Lady Gangster (1942)

Director:

Robert Florey

Writers:

Anthony Coldeway (screenplay)
Dorothy Mackaye (play)
(more)

Release Date:

1 April 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

An actress gets mixed up with a criminal gang and winds up taking the rap for a $40,000 robbery. Before she's sent to prison...

Plot Keywords:

Criminal Gang | Car Chase | Radio Broadcast | Montage | Prison Escape

Cast

Faye Emerson	...	Dot Burton
Julie Bishop	...	Myrtle Reed
Frank Wilcox	...	Kenneth Phillips
Roland Drew	...	Carey Wells
Jackie Gleason	...	Wilson (as Jackie C. Gleason)
Ruth Ford	...	Lucy Fenton
Virginia Brissac	...	Mrs. Stoner
Dorothy Vaughan	...	Jenkins
Dorothy Adams	...	Deaf Annie
William Hopper	...	John (as DeWolf Hopper)
Vera Lewis	...	Ma Silsby
Herbert Rawlinson	...	Lewis Sinton
Peggy Diggins	...	Mary
Charles C. Wilson	...	Detective (as Charles Wilson)
William 'Bill' Phillips	...	Stew (as Bill Phillips)
Frank Mayo	...	Walker
Leah Baird	...	Matron
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Daisy Bufford	...	Black Girl (uncredited)
Ken Christy	...	Jordan - Bank Guard (uncredited)
Fred Kelsey	...	Cop Shooting Carey (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
Joan Winfield	...	Nurse (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Florey		(as Florian Roberts)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Anthony Coldeway		screenplay (as Anthony Coldewey)
Dorothy Mackaye		play "Gangstress, or Women In Prison"
Carlton Miles		play "Gangstress, or Women In Prison"

Original Music by
Howard Jackson		(uncredited)
William Lava		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Arthur L. Todd		(director of photography) (as Arthur Todd)

Film Editing by
Harold McLernon

Art Direction by
Ted Smith

Costume Design by
Milo Anderson		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Sound Department
Robert B. Lee	....	sound

Music Department
Adolph Deutsch	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Sanford Green	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Charles Maxwell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Heinz Roemheld	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Max Steiner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Frank Fox	....	dialogue director

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1942) (USA) (theatrical)
• VCI Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

62 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (Certificate #8267) | USA:Not Rated (DVD)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Quotes:

Mrs. Stoner: So the quicker you realize that this i neither a country club nor a concentration camp, the better. It's up to the women themselves how they're treated. If you behave yourself, we'll meet you more than halfway, but if you want to be tough, we can be tough with you. Now, is that clear?
Dorothy Drew Burton: Yes.
Mrs. Stoner: Yes, what?
Dorothy Drew Burton: Yes, Ma'am.

Movie Connections:

Version of Ladies They Talk About (1933)

Soundtrack:

Blues in the Night

Jackie Gleason rocks !

I'm a huge Jackie Gleason fan. Seeing the young Gleason in this movie was a sheer delight. I found it ironic that he played the "get-away" driver, because I remember hearing that Jackie Gleason never learned how to drive in real life. (I'll have to re-watch the three "Smokey and the Bandit" movies and see if he actually drives in them.) Thanks Platinum for putting this film on DVD. For 1942, this was a good movie.

Another 1942 movie, being released on DVD this month (Nov.- 2005)with Jackie Gleason, is "Orchestra Wives". He plays one of the band members.

To all you Baby Boomers like myself, look for Frank Wilcox in "Lady Gangster". Ya'll should recognize Mr. Wilcox from several TV shows, making small appearances, including the "Beverly Hillbillies" and the "Munsters" (very first TV episode). Wilcox has an uncredited role in one of my favorite movies of all-time, "Sergeant York" - 1941. Can anyone tell me ... why in the world is this Gary Cooper classic not released on DVD yet ?