The Criminal Code

The Criminal Code (1931)

LOVE saved him from worse than THE CHAIR

After young Robert Graham commits a murder while drunk and defending his girlfriend, he is prosecuted by ambitious Mark Brady and sentenced to 10 years. Six years later, Brady becomes the prison warden and offers the beleaguered Robert a job as his chauffeur. Robert cleans up his act, but, on the eve of his pardon, his cellmate drags him back into the world of violence, and he faces a difficult choice that could return him to prison.

Date of release
1931-01-03
TMDB
6.1 / 10 (33)
Runtime
1h 37m
Genres
Crime, Drama
Director
Howard Hawks

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 0 · Nominations: 1

The Criminal Code is a 1931 American pre-Code romantic crime drama film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Walter Huston and Phillips Holmes. The screenplay, based on a 1929 play of the same name by Martin Flavin, was written by Fred Niblo Jr. and Seton I. Miller, who were nominated for Best Adaptation at the 4th Academy Awards. The film is the first of three film adaptations of the play released by Columbia Pictures. It was followed by Penitentiary (1938) and Convicted (1950).

Production

The story was adapted for the screen by Seton I. Miller and Fred Niblo Jr., son of director Fred Niblo. Director Howard Hawks had worked with Miller several times in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The original play by American playwright Martin Flavin was produced on Broadway in 1929 at the Belasco Theater.

The Criminal Code was the first of Hawks' four collaborations with Harry Cohn, preceding Twentieth Century (1934), Only Angels Have Wings (1939) and His Girl Friday (1940).

Stock footage from the film was recycled by Columbia for Behind the Mask (1932), another film featuring Constance Cummings and Karloff.

Although The Criminal Code is an early sound film, it has been noted for its sophisticated use of sound. Hawks' direction yielded dialogue that is at times rapid and often overlaps.

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