In 1934, a New York reporter infiltrates a crime syndicate by befriending its boss who is serving time inside Blackwell Island prison.In 1934, a New York reporter infiltrates a crime syndicate by befriending its boss who is serving time inside Blackwell Island prison.In 1934, a New York reporter infiltrates a crime syndicate by befriending its boss who is serving time inside Blackwell Island prison.
- Awards
- 1 win
John Albright
- Copy Boy
- (uncredited)
Fred Aldrich
- Detective
- (uncredited)
Sam Bagley
- Inmate
- (uncredited)
Raymond Bailey
- Cash Sutton
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe $40 Bull pays for orchids in November of 1932 would equate to about $915 in 2023.
- GoofsWhen Bull is fleeing in the little speedboat, he fires seven shots from his snub-nose revolver.
- Quotes
Benny Farmer: Hi-ya, Wong. How ya feeling?
Wong: Me very sick; me go see doctor again.
Tim Haydon: Say, how good is this doctor?
Benny Farmer: I'll give you an idea how good he is. He's been treating him three months for yellow jaundice, and only yesterday he found out he was a Chinaman.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The John Garfield Story (2003)
Featured review
Machine Gun Garfield
Jovial, practical-joking gangster Stanley Fields gets sentenced to 5-14 at Blackwell's Island and starts running the joint because warden Granville Bates doesn't care. Reporter John Garfield slugs an Assistant District Attorney and gets sent there himself.
It's a bizarre, dead-end in the "let's reform the reformatories" subgenre. While Robinson was moving his gangster persona into comedy efforts like LARCENY INC, and director Raoul Walsh was beginning to revive the shoot-em-up with Cagney as a good guy, Bryan Foy's B division at Warner Brothers was offering stuff like this. Elsewhere, crime dramas were made palatable by using the Damon Runyon formula of making the leads seem like gangs who couldn't speak straight. Here, Fields is childish. He plays with electric trains, he has a squirting boutonniere, he offers exploding cigars, all of which hint at violence while remaining harmless. He may knock down Garfield with his fists, but in the end, it's Garfield who has the Tommy Gun. With Rosemary Lane, Dick Purcell, Victory Jory, Peggy Shannon, Charley Foy, and Leon Ames.
It's a bizarre, dead-end in the "let's reform the reformatories" subgenre. While Robinson was moving his gangster persona into comedy efforts like LARCENY INC, and director Raoul Walsh was beginning to revive the shoot-em-up with Cagney as a good guy, Bryan Foy's B division at Warner Brothers was offering stuff like this. Elsewhere, crime dramas were made palatable by using the Damon Runyon formula of making the leads seem like gangs who couldn't speak straight. Here, Fields is childish. He plays with electric trains, he has a squirting boutonniere, he offers exploding cigars, all of which hint at violence while remaining harmless. He may knock down Garfield with his fists, but in the end, it's Garfield who has the Tommy Gun. With Rosemary Lane, Dick Purcell, Victory Jory, Peggy Shannon, Charley Foy, and Leon Ames.
helpful•10
- boblipton
- Apr 23, 2023
Details
- Runtime1 hour 11 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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