Lady Gangster (1942)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Robert Florey

Writers:

Anthony Coldeway (writer)
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	...	Dorothy Drew 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	...	Matron Jenkins
Dorothy Adams	...	Deaf Annie
William Hopper	...	John (as DeWolf Hopper)
Vera Lewis	...	Ma Silsby
Herbert Rawlinson	...	Lewis Sinton
Peggy Diggins	...	Mary, a trustee
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		writer (as Anthony Coldewey)
Dorothy Mackaye		play "Gangstress, or Women In Prison"
Carlton Miles		play "Gangstress, or Women In Prison"

Cinematography by
Arthur L. Todd		(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: music cues (uncredited)
Sanford Green	....	composer: music cues (uncredited)
Howard Jackson	....	composer: music cues (uncredited)
William Lava	....	composer: music cues (uncredited)
Charles Maxwell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Heinz Roemheld	....	composer: music cues (uncredited)
Max Steiner	....	composer: music cues (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

Minor But Has a Good Cast

Was the concept of a female criminal so odd at the time? What about Bonnie Parker? This is a gangster story with the sexes reversed, in any case. The criminal who goes to the slammer is a woman. The prison is nothing compared to the one in "Caged." Julie Bishop, who's very good, wears a rather glamorous uniform.

The movie trots right along, though. It has an excellent cast. Of course, it's fun to see the young Jackie Gleason as a bank robber. He looks kind of naive and cuddly.

Faye Emerson was an excellent actress. She adorned many a B-picture. She wasn't a great beauty: Maybe that's why she never became a major star of movies. She was versatile -- sweet, wisecracking, or evil. One thing that always comes across in her performances: intelligence.