Dangerous to Know
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Robert Florey
Anna May Wong
Akim Tamiroff
Gail Patrick
Lloyd Nolan
Harvey Stephens
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
At City Hall, Nicolai "Nicky" Kusnoff, gangster Stephen Recka's henchman, overhears city councilman Murkil plotting with John Rance to take over the mayor's office. Madame Lan Ying, Recka's mistress, hosts a birthday party for him, which is attended by those who want a share in his city-wide power. Recka becomes interested in socialite Margaret Van Kase when she attends the party without an invitation. That evening, Recka coldly murders Rance after forcing him to write a suicide note. City inspector Brandon believes Recka is responsible for eight deaths, but has no evidence to convict him. Brandon and Recka share the same birthday, and for the seventh year in a row, Brandon refuses Recka's birthday "gift," a bribe. At the racetrack, Nicky reports to Recka on Margaret's fiancé, a handsome bond salesman named Philip Easton. Recka, who models himself after Napoleon Bonaparte, buys a large amount of bonds from Phil, then attends a society dinner with Margaret. Nicky impetuously reveals to Lan Ying that Recka plans to wed Margaret, after which Lan Ying warns Recka that trying to enter society is reaching beyond his grasp. Recka arranges with Crouch and Hanley to rob Phil's bonds in a manner that makes Phil appear an accessory to the crime. When Margaret calls on Recka, he promises to have Phil freed if she will marry him. Crouch and Hanley double-cross Recka, however, and keep the bonds, then are caught speeding by the police. After Lan Ying gives Phil airplane tickets that Recka had bought for a flight with Margaret, Brandon arrests Nicky to keep him from murdering Phil. Lan Ying refuses a large check offered by Recka and warns him that she will not be waiting if he returns, playing a record of "Thanks for the Memory" as a farewell. Although still determined to marry Margaret, Recka is nonetheless confused and lonely and plays a Tchaikovsky piece on his pipe organ. Behind him Lan Ying commits suicide with a knife, and just as Recka realizes something unexpected has happened, Brandon enters and arrests him. Brandon intends that Recka be convicted as the murderer of Lan Ying and thus pay for any other crimes for which he was never tried. Nicky foolishly imagines himself as Recka's successor, while Phil and Margaret fly to their honeymoon.
Director
Robert Florey
Cast
Anna May Wong
Akim Tamiroff
Gail Patrick
Lloyd Nolan
Harvey Stephens
Anthony Quinn
Roscoe Karns
Porter Hall
Barlowe Borland
Hedda Hopper
Hugh Sothern
Edward Pawley
Eddie Marr
Harry Worth
Robert Brister
Pierre Watkin
Garry Owen
Donald Brian
Stanley Blystone
Terry Ray
Rita La Roy
Harvey Clark
Jack Knoche
Gino Corrado
George Melford
Rudolph Myzet
Andre P. Marsaudon
Perry Ivins
Margaret Randall
Wade Boteler
Ivan Miller
Frank Melton
Grace Benham
Lynn Bailey
Larry Steers
Estelle Etterre
Harry Myers
David Newell
Cyril Ring
Sheila Darcy
Blanca Vischer
John Hart
Joyce Mathews
Carol Parker
Ruth Rogers
Suzanne Ridgway
Crew
Hans Dreier
A. E. Freudeman
Stanley Goldsmith
John Goodman
Edith Head
William Lebaron
Harry Lindgren
William R. Lipman
Edward T. Lowe
Horace Mccoy
Boris Morros
Richard Olson
Arthur Schmidt
Charles Schoenbaum
Theodor Sparkuhl
Karl Struss
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Adolph Zukor
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Edgar Wallace's play opened in New York on October 29, 1930 and was published as a novel in 1932. According to Wallace biographers, the play was written in four days and was based on the career of Al Capone. Anna May Wong reprised her stage role from the New York production in the movie. Passages from symphonies by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, played by "Recka" during numerous scenes, were blended into the musical score. Early Hollywood Reporter production charts list Charles Schoenbaum as photographer. According to contemporary sources, Wong capitalized on the success of the film when she toured on behalf of Chinese war relief.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1938
Released in United States 1938
