Grand Exit
Brief Synopsis
An insurance investigator tries to track down an arsonist.
Cast & Crew
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Erle C. Kenton
Director
Edmund Lowe
Tom Fletcher
Ann Sothern
Adrienne Martin, also known as Adeline Maxwell
Onslow Stevens
John Grayson
Robert Middlemass
Fire Chief Mulligan
Wyrley Birch
Warden
Film Details
Genre
Crime
Release Date
Oct
25,
1935
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Columbia Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Columbia Pictures Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 17m
Film Length
7 reels
Synopsis
Tom Fletcher may be an irresponsible ladies' man, but he is also the best fire investigator in the country. He is hired by the Interoceanic Fire Insurance Company to investigate a series of financially disastrous fires. Tom takes the job on the condition that he receive exorbitant perks and that his friend, John Grayson, be retained as the acting chief investigator. No sooner does Tom take the job than the Acme Fur company explodes into flames. As he investigates the scene, Tom meets Adrienne Martin, an attractive young woman who has been seen at numerous other fires. They are immediately attracted to one another, and John, also smitten by Adrienne, warns her that Tom is a Casanova. Tom discovers that all the fires were started by an arsonist disguised as a telephone repairman, and informs the insurance company of this. He then discovers that Adrienne has run a mysterious personal ad in the newspaper warning "F" not to use the phone again. At another fire, Tom discovers that the fire was set using a magnifying glass manufactured by the now-defunct Maxwell Company. Tom learns that the company went under when Interoceanic refused a loan to its owner, Erwin Maxwell, who swore revenge. Maxwell then committed suicide, though his body was never found. Tom searches Adrienne's apartment, and finds a passport in the name of Adeline Maxwell. He accuses her of being Maxwell's daughter, and has her confined to the mental ward of a hospital. Adrienne is sent a basket of fruit with the note "A--I got you into this and I'll get you out--F." Tom disguises himself as an orderly on the ward, where he witnesses a patient sneak into the paint room, which suddenly bursts into flames. Tom catches the arsonist, who turns out to be Erwin Maxwell. With the case solved, Tom fixes John up with Adrienne, who admits that she must be a little crazy, and tells Tom that he's a lucky man to have escaped her without being burned.
Director
Erle C. Kenton
Director
Cast
Edmund Lowe
Tom Fletcher
Ann Sothern
Adrienne Martin, also known as Adeline Maxwell
Onslow Stevens
John Grayson
Robert Middlemass
Fire Chief Mulligan
Wyrley Birch
Warden
Selmer Jackson
District Attorney Cope
Guy Usher
Police Chief Roberts
Miki Morita
Noah
Arthur Rankin
Dave
Russell Hicks
Drake
Edward Van Sloan
Klorer
Iris Adrian
Diane
Lois Lindsey
Office girl
Dell Henderson
Mulcahy
Raymond Brown
Digby
Sam Flint
French
Carol Tevis
Helene
Nora Cecil
Miss Appleby
George Lloyd
Mugg
Edward Lesaint
Doctor
William Worthington
Doctor
Harry Stafford
Doctor
Tom Francis
Twigs
Daisy Belmore
Molly, the apple woman
Barlowe Borland
Crane
Lloyd Whitlock
Higgins
Patricia Farley
Marie
Dorothy Dehn
Sally
Geneva Mitchell
Nancy
Joseph De Stefani
Porter
Lee Prather
Captain of the guards
Dick Rush
Captain of the guards
Harold Howard
Maxwell
Monty Vandegrift
Detective
Lee Phelps
Detective
Stuart Holmes
Baldheaded doorman
Edward Earle
Optical man
Ralph Mccullough
Ad man
Arthur Stuart Hull
Washburn
William Jeffrey
Frampton
Jack Mower
Bartender
Tom Ford
Bartender
Jean De Briac
French waiter
Louis Natheaux
Headwaiter
Mickey Bennett
Bellboy
Frank Mills
Jones
Bill Nye
Al
Earl M. Pingree
Police sergeant
Monte Carter
Tony
Harry Dunkinson
Mueller
Betty Farrington
Jail matron
Renee Whitney
Telephone operator
Althea Henley
Telephone operator
Earle Bunn
Sam
Ned Norton
Luke
John Ince
Dailey
Alma Chester
Janitor's wife
Charles Dorety
Taxi driver
Mike Lally
Taxi driver
Frank Meredith
Motorcycle policeman
Edward Parker
Motorcycle policeman
Dick Allen
Guard
Dick Howard
Guard
Tom London
Policeman
Jack Gray
Policeman
Howard Chase
Travis
Ron Wilson
Elevator man
Ben Chapman
Elevator man
Don Roberts
Waiter
Crew
Film Details
Genre
Crime
Release Date
Oct
25,
1935
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Columbia Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Columbia Pictures Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 17m
Film Length
7 reels
Articles
Grand Exit
An insurance investigator tries to track down an arsonist.
Grand Exit
An insurance investigator tries to track down an arsonist.
TCM Remembers - Ann Sothern
TCM Remembers - Ann Sothern
Actress Ann Sothern passed away on March 15th at the age of 89. Her film career spanned sixty years and included a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for The Whales of August (1987) and several Emmy nominations for her roles in the TV shows Private Secretary (1953) and The Ann Sothern Show (1958). Sothern was born as Harriette Lake in North Dakota. She made her first film appearance in 1927 in small roles (so small, in fact, that some sources omit any films before 1929) before deciding to work on Broadway instead. Shortly afterwards she signed with Columbia Pictures where studio head Harry Cohn insisted she change her name because there were already too many actors with the last name of Lake. So "Ann" came from her mother's name Annette and "Sothern" from Shakespearean actor E.H. Sothern. For most of the 1930s she appeared in light comedies working with Eddie Cantor, Maurice Chevalier, Mickey Rooney and Fredric March. However, it wasn't until she switched to MGM (after a brief period with RKO) and made the film Maisie (1939) that Sothern hit pay dirt. It proved enormously popular and led to a series of nine more films through 1947 when she moved into dramas and musicals. During the 50s, Sothern made a mark with her TV series but returned to mostly second tier movies in the 1960s and 1970s. Finally she earned an Oscar nomination for her work in 1987's The Whales of August (in which, incidentally, her daughter Tisha Sterling played her at an earlier age). Turner Classic Movies plans to host a retrospective film tribute to her in July. Check back for details in June.
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to information found in the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library, this story was first considered for developement at Paramount in 1934. When that studio submitted the original script to the PCA, it was rejected "because of the great emphasis throughout the story upon inceniarism." Paramount then presented written statements from the Traveler's Fire Insurance Co. and the Los Angeles Fire Department to the PCA, in an attempt to assure them that the proposed film would not demonstrate how to commit an arson fire, as "it is physically impossible to set fires in the manner we delineate." When Columbia took over the project in 1935, the PCA dropped its original objections, and showed concern only for language, alcohol usage and other minor details.
