Behind City Lights
Cast & Crew
John English
Lynne Roberts
Peter Cookson
Jerome Cowan
Esther Dale
William Terry
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
On the day of her small-town wedding, Jean Lowell dreams of a cosmopolitan life but doubts that her marriage to farmer Ben Coleman, who was chosen to be her husband by her father Daniel, will help her get to the big city. The wedding ceremony is disrupted by an automobile accident outside the chapel, and the bride and others run outside to find an injured man, Lance Marlowe, and his companion, Perry Borden, both from New York City. As soon as Lance regains consciousness, he falls in love with Jean. Jean returns Lance's attentions, as she is delighted to finally meet someone from New York. While the wedding is postponed for one week, Jean gladly houses the injured guest until he fully recovers. After Lance and Perry leave for New York, Jean reluctantly resumes her wedding plans. Ben calls the wedding off, however, for he senses that Jean is preoccupied with thoughts of Lance and New York. Soon afterward, with the approval of her loving aunt Sarah, Jean heads for New York to begin a new life. In the big city, Jean goes to the Barrington Plaza hotel, where she finds Lance and Perry. Lance offers Jean his guidance and friendship, but Perry resents Jean's intrusion and pokes fun at her small-town ways. After helping her purchase a new dress, Perry and Lance take Jean to a nightclub, where Perry steals a necklace from a drunken guest. Perry leaves shortly after the theft is discovered, and Lance professes his love for Jean. The next day, Lance and Perry take the stolen jewels to racketeer Gabriel Carson, who pays them generously for the heist. Lance tells Perry that he intends to quit the jewel-stealing racket and uses one of the diamonds from the most recent "job" for a wedding ring for Jean. Lance presents Jean with the diamond, and Jean, unaware that the diamond is stolen, shows it to a jeweler for engraving. The jeweler then alerts police, who go after the thieves. While police captain Curtis Holbrook questions Jean, Lance is injured during a chase with some officers. Jean is taken to visit Lance in the hospital, and before he dies, he admits his criminal activities. Sometime later, Ben goes to New York and searches for his brokenhearted sweetheart. He eventually finds Jean working at a diner and, with a little encouragement, persuades her to marry him and return home.
Director
John English
Cast
Lynne Roberts
Peter Cookson
Jerome Cowan
Esther Dale
William Terry
Victor Kilian
Moroni Olsen
William Forrest
Emmett Vogan
Joseph J. Greene
Frank Scannell
Tom London
George Carleton
Bud Geary
Earle Hodgins
Virginia Carroll
Ralph Montgomery
Prudence Calvin
Bert Moorhouse
Jeanne Staff
Walter Clinton
Jack Chefe
Carl Leviness
Marjorie Wood
Wheaton Chambers
Chuck Hamilton
Brick Sullivan
Anne Loos
Archie Twitchell
Joseph Forte
Lillian Bronson
Marjorie Babe Kane
Eddie Gribbon
Jay Novello
Howard Mitchell
Douglas Fowley
Hal Price
Gay Parkes
Grace Cunard
Crew
Barton Adams
Harold Adamson
Fred Allen
Joseph Bercholz
Ed Borschell
William Bradford
Thomas A. Carman
Richard Cherwin
Frank Hotaling
Leonard Kunody
Frank Loesser
Howard Lydecker
Theodore Lydecker
Bob Mark
Joseph Novak
Adele Palmer
Gordon C. Schaefer
Howard Sheehan
John Stransky Jr.
Jule Styne
Charles Thompson
Gertrude Walker
Richard Weil
Howard Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Return at Dawn. Although Hollywood Reporter production charts include Grant Withers and Sheila Stuart in the cast, Withers was not in the released picture, and the appearance of Stuart has not been confirmed.
