By Richard Harland Smith
The System
Cast & Crew
Read More
Lewis Seiler
Director
Frank Lovejoy
John E. Merrick
Joan Weldon
Felice Stuart
Bob Arthur
Rex Merrick
Paul Picerni
David Wiley
Donald Beddoe
Jerry Allen
Film Details
Genre
Crime
Drama
Release Date
Apr
18,
1953
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Location
Los Angeles--Lakeside Country Club, California, United States; Los Angeles--Lakeside Golf Club, California, United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 30m
Synopsis
Although it is generally known that John E. Merrick heads the local unit of a nationwide gambling syndicate, the citizens of Clarkton consider him to be a respected businessman, well-intentioned citizen and generous neighbor. John is also a family man and proud of his son Rex, who is studying to be a lawyer at the state university. When John learns that Rex's friend Ricky Gerber has been killed robbing a diamond store for money to pay off gambling debts, John fires bookie Angelo Bruno, who lured Ricky to gambling and then pressured him for payment. However, after learning about the death, newspaper reporter Jerry Allen, a longtime friend of John and father of Rex's best friend, Jerry, Jr., feels compelled to start a "crusade" against local gambling. He convinces his chief, Roger Stuart, to let him do a series of articles on Clarkton's gambling activities, unaware that Stuart has an ulterior motive for granting permission. Although Jerry does not name names in his initial articles, everyone in town knows that he is targeting John. In a businesslike way, John prepares to weather the storm caused by the controversial articles with the help of his lawyer, Brady, and his accountant, Liggett. He then confronts both Jerry and Stuart about their reasons for commencing with an exposé after all these years. From these conversations, he learns that Jerry's motives are a mixture of honest citizen outrage and a desire for a Pulitzer prize, but that Stuart is simply trying to break up John's romance with his daughter Felice. When Jerry's articles explore the possibility that John's company is involved in interstate gambling, the head of the gambling syndicate, Big Reuben, gets nervous that he will be implicated and sends his brother Marty to demand that John "take the heat off," even if it means breaking up with Felice. When Jerry's articles pique the interest of Senator Richard Ketteridge, John tries to end the relationship to protect Felice from scandal, but she remains steadfast. However, other friends do not remain as loyal, as Ed Jelke, whom John helped get placed in the sheriff's department, delivers the subpoena for company tax records, and the board of directors of the country club that John helped to build ask him to resign. Although Liggett cleans out the records dealing with out-of-state transactions, Frank Tasker, who has worked in accounting for twenty years, is also subpoenaed. When he begs not to have to perjure himself, John, against Brady and Liggett's advice, tells Frank to tell the truth. On the day the Ketteridge investigation is to begin, Big Reuben and Marty send their nephew "Specs" and a psychotic Chicago gunman, Little Harry, to kill Jerry. Meanwhile, after a public acknowledgment of Jerry's death, the hearing begins and witnesses are called to the stand by chief counsel David Wiley. Angelo testifies that John provided capital for him to start a gambling operation. Frank perjures himself by saying that he does not know the nature of John's business, as he only counts the money. When the feisty Felice is called to testify, she evades their questions, but when the prosecutor gets rough with her, John disrupts by ordering them to leave her alone. During a break, Rex shows up to stand by John, but wanting to protect his son, John orders him to leave. Hurt by John's brusqueness, Rex goes to the Allens' house, where he learns about Jerry's death. When the hearings resume, John is called to the stand. Although he evades most of Wiley's questions, John claims he is not engaged in gambling and that his business is not a franchise of a nationwide wire service. However, the hearing is suddenly adjourned when police interrupt to report that Rex has committed suicide. That evening, the grieving John is summoned to the local police station, where the inspector has picked up two men who he believes are Jerry's killers, but whom he cannot hold without witnesses. Ignoring Brady's advice, John identifies the men as Harry and Specs, then manipulates Harry into exposing Specs, Reuben and Marty, even though the confession will also bring him down. When the hearing resumes, Harry is called to the stand and confesses everything, accusing Reuben and his family, and incidentally, John. When recalled to the stand, John admits to his interstate gambling activities and is immediately arrested on perjury charges for his previous testimony. As the police take John away to be tried in a federal court, Felice follows to say goodbye and declares that she still loves him.
Director
Lewis Seiler
Director
Cast
Frank Lovejoy
John E. Merrick
Joan Weldon
Felice Stuart
Bob Arthur
Rex Merrick
Paul Picerni
David Wiley
Donald Beddoe
Jerry Allen
Jerome Cowan
Brady
Dan Seymour
Marty
Sarah Selby
Liz Allen
Fay Roope
Roger Stuart
Frank Richards
Charley
Henry Corden
Specs
Howard Negley
Sen. Richard Ketteridge
Al Gordon
Big Reuben
Bruno Vesota
Angelo Bruno
Richard Garrick
Frank Tasker
Paul Birch
Lt. Gordon
William Vedder
Sen. Svalgard
Forbes Murray
Sen. Gross
Brian O'hara
Liggett
Chet Marshall
Jerry Allen, Jr.
Michael Pierce
Ricky Gerber
Ray Bennett
Policeman
Forrest Burns
Policeman
Elizabeth Flournoy
Merrick's secretary
Sammy Finn
Clerk
Ivan Browning
Servant
Charles Watts
Waiter
Milton Wood
Robert, waiter
Grandon Rhodes
Dunlop
Paul Maxey
Editor Jelke
George Sherwood
Court stenographer
Norman Field
Medical examiner
Lloyd Dawson
Detective
Larry Blake
Detective lieutenant
Frank Marlowe
Gail Ganley
Anne Lavelle
Ernestine Barrier
Crew
Gordon Bau
Makeup
John Beckman
Art Director
Sam Bischoff
Producer
David Buttolph
Music
Mel Dellar
Assistant Director
Edwin Dupar
Director of Photography
Jo Eisinger
Screenwriter
Edith Grafton
Based upon a story by
Samuel Grafton
Based upon a story by
Lou Jenning
Camera Operator
Clarence Kolster
Film Editor
Charles Lang
Sound
Lloyd Maclean
Stills
Maurice De Packh
Orchestration
Lyle B. Reifsnider
Set Decoration
Howard Shoup
Wardrobe
Film Details
Genre
Crime
Drama
Release Date
Apr
18,
1953
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Location
Los Angeles--Lakeside Country Club, California, United States; Los Angeles--Lakeside Golf Club, California, United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 30m
Articles
The System -
British film director Michael Winner had wanted Oliver Reed to play the troubled protagonist of West 11 (1963), a downbeat tale of life in the Notting Hill slums, but the notion was nixed by his producers, who felt that the brooding star of The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) and Paranoiac (1963) was a B actor unworthy of the part. Acting as his own producer for The System (US: The Girl-Getters, 1964), Winner brought Reed onboard to play the leader of a gang of purposeless youths who set every summer upon the pretty tourists flocking from London to the Devon coast. Shot on location by Nicolas Roeg, The System recalls Federico Fellini's bittersweet Il Vitelloni (1953) while pointing the way towards such coming-of-age classics as George Lucas' American Graffiti (1973) and Barry Levinson's Diner (1982). Though Reed would soon graduate to such A-list assignments as Ken Russell's Women in Love (1969) and The Devils (1970), twelfth-billed costar David Hemmings enjoyed an even earlier career crossover as the star of Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup (1966). During filming of The System, Reed had terrorized the younger, less experienced actor by hanging him upside down from a hotel balcony - a drunken stunt that took Hemmings well out of his comfort zone. The pair would reunite thirty-five years later for Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000), during principal photograph of which Reed succumbed to a fatal heart attack at the age of 61.
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
The System -
British film director Michael Winner had wanted Oliver Reed to play the troubled protagonist of West 11 (1963), a downbeat tale of life in the Notting Hill slums, but the notion was nixed by his producers, who felt that the brooding star of The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) and Paranoiac (1963) was a B actor unworthy of the part. Acting as his own producer for The System (US: The Girl-Getters, 1964), Winner brought Reed onboard to play the leader of a gang of purposeless youths who set every summer upon the pretty tourists flocking from London to the Devon coast. Shot on location by Nicolas Roeg, The System recalls Federico Fellini's bittersweet Il Vitelloni (1953) while pointing the way towards such coming-of-age classics as George Lucas' American Graffiti (1973) and Barry Levinson's Diner (1982). Though Reed would soon graduate to such A-list assignments as Ken Russell's Women in Love (1969) and The Devils (1970), twelfth-billed costar David Hemmings enjoyed an even earlier career crossover as the star of Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup (1966). During filming of The System, Reed had terrorized the younger, less experienced actor by hanging him upside down from a hotel balcony - a drunken stunt that took Hemmings well out of his comfort zone. The pair would reunite thirty-five years later for Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000), during principal photograph of which Reed succumbed to a fatal heart attack at the age of 61.
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Although his appearance in the film has not been confirmed, a December 1952 Hollywood Reporter news item added Lyle Ince to the cast. Portions of the film were shot on location at the Lakeside Country Club in Los Angeles, according to a November 1952 Hollywood Reporter news item. The System marked Joan Weldon's film debut.
