By Frank Miller
Off the Record
Brief Synopsis
A lady reporter adopts the young delinquent her crime exposes helped send to jail.
Cast & Crew
Read More
James Flood
Director
Pat O'brien
Thomas "Breezy" Elliott
Joan Blondell
Jane Morgan
Bobby Jordan
Mickey Fallon
Alan Baxter
Joe Fallon
William Davidson
Scotty
Film Details
Also Known As
Love Bites Man, Unfit to Print
Genre
Drama
Release Date
Jan
21,
1939
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 2m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
8 reels
Synopsis
After his mother dies, teenager Mickey Fallon is about to be sent to an orphanage when his brother Joe returns and agrees to take care of him. Joe, unknown to the judge, is a bookmaker working for gambler Lou Baronette. Mickey is given a job as a spotter in a pool hall, where he watches the users of pinball machines to make sure they are not stealing money from them. This is where Jane Morgan, a soft-hearted newspaper columnist, finds him while making a phone call. She writes a column exposing the situation, which leads to Joe's arrest. Baronette asks Joe to cover for him by going to prison, promising to make it worth his while. Mickey is sent to a reformatory for three years. Jane is present at the trial and is furious that Baronette has escaped punishment.
Therefore, when fellow reporter Thomas "Breezy" Elliott proposes marriage, Jane accepts, both because she loves him and because she sees the marriage as the perfect opportunity to rescue Mickey from the reformatory. She convinces the authorities to release Mickey to her. Even though he hates Jane for her role in Joe's arrest, Mickey takes advantage of her offer, hoping to help his brother. At first Mickey causes a lot of trouble, but when Breezy succeeds in interesting him in newspaper photography, Mickey finally finds something he likes and is good at. Things are looking up for Mickey when he gets a telegram from Joe asking him to visit the prison. At the prison, Joe asks Mickey to bring $500 to a restaurant on a certain night. Mickey tries everything to raise the money with no luck.
On the same day that Joe escapes from prison, Mickey is accused of stealing a diamond that he photographed earlier in the day. Breezy questions him, but although Mickey denies stealing the jewel, he refuses to say where he was during the crucial time. Breezy reluctantly kicks him out of the house. Mickey keeps his appointment and finds Joe waiting in the restaurant. After Joe reveals that he intends to kill Baronette, Mickey tries to stop him. In the shootout that follows, Baronette and Joe kill each other and Mickey is wounded. Mickey calls Breezy to tell him of his brother's death.
In the meantime, Jane has discovered from Mickey's photographs that the jeweler lied about the missing stone in order to collect on the insurance. Breezy brings Mickey back home, learning that the boy sold his camera in order to get the money he needed for his brother.
Director
James Flood
Director
Cast
Pat O'brien
Thomas "Breezy" Elliott
Joan Blondell
Jane Morgan
Bobby Jordan
Mickey Fallon
Alan Baxter
Joe Fallon
William Davidson
Scotty
Morgan Conway
Lou Baronette
Clay Clement
Jaeggers
Selmer Jackson
Detective Kendall
Addison Richards
Brand
Pierre Watkin
Barton
Joe King
Brown
Douglas Wood
J. W.
Armand Kaliz
Chatteau
Sarah Padden
Mrs. Fallon
Howard Hickman
Doctor
Earl Devine
Doctor
Mary Gordon
Mrs. Finnegan
David Durand
Blackie
Norman Phillips Jr.
Nick
Wade Boteler
Deputy
Emmett Vogan
Priest
Stanley Fields
Big bruiser
Al Hill
Kid
Frankie Burke
Kid
Hally Chester
Kid
Tommy Bupp
Kid
David Gorcey
Kid
William Edmunds
Tony
Harris Berger
Copy boy
Frank Coghlan Jr.
Copy boy
Ed Brian
Copy boy
Claude Wisberg
Copy boy
Joe Coffin
Copy boy
Janet Shaw
Hazel
Moroni Olsen
Judge
Eddie Acuff
Eddie
John Harron
Jack
Jack Goodrich
Andy
Sam Mcdaniel
Porter
George Offerman Jr.
Sweenie
Glenn Dennison
Office boy
William Gould
Captain, Swede
Emory Parnell
Policeman
Norman Willis
Arnold
Guy Usher
Inspector
Dick Rich
First railroad policeman
Galan Galt
Second railroad policeman
George O'hanlon
Messenger boy
Hal Craig
Guard
Frank Mayo
Guard
Elliott Sullivan
Convict
Max Wagner
Visitor
Richard Bond
Reporter
Pat Flaherty
Bartender
Jack Mower
Detective
Maris Wrixon
Telephone operator
Ila Rhodes
Telephone operator
Fern Barry
Telephone operator
Caroline Clare
Telephone operator
Alice Connors
Telephone operator
Isabel Withers
Telephone operator
Betty Mack
Telephone operator
Betty Roadman
Militant woman
Barbara Pepper
Flossie, telephone operator
Charles Seel
Veterinarian
Sidney Bracy
Tramp
Lottie Williams
Sibyl Harris
Crew
Earl Baldwin
Screenwriter
Sam Bischoff
Associate Producer
E. A. Brown
Sound
Niven Busch
Screenwriter
Adolph Deutsch
Music
Saul Elkins
Original Story
Leo F. Forbstein
Music Director
Robert Haas
Art Director
Lawrence Kimble
Screenwriter
Irving Rapper
Dialogue Director
Thomas Richards
Film Editor
Charles Rosher
Photography
Sally Sandlin
Original Story
Howard Shoup
Gowns
Sherry Shourds
Assistant Director
Jack L. Warner
Executive Producer
Film Details
Also Known As
Love Bites Man, Unfit to Print
Genre
Drama
Release Date
Jan
21,
1939
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 2m
Sound
Mono
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
8 reels
Articles
Off the Record
This 1939 picture combines crime film and family comedy, a mixture that works largely thanks to the unflagging professionalism and verve of its two stars, Joan Blondell and Pat O'Brien. As a gangster film, a genre in which Warner Bros. had led the way for most of Hollywood, it details fast-talking reporter Blondell's efforts to prove herself by exposing a juke-box racket in a series of articles that send small-time hood Alan Baxter to prison and his brother, Dead End Kid Bobby Jordan, to reform school. Feeling guilty over what her reporting has done to Jordan, Blondell accepts fellow reporter O'Brien's marriage proposal so they can adopt and reform the young tough, paving the way for more domestic scenes as they set up home with their instant family. After almost a decade in the movies, Blondell and O'Brien were experts at parts like these. Wise-cracking was practically the official language of Warner Bros., and the two could trade quips and insults the way championship boxers trade blows. But they also had the heart to lend some weight to the film's family scenes as they sincerely attempt to show Jordan a better way of life.
By Frank Miller
By Frank Miller
Off the Record
This 1939 picture combines crime film and family comedy, a mixture that works largely thanks to the unflagging professionalism and verve of its two stars, Joan Blondell and Pat O'Brien. As a gangster film, a genre in which Warner Bros. had led the way for most of Hollywood, it details fast-talking reporter Blondell's efforts to prove herself by exposing a juke-box racket in a series of articles that send small-time hood Alan Baxter to prison and his brother, Dead End Kid Bobby Jordan, to reform school. Feeling guilty over what her reporting has done to Jordan, Blondell accepts fellow reporter O'Brien's marriage proposal so they can adopt and reform the young tough, paving the way for more domestic scenes as they set up home with their instant family. After almost a decade in the movies, Blondell and O'Brien were experts at parts like these. Wise-cracking was practically the official language of Warner Bros., and the two could trade quips and insults the way championship boxers trade blows. But they also had the heart to lend some weight to the film's family scenes as they sincerely attempt to show Jordan a better way of life.
By Frank Miller
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working titles of this picture was Unfit to Print and Love Bites Man.
