Castle on the Hudson
Castle on the Hudson | |
---|---|
Directed by | Anatole Litvak |
Screenplay by | Seton I. Miller Brown Holmes Courtney Terrett |
Based on | Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing 1932 book by Lewis E. Lawes |
Produced by | Anatole Litvak Samuel Bischoff |
Starring | John Garfield Ann Sheridan Pat O'Brien Burgess Meredith |
Cinematography | Arthur Edeson |
Edited by | Thomas Richards |
Music by | Adolph Deutsch |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 77 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Castle on the Hudson (UK title: Years Without Days) is a 1940 American film noir drama directed by Anatole Litvak and starring John Garfield, Ann Sheridan, and Pat O'Brien. A thief is sent to Sing Sing Prison, where he is befriended by the reform-minded warden. The film was based on the book Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing, written by Lewis E. Lawes, on whom the warden (played by O'Brien) in the film was based.[1]. Castle on the Hudson was actually a remake of an earlier Spencer Tracy prison film, 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932), also based on Lawes's book.[2][3]
Plot
Tommy Gordon (John Garfield), a cocky, arrogant thief, is finally nailed by New York City authorities after pulling a big heist. He is sentenced to a minimum seven years at the state prison in Ossining, aka Sing Sing, on the shores of the Hudson River. There, he meets prison warden Walter Long (Pat O'Brien), to whom he takes an immediate dislike. It takes months, but the rebellious inmate, Gordon, eventually settles into the dull routine of prison life.
There has always been one rule that superstitious Tommy Gordon has stuck with -- never pull a job on a Saturday. So when fellow inmate Steve Rockford (Burgess Meredith) invites Gordon to assist him in a breakout, he at first agrees. Later however, learning that Rockford has scheduled the escape for a Saturday night, he backs out. Sure enough, Rockford's plans backfire, and he dies during the attempt. Warden Long learns afterwards of Gordon's refusal to go along with the escape. Later, when he receives news that Gordon's girlfriend, Kay Manners (Ann Sheridan), is seriously ill, he offers Gordon temporary unsupervised parole, just long enough to visit Kay. Despite the parole's taking place on a Saturday, Gordon gratefully accedes.
Once in New York, however, Gordon is involved in the murder of his shyster lawyer, shot dead by a sick, convalescing Kay. Though he is actually innocent of the crime, Gordon decides to protect Kay's reputation by taking the blame for his lawyer's death. So upon returning to Sing Sing, he greets the warden with a fake confession. A courtroom trial follows, where despite Kay's attempts to explain she is the real murderer, Gordon is convicted and sentenced to the electric chair. Unlike many of his death-row companions who panic and break down as their appointment with fate approaches, Gordon stolidly faces the consequences of his noble decision. In the end, he slowly walks that last mile before execution, accompanied by a solemn Warden Long and the prison chaplain.
Cast
- John Garfield as Tommy Gordon
- Ann Sheridan as Kay Manners, his girlfriend
- Pat O'Brien as Warden Walter Long
- Burgess Meredith as Steve Rockford
- Henry O'Neill as District Attorney
- Jerome Cowan as Ed Crowley
- Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as Mike Cagle
- John Litel as Prison Chaplain
- Margot Stevenson as Ann Rockford
- Willard Robertson as Detective Ragan
- Edward Pawley as Black Jack
- Billy Wayne as Pete
- Nedda Harrigan as Mrs. Long
- Wade Boteler as Principal Keeper
- Barbara Pepper as Goldie
- Robert Strange as Joe Morris
- William Hopper as Reporter (uncredited)
- Grant Mitchell as Psychologist Dr. Ames (uncredited)
- Frank Puglia as Tony, prisoner on Death Row (uncredited)
- Adrian Morris as Prisoner (uncredited)
Production notes
John Garfield agreed to star in the film if two conditions were met. First, he demanded that the original ending, where his character dies in the electric chair for a crime he did not commit, be retained in the movie's script. Second, to seal the deal, Garfield pressed for a $10,000 bonus. Warners agreed to both stipulations. [4]
Critical reaction
An unsigned critique in The New York Times, published during Castle on the Hudson's premiere March 1940 engagement, praised the cast as being "so good that a player like Burgess Meredith appears satisfied with fourth billing." The reviewer, however, panned the stock characters they played, complaining that "you have met them all before, and whether you care to renew the acquaintance or not, here is an excellent opportunity."[5]
In 1977, the Greater Ossining Arts Council featured a film festival under the title of Stars in Stripes Forever. The movies selected for showing were those that were either filmed at or set in Ossining (Sing Sing) Prison. Besides paying tribute to Castle on the Hudson, the festival also saluted such features as Invisible Stripes (1940), Each Dawn I Die (1939), and 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932).[6]
See also
- List of American films of 1940
- 20,000 Years in Sing Sing, an earlier film also based on the Lawes book.
External links
- Castle on the Hudson at the TCM Movie Database
- Castle on the Hudson at IMDb
- Castle on the Hudson at AllMovie
- Castle on the Hudson at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
References
- ^ Lawes, Lewis E. Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University, 1932.
- ^ Backer, Ron. Mystery Movies Series of 1930s Hollywood. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012. p. 32.
- ^ McGrath, Patrick J. John Garfield: The Illustrated Career in Films and On Stage. Jefferson, NC: MacFarland, 2006. p. 39.
- ^ Nott, Robert. He Ran All the Way: The Life of John Garfield. New York: Limelight Editions, 1950/2003. p. 118.
- ^ "The Screen: 'Castle on Hudson', With John Garfield, Pat O'Brien, Burgess Meredith, Ann Sheridan, Opens at Globe." The New York Times. (Mar. 4, 1940).
- ^ Smothers, Ronald. "Doing Time at the Movies." The New York Times. (Oct. 21, 1977): p. 64.
- 1940 films
- 1940 crime drama films
- American films
- American black-and-white films
- American crime drama films
- American prison drama films
- 1940s English-language films
- Films based on non-fiction books
- Films directed by Anatole Litvak
- Films produced by Samuel Bischoff
- Films scored by Adolph Deutsch
- Films set in New York (state)
- Warner Bros. films
- 1940s crime drama film stubs