Let Us Live (1939)

68 mins | Drama | 28 February 1939

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HISTORY

According to the Var review, this film was based on a 1932 incident in which two Boston cab drivers were wrongly accused of the murder of a theater employee. HR news items add Brandon Tynan, James Burton and Landers Stevens to the cast, but their participation in the final film has not been confirmed. Let Us Live marked the final feature film appearance of character actor, director and writer William V. Mong (1875--1940), who began his career in early silent films. ...

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According to the Var review, this film was based on a 1932 incident in which two Boston cab drivers were wrongly accused of the murder of a theater employee. HR news items add Brandon Tynan, James Burton and Landers Stevens to the cast, but their participation in the final film has not been confirmed. Let Us Live marked the final feature film appearance of character actor, director and writer William V. Mong (1875--1940), who began his career in early silent films.

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Daily Variety
15 Feb 1939
p. 3
Film Daily
20 Feb 1939
p. 9
Hollywood Reporter
18 Nov 1938
p. 3
Hollywood Reporter
1 Dec 1938
p. 6
Hollywood Reporter
9 Dec 1938
p. 4
Hollywood Reporter
13 Dec 1938
p. 6
Hollywood Reporter
15 Feb 1939
p. 2
Motion Picture Daily
21 Feb 1939
p. 7
Motion Picture Herald
18 Feb 1939
pp. 42-43
New York Times
30 Mar 1939
p. 19
Variety
22 Feb 1939
p. 12
CAST
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
Peter Lynn
Harry Bradley
Chuck Hamilton
William H. Royle
Eddie Hearn
Eddie Cobb
Cy Ring
Ernie Shield
Dick Cramer
+
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Asst dir
PRODUCER
PHOTOGRAPHY
ART DIRECTOR
Art dir
FILM EDITOR
Film ed
COSTUMES
Gowns
MUSIC
Mus dir
DETAILS
Release Date:
28 February 1939
Production Date:
25 Nov 1938--7 Jan 1939
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Columbia Pictures Corp. of California, Ltd.
17 February 1939
LP8651
Physical Properties:
Sound
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
68
Length(in reels):
7
Country:
United States
Language:
English
PCA No:
4929
SYNOPSIS

On the eve of his marriage to waitress Mary Roberts, taxi driver "Brick" Tennant is questioned as a murder suspect along with 120 other drivers, because a taxi served as the getaway car in a theater robbery in which a man was killed. When one of the witnesses swears that Brick and his hapless friend, Joe Linden, were the killers, the district attorney, eager for a conviction, brings the taxi drivers to trial even though Brick and Mary were in a church when the robbery took place. Although innocent, Brick and Joe are found guilty and sentenced to die in the electric chair. Mary, however, refuses to give up hope, and when she unearths a bullet from another robbery that was shot from the murder weapon, she convinces Lieutenant Everett of the police department that the wrong men have been convicted. After the district attorney refuses a stay of execution, Everett, now suspended from the force, joins Mary in her search for the high-speed cab that was driven in the hold-up. As the time of his execution approaches, Brick is transformed from an idealistic youth into a man whose faith in the system has been shattered. On the day of the execution, Mary and Everett finally find the cab, which leads them to the real murderers. The governor then pardons Brick, but although his life has been spared, his faith can never be ...

More Less

On the eve of his marriage to waitress Mary Roberts, taxi driver "Brick" Tennant is questioned as a murder suspect along with 120 other drivers, because a taxi served as the getaway car in a theater robbery in which a man was killed. When one of the witnesses swears that Brick and his hapless friend, Joe Linden, were the killers, the district attorney, eager for a conviction, brings the taxi drivers to trial even though Brick and Mary were in a church when the robbery took place. Although innocent, Brick and Joe are found guilty and sentenced to die in the electric chair. Mary, however, refuses to give up hope, and when she unearths a bullet from another robbery that was shot from the murder weapon, she convinces Lieutenant Everett of the police department that the wrong men have been convicted. After the district attorney refuses a stay of execution, Everett, now suspended from the force, joins Mary in her search for the high-speed cab that was driven in the hold-up. As the time of his execution approaches, Brick is transformed from an idealistic youth into a man whose faith in the system has been shattered. On the day of the execution, Mary and Everett finally find the cab, which leads them to the real murderers. The governor then pardons Brick, but although his life has been spared, his faith can never be repaired.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.