...One Third of a Nation... (1939)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Dudley Murphy

Writers:

Arthur Arent (play)
Oliver H.P. Garrett (writer)

Release Date:

10 February 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A fire in a run-down tenement building injures young Joey Rogers. Wealthy passerby Peter Cortlant rushes...

Plot Keywords:

Social Problem | Based On Play

Cast

Sylvia Sidney	...	Mary Rogers
Leif Erickson	...	Peter Cortlant
Myron McCormick	...	Sam Moon
Hiram Sherman	...	Donald Hinchley
Sidney Lumet	...	Joey Rogers
Muriel Hutchison	...	Ethel Cortlant
Percy Waram	...	Arthur Mather
Otto Hulett	...	Assistant District Attorney
Horace Sinclair	...	Butler
Iris Adrian	...	Myrtle
Charles Dingle	...	Mr. Rogers
Edmonia Nolley	...	Mrs. Rogers
Hugh Cameron	...	Mr. Cassidy
Julia Fassett	...	Mrs. Cassidy
Baruch Lumet	...	Mr. Rosen

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:Approved | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Federal Theater

Trivia:

Marks the first time Sidney Lumet worked on a film, and only one (of two) of his acting appearances. He wouldn't appear in a feature-film until the 2004 remake of "The Manchurian Candidate" in an unrecognizable cameo appearance.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Just Tell Me What You Want (1980)

A Courageous Depiction Of Life In The New York City Slums Of The 1930's

Let's acknowledge right off the top that the production qualities of this movie are very outdated (even by 1939 standards) and, at least in the version I saw, the sound quality was very poor. There were extended scenes in which I could make out barely any dialogue. Even acknowledging that, though, one has to give credit where credit is due. Those failings could (and probably should) result in a disastrous movie. Instead, "One Third Of A Nation" manages somehow to rise above those problems on the strength of a very good story and solid performances all round.

The movie provides a gritty and pathetic view of life in the New York City slums of the 1930's. The movie opens with a fire in one of the rundown tenement buildings that leaves a boy crippled after having to jump out a window to escape. There's complicity all round. The tenants don't complain about the conditions because they don't think anyone will respond; the authorities (as portrayed in a riveting, if brief, portrayal of a hearing into the causes of the fire) understand the problems but are powerless to do anything and largely pass the buck around to various agencies, and the wealthy live in uncaring ignorance, brilliantly portrayed in an icy cold performance by Muriel Huthinson as Ethel Cortland, whose brother Peter (Leif Erikson) owns the tenements through inheritance. As an example of how out of touch the rich are with the poor, Peter rushes to the fire at the start of the movie, basically seeing it as a show - he doesn't even know he's the owner. There's also a superb performance by Sylvia Sidney as Mary Rogers, the sister of the crippled boy, who becomes a crusader, trying to convince Cortland to tear down the old buildings and rebuild them.

I felt this was a very courageous movie, clearly and surprisingly approaching the issue from an overtly left-wing ideological perspective (unexpected from that era, in which there were great fears of the Depression-afflicted nation turning to communism). There are some graphic scenes (including one in which a burning man leaps off a building) and the last scene of the movie is appropriately ambiguous, leaving us wondering if Mary and Peter built a relationship in spite of their social differences. After a slow start (caused by the technical problems rather than the story) that made me rather hesitant I thought this turned into a superb movie. 8/10