Speed Limited


52m 1935

Brief Synopsis

(Crime Dra '40,BW). Ralph Graves, Evelyn Brent, Claudia Dell, Andy Rice, Jr., Fred "Snow Flake" Toomes. FBI agent Jerry Paley has a double agenda: trailing a gang of kidnappers and romancing a divorced socialite. Ralph Graves wrote the screenplay and also plays the lead in this no-budget crime thriller.

Film Details

Genre
Crime
Release Date
Jan 1935
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Regent Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
State Rights
Country
United States

Technical Specs

Duration
52m
Film Length
4,962ft

Synopsis

In Las Vegas, Marjorie, a divorced heiress, mistakenly becomes involved with a gangster's moll named Natalie. When government agent Jerry Paley seeks her cooperation, Marjorie refuses to help, despite her immediate romantic interest in him. Jerry traces Natalie to a mountain cabin, where he finds Marjorie and a note stating "Have Your Coat." When Marjorie once again refuses to cooperate with his investigation, Jerry arrests her, then when he discovers his car has been sabotaged by Natalie, the two are forced to walk twenty-five miles into town. The next day, at his office in the Department of Justice, Jerry learns that Marjorie has been released, as there were no true grounds to hold her. Marjorie then calls Jerry, hoping they can go out together, but he refuses to have anything to do with her. Meanwhile, Natalie follows Marjorie to her private railroad car and returns her coat. As Natalie leaves, Jerry arrives and follows her to the gangsters' hideout, behind a drug store. Jerry and the other G-men storm the hideout, which results in a fierce gunfight in which G-man Smitty is killed and Natalie seriously wounded. In the ensuing car chase, the gangsters manage to escape. Jerry then visits Marjorie and tells her that she caused Smitty's death by refusing to cooperate. Jerry then makes train reservations to accompany Smitty's body to his parents' home in Salt Lake City. When Marjorie learns of this, she orders her private car attached to the Salt Lake City train. When she enters her car, however, she finds the wounded Natalie and her gangster friends, who take Marjorie hostage. Jerry decides to send a telegram to Marjorie, but when he learns that her car is attached to the train, he walks back to her car and falls into the gangsters' trap. When Marjorie tries to escape, Jerry manages to get loose, and chases one of the gangsters to the train car's roof, where the two men fight until Jerry manages to throw him over the side. Carson, the gangster leader, takes Marjorie hostage once again, and when she tries to escape, he shoots her in the leg. Jerry corners Carson in the luggage car and kills him in a gunfight next to Smitty's coffin. Back in a Las Vegas hospital, Marjorie is told by a doctor that Jerry, also wounded in the gunfight, will be all right. Jerry comes out of his room to see Marjorie in her wheelchair and apologizes to her, saying that he is "pretty hard-boiled, but always gets his man." Marjorie then tells him that she is the same way, as he wheels her down the corridor.

Film Details

Genre
Crime
Release Date
Jan 1935
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Regent Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
State Rights
Country
United States

Technical Specs

Duration
52m
Film Length
4,962ft

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

The summary for this film was based on an incomplete viewed print. According to the MPAA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library, the character of Marjorie was based on heiress Barbara Hutton. In order to avoid legal problems, the character's last name was changed from Sutton and all references to her marriage to a European prince were removed.