eMoviePoster.com

What are the objects in the corners of some images? Learn More

The Criminal Code, the 1931 Howard Hawks prison crime murder melodrama ("He defied the criminal code - and paid!!"; "She defied the moral code - and suffered!!"; "From the stage success by Martin Flavin") starring Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes, Constance Cummings, Mary Doran, Boris Karloff (in one of his many pre-Frankenstein supporting roles!), and DeWitt Jennings. Note that there was a Spanish-language version of this film titled "El Codigo Penal", also made by Columbia in 1931. They filmed the movie twice, once in English, and once in Spanish, with two entirely different casts (U.S. actors for the English version and mostly Latin actors for the Spanish version). A knowledgeable collector tells us that this was one of only 3 films that Columbia made using this process. The other two were "The Good Bad Girl" (El Pasado Acusa) and "Ten Cents A Dance" (Carne de Cabaret). Also note that Phillips Holmes had made an impression in some movies in the late 1920s. In 1931, he would get the lead in the first version of "An American Tragedy", which made it seem like he would become a major star, but that didn't materialize. He had a major affair with Libby Holman, but that was certainly complicated, and when they broke up, she immediately married his brother! Oddly, years later, Holman would have another very complicated affair with Montgomery Clift, who played the same part in the remake of "An American Tragedy", retitled "A Place in the Sun". Sadly, Holmes died in a plane crash in 1942. I am very surprised no one has made a movie about his life, or a joint movie about him and Libby Holman!
NOTE: Click on linked names to see a biography.

Our address for UPS or FedEx only is:
Bruce Hershenson,
306 Washington Avenue, West Plains, MO 65775