Lady Killer (1933)

67 or 73 mins | Drama | 9 December 1933

Director:

Roy Del Ruth

Cinematographer:

Tony Gaudio

Editor:

George Amy

Production Designer:

Robert M. Haas

Production Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Full page view
HISTORY

The film's working title was The Finger Man. Writer Lillie Hayward's first name was misspelled as "Lilie" in the onscreen credits. According to a news item in FD, Patricia Ellis was to play the second female lead along with Mae Clarke. DV reports that Warner Bros. was temporarily enjoined from using the title Lady Killer. The complaint of playwrights Fred and Alice Mandel alleged that Warner Bros. was notified of prior rights to the use of the title of their stage play and that releasing the film under that title was an infringement of title rights. ...

More Less

The film's working title was The Finger Man. Writer Lillie Hayward's first name was misspelled as "Lilie" in the onscreen credits. According to a news item in FD, Patricia Ellis was to play the second female lead along with Mae Clarke. DV reports that Warner Bros. was temporarily enjoined from using the title Lady Killer. The complaint of playwrights Fred and Alice Mandel alleged that Warner Bros. was notified of prior rights to the use of the title of their stage play and that releasing the film under that title was an infringement of title rights.

Less

SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Daily Variety
17 Nov 1933
p. 3
Daily Variety
24 Apr 1934
p. 4
Film Daily
16 Aug 1933
p. 6
Film Daily
28 Dec 1933
p. 18
Hollywood Reporter
17 Nov 1933
p. 2
Motion Picture Daily
22 Nov 1933
p. 8
Motion Picture Herald
2 Dec 1933
p. 53
New York Times
1 Jan 1934
p. 28
Variety
2 Jan 1934
p. 13
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTOR
PRODUCER
WRITERS
From a story "Finger Man" by
Mark Canfield
Story
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photog
ART DIRECTOR
Robert M. Haas
Art dir
FILM EDITOR
COSTUMES
Gowns
MUSIC
Vitaphone Orch cond
DETAILS
Alternate Title:
The Finger Man
Release Date:
9 December 1933
Production Date:

Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
9 December 1933
LP4319
Physical Properties:
Sound
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
67 or 73
Length(in reels):
8
Country:
United States
SYNOPSIS

While returning a purse dropped by attractive Myra Gale, Dan Quigley quickly learns that he has been the victim of a confidence game. He threatens the gang with exposure unless they cut him in on their profits. Dan works the racket so successfully that they are able to open a gambling club patronized by wealthy customers. When they spot a likely victim among the customers, Dan arranges a fake accident so he will be taken into the victim's house and cases it for his fellow gangsters. Eventually, the police suspect Dan's gang, and when someone dies during a robbery, the gang leaves town. They travel to Los Angeles, where Dan is arrested. He asks Myra to arrange his bail, but Spade Maddock, another gang member, talks her into using the money to leave town. Because they do not have enough evidence to hold Dan, the police release him. Looking like a hobo, he is offered work as a movie extra. One day, he stumbles into the dressing room of movie star Lois Underwood. He starts a self-promoting letter writing campaign, which convinces the studio that he would be a good choice for a new leading man. Dan and Lois become romantically involved, and things are going well for Dan until Myra and the gang return. They threaten to reveal his past unless he fingers wealthy Hollywood people for robberies. He refuses, paying the gang a large amount of money to leave town. They double-cross him, robbing Lois's house, and Dan is arrested. When the studio will not stand by him, Lois offers to pay his bail, ...

More Less

While returning a purse dropped by attractive Myra Gale, Dan Quigley quickly learns that he has been the victim of a confidence game. He threatens the gang with exposure unless they cut him in on their profits. Dan works the racket so successfully that they are able to open a gambling club patronized by wealthy customers. When they spot a likely victim among the customers, Dan arranges a fake accident so he will be taken into the victim's house and cases it for his fellow gangsters. Eventually, the police suspect Dan's gang, and when someone dies during a robbery, the gang leaves town. They travel to Los Angeles, where Dan is arrested. He asks Myra to arrange his bail, but Spade Maddock, another gang member, talks her into using the money to leave town. Because they do not have enough evidence to hold Dan, the police release him. Looking like a hobo, he is offered work as a movie extra. One day, he stumbles into the dressing room of movie star Lois Underwood. He starts a self-promoting letter writing campaign, which convinces the studio that he would be a good choice for a new leading man. Dan and Lois become romantically involved, and things are going well for Dan until Myra and the gang return. They threaten to reveal his past unless he fingers wealthy Hollywood people for robberies. He refuses, paying the gang a large amount of money to leave town. They double-cross him, robbing Lois's house, and Dan is arrested. When the studio will not stand by him, Lois offers to pay his bail, but the gang beats her to it, planning to kill him before he can tell the police about their activites. Suspecting their motives, Dan tips off the police, and the gang is captured. After Dan is cleared of all charges and his career saved, he and Lois leave to get married.

Less

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

TOP SEARCHES

Psycho

Actor Vaughn Taylor's surname is misspelled "Tayler" in the onscreen credits. Several Jun and Jul 1959 HR news items erroneously refer to the film as Psyche. ... >>

Blue Movie

The 25 Jun 1969 Var review noted that Blue Movie was shot in Sep 1968 in New York City. Along with several other contemporary sources, ... >>

The Best Years of Our Lives

The working titles of the film were Glory for Me and Home Again . In the opening credits, actor Fredric March's name is spelled correctly, but ... >>

The Grapes of Wrath

According to materials contained in the Twentieth Century-Fox Records of the Legal Department at the UCLA Theater Arts Library, Fox paid John Steinbeck $70,000 for the rights to his ... >>

2001: A Space Odyssey

Opening credits precede a title card that reads: "The Dawn of Man."
       In an interview in the 16 Jan 1966 NYT, writer-director-producer Stanley Kubrick discussed ... >>

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.