic Pictures]]
+| distributor    = Republic Pictures
 | released       = {{film date|1936|12|28}}
 | runtime        = 58 minutes<br>53 minutes (American edited version)
@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 | language       = English
 | budget         =
 | gross          =
 }}
-'''''A Man Betrayed''''' is a 1936 American comedy crime drama film directed by [[John H. Auer]].
+'''''A Man Betrayed''''' is a 1936 American [[comedy film|comedy]] [[crime drama film]] directed by [[John H. Auer]] and starring [[Edward J. Nugent]], [[Kay Hughes]] and [[Lloyd Hughes (actor)|Lloyd Hughes]].<ref>Fetrow p.394</ref> It was produced and distributed by [[Republic Pictures]].
-== Plot summary ==
+== Plot ==
 [[File:A Man Betrayed lobby card.jpg|thumb|Lobby card]]
+Frank Powell sells stock for an oil company. When he learns that the company is a scam, he confronts his three bosses: Carlton, Richards and Burns. He then travels to [[Miami]] to investigate the company's oil wells. Worried that Frank might discover that the three bosses used investors' money to play the stock market, Carlton commits suicide. Scheming to claim the $100,000 life insurance payout, Richards and Burns hire Tony Maroc and his gang to position Carlton's body in Frank's apartment to make it appear as if Carlton was murdered. Frank is arrested, tried and found guilty of murder.
+While being moved to the penitentiary to await execution, Frank escapes. He goes to Burns' apartment and threatens Burns and Richards with a gun. Frank's brother Reverend Curtis appears, and together they flee the police and hide at the headquarters of the Sparks gang, a boxing gym. When the police arrive, Curtis poses as a boxer and knocks out defeats the champion, Roundhouse. With his jaw now broken, Roundhouse cannot compete in the upcoming match, so Sparks tells Curtis to take Roundhouse's place. If Curtis loses, Sparks will surrender Frank to the police, but if he wins, Sparks will pay Curtis $500. Curtis trains for the fight, but Tony, worried that Curtis will win, has his girlfriend pursue Curtis, hoping to distract him, but she is unsuccessful.
-Frank Powell ([[Edward J. Nugent]]) works selling stock for an oil well. When a client comes to him with a letter from her nephew saying the well is a scam Powell becomes concerned and confronts his 3 bosses Carlton, Richards, and Burns. Feeling he is not getting straight answers he decides to fly immediately to Miami to investigate the wells. Worried Powell might find out the truth that Carlton, Richards and Burns used the investors money to play the stock market, Carlton commits suicide by shooting himself after recording a confession on his Dictaphone. Wanting the $100,000 life insurance Richards and Burns hire Tony Maroc and his gang to set up Carlton's body in Powell's apartment to make it look as if he's been murdered. Powell gets arrested as soon as his plane lands and is tried and found guilty of murder.
+Tony learns that Curtis, who is wanted for [[Aiding and abetting|aiding a criminal]], is Frank's brother and has him arrested. Sparks wants to prove Frank innocent so that Curtis will be set free. Sparks, his gang and Frank investigate at Frank's old apartment and discover that Carlton could not have been shot there. Insurance investigators find proof that Smokey, one of Tony's henchmen, had been at the apartment. Sparks and two of his men interrogate Smokey until he confesses.
-While being moved to the penitentiary to await execution Powell escapes when the kleptomaniac Gabby, a member of Sparks gang, whom he is handcuffed to breaks out.
-Powell goes to Burns apartment and threatens him and Richards with a gun. Powell's brother Reverend Curtis ([[Lloyd Hughes]]) shows up and together they flee the police and head to Sparks headquarters; a boxing gym. The Police show up and to avoid suspicion Curtis poses as a boxer and knocks out the champion, Roundhouse. His jaw now broken Roundhouse can no longer participate in the upcoming boxing match which Sparks ([[John Wray (actor)|John Wray]]) has bet Tony $4000 on. Sparks tells Curtis he is to take Roundhouses place. If he loses Sparks turns Frank over to the police. However if he wins Sparks will pay Curtis $500. Hiding out at the boxing gym Curtis goes into training. Tony becomes worried Curtis will easily win the fight and gets his girlfriend to chase after Curtis hoping to distract him from his training. When that doesn't work Tony finds out Curtis, who is now wanted for aiding a criminal, is Franks brother and has him arrested. Sparks decides to prove Franks innocents so Curtis will be set free. Sparks, his gang, and Frank go to Franks old apartment to investigate. Sparks proves Carlton couldn't have been shot in the apartment after he shoots of his gun and the neighbors come running. The group then heads to Carlton's old office. While looking around investigators from the insurance company show up saying they're investigating Franks innocents. They allow the gang to continue searching the office after being told they are "crime experts'. On the desk they find marks from where a knife has repeatedly been tossed into the top which leads them to Smokey, a member of Tony's gang who compulsively tosses a knife into wood surfaces. Sparks and 2 of his men interrogate Smokey until he confesses.
-Richard and Burns begin to move Carlton's things out of his office when they find the Dictaphone roll in which he confesses his guilt and suicide. Richards breaks it to pieces right before 2 policemen show up to arrest the men for Carlton's murder. Richards says Carlton committed suicide to which the police tell him to prove it.
+Richards and Burns discover a [[dictation machine]] recording in which Carlton confesses his guilt and suicide. Richards destroys the recording just before the police arrive to arrest the men for Carlton's murder. Richards argues that Carlton committed suicide, but he is now unable to prove it.
 == Cast ==
 *[[Edward J. Nugent]] as Frank Powell
 *[[Kay Hughes]] as Marjorie Norton
-*[[Lloyd Hughes]] as Curtis Powell
+*[[Lloyd Hughes (actor)|Lloyd Hughes]] as Curtis Powell
 *[[John Wray (actor)|John Wray]] as Sparks
 *[[Edwin Maxwell (actor)|Edwin Maxwell]] as Richards
@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 *[[William Newell (actor)|William Newell]] as Gabby
 *[[Smiley Burnette]] as Hillbilly
-*Christine Maple as Helen Vincent
+*[[Christine Maple]] as Helen Vincent
 *[[John Hamilton (actor)|John Hamilton]] as Mr. Carlton
 *[[Ralf Harolde]] as Tony Maroc
@@ Line 53: / Line 53: @@
 *[[Carleton Young]] as Henchman Smokey
 *Mary Bovard as Apartment House Tenant
+== Reception ==
+In a contemporary review for the ''[[New York Daily News]]'', critic Wanda Hale called ''A Man Betrayed'' "a humorous, if not too convincing, piece of entertainment" and wrote: "[W]e've become so little calloused to plots wherein an innocent man or woman suffers through trial, conviction up to the inevitable last-minute reprieve. Republic's 'A Man Betrayed' gives so little of that harrowing stuff and so much of the brighter side of the case that we found ourselves liking it despite the fact that this case might not have been taken from the records."<ref name="nytreview">{{cite news |last=Hale |first=Wanda |date=1937-01-29 |title="A Man Betrayed" At Brooklyn Strand |work=[[New York Daily News]] |page=52}}</ref>
+==References==
+{{Reflist}}
+==Bibliography==
+* Fetrow, Alan G. . ''Sound films, 1927-1939: a United States Filmography''. McFarland, 1992.
 == External links ==
@@ Line 65: / Line 74: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Man Betrayed}}
 [[Category:1936 films]]
-[[Category:American films]]
+[[Category:1930s English-language films]]
-[[Category:English-language films]]
 [[Category:American black-and-white films]]
-[[Category:1930s comedy-drama films]]
+[[Category:1936 comedy-drama films]]
 [[Category:Republic Pictures films]]
 [[Category:Films directed by John H. Auer]]
 [[Category:Films produced by Nat Levine]]
 [[Category:American comedy-drama films]]
+[[Category:1930s American films]]
+[[Category:English-language comedy-drama films]]