By Glenn Erickson
Success at Any Price
Brief Synopsis
A young man ruthlessly climbs the corporate ladder only to attempt suicide when the stock market crashes.
Cast & Crew
Read More
J. Walter Ruben
Director
Douglas Fairbanks
Joe Martin
Genevieve Tobin
Agnes [Carter]
Frank Morgan
[Raymond] Merritt
Colleen Moore
Sarah [Griswold]
Edward Everett Horton
[Harry] Fisher
Film Details
Also Known As
Success Story
Genre
Drama
Adaptation
Release Date
Mar
16,
1934
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the play Success Story by John Howard Lawson, as produced by Group Theatre, Inc. (New York, 26 Sep 1932).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 14m
Sound
Mono (RCA Victor System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
8 reels
Synopsis
Shortly before the stock market crash of 1929, Joe Martin, the tough-talking brother of a slain East Side gangster who believes that money is everything, gets a job as an assistant clerk in the advertising agency where his girl friend, Sarah Griswold, works. Joe's abrasive, aggressive office manner alienates him from his college-educated bosses and eventually causes his firing. Convinced of Joe's essential goodness, Sarah pleads his case to her superior, Raymond Merritt, who agrees to give Joe another chance by allowing him to write the copy for a Glamour Creme ad spread. That night, while toiling over his assignment in Merritt's office, Joe meets Agnes Carter, Merritt's longtime mistress, whose elegant charm dazzles the would-be millionaire. Determined to win her from Merritt, Joe, whose ads land him an instant promotion, toils to make money and advance himself in the company, all but abandoning Sarah. After the market crash, Joe learns that Merritt has been forced to take out personal bank notes to stay afloat, and freely divulges this information to Merritt's competitor, Mr. Hatfield. Because of his clever insider investing, Joe earns his million dollars and proposes to Agnes. Although she feels incapable of loving Joe, Agnes agrees to marry him, but soon grows bored with her ambitious, neglectful husband and spends less and less time at home. Joe, meanwhile, as a final coup d'etat , buys up Merritt's personal notes and forces him to resign from the agency, then appoints himself as its head. Once at the top, however, Joe learns from a private detective that Agnes is having an affair with Hatfield and finally understands that he will never possess what others have, namely happiness through love and children. Devastated by this self-realization, Joe shoots himself, but is rescued by Sarah, who, seeing the depth of his desperation, vows to love and care for him.
Director
J. Walter Ruben
Director
Cast
Douglas Fairbanks
Joe Martin
Genevieve Tobin
Agnes [Carter]
Frank Morgan
[Raymond] Merritt
Colleen Moore
Sarah [Griswold]
Edward Everett Horton
[Harry] Fisher
Nydia Westman
Dinah
Allen Vincent
Geoffrey Halliburton
Henry Kolker
Hatfield
Crew
Merian C. Cooper
Executive Producer
Doran Cox
Assistant Director
Henry W. Gerrard
Photography
Howard J. Green
Screenwriter
Al Herman
Art Director
Jack Hively
Editing
John Howard Lawson
Screenwriter
Van Nest Polglase
Art Director
Max Steiner
Music Director
H. N. Swanson
Associate Producer
John E. Tribby
Recording
Film Details
Also Known As
Success Story
Genre
Drama
Adaptation
Release Date
Mar
16,
1934
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the play Success Story by John Howard Lawson, as produced by Group Theatre, Inc. (New York, 26 Sep 1932).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 14m
Sound
Mono (RCA Victor System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
8 reels
Articles
Success at Any Price -
Future 'Hollywood Ten' blacklistee John Howard Lawson began as a celebrated New York playwright, and was actually dubbed "the hope of the theater" by producer Harold Clurman. RKO hired Lawson to adapt for the screen his play about a ruthlessly ambitious advertising man, Success Story. Ad writer Joe Martin (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) possesses talent but expends most of his energy on interoffice scheming. He ditches his faithful girlfriend Sarah (former silent comedienne Colleen Moore) for another man's mistress, Agnes (Genevieve Tobin). When the stock market crash hits, Joe exploits inside information to amass a fortune, cheat his boss and eventually take over the agency. He gets everything he wants, only to find that grasping for money and power doesn't bring happiness. Lawson's critique of big business treachery now bears comparison to TV's Mad Men. Although the film version eliminates Joe's Jewish identity and imposes a happy ending, it is still one of the most caustic of the Depression-era anti-business stories. For such an unlikeable character, Lawson had originally wanted the charismatic Paul Muni. Critics praised young Douglas Fairbanks Jr.'s performance but audiences found Joe Martin cold and unsympathetic. The film was released three months before the enforcement of the Production Code, which in addition to policing on-screen morals, banned content directly critical of the American business system.
By Glenn Erickson
By Glenn Erickson
Success at Any Price -
Future 'Hollywood Ten' blacklistee John Howard Lawson began as a celebrated New York playwright, and was actually dubbed "the hope of the theater" by producer Harold Clurman. RKO hired Lawson to adapt for the screen his play about a ruthlessly ambitious advertising man, Success Story. Ad writer Joe Martin (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) possesses talent but expends most of his energy on interoffice scheming. He ditches his faithful girlfriend Sarah (former silent comedienne Colleen Moore) for another man's mistress, Agnes (Genevieve Tobin). When the stock market crash hits, Joe exploits inside information to amass a fortune, cheat his boss and eventually take over the agency. He gets everything he wants, only to find that grasping for money and power doesn't bring happiness. Lawson's critique of big business treachery now bears comparison to TV's Mad Men. Although the film version eliminates Joe's Jewish identity and imposes a happy ending, it is still one of the most caustic of the Depression-era anti-business stories. For such an unlikeable character, Lawson had originally wanted the charismatic Paul Muni. Critics praised young Douglas Fairbanks Jr.'s performance but audiences found Joe Martin cold and unsympathetic. The film was released three months before the enforcement of the Production Code, which in addition to policing on-screen morals, banned content directly critical of the American business system. By Glenn Erickson
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Success Story. In John Howard Lawson's stage play, the Joe Martin character was portrayed as a Jewish American who resented working in a gentile's business, but this ethnic conflict was not used in the film. In September 1933, Film Daily announced that Lawson's play had been bought by RKO as a starring vehicle for William Gargan and Wynne Gibson. A Hollywood Reporter production chart adds June Brewster and Howard Wilson to the cast, but their participation in the final film has not been confirmed.
