San Quentin **½ (1937, Pat O’Brien, Ann Sheridan, Humphrey Bogart) – Classic Movie Review 5070

Humphrey Bogart is in trouble again in prison – San Quentin – in director Lloyd Bacon’s moderate 1937 film noir-style jail movie, in which he plays hardened inmate ‘Red’ Kennedy, sentenced to jail for robbery.

Meanwhile his sister May (Ann Sheridan) is attracted to the head guard, former army trainer and captain of the prison yard Steve Jameson (Pat O’Brien). This, along with the lack of a really involving story, causes Bogart a few headaches in San Quentin.

The performances by the excellent, always game cast are better than the rather lame and over-familiar material found in Peter Milne and Humphrey Cobb’s screenplay based on the story by John Bright and Robert Trasker.

In an unexpected highlight, Sheridan sings ‘How Could You?’ (lyrics by Al Dubin and music by Harry Warren).

Bogart plays Sheridan’s younger brother though he was 15 years older.

Also in the cast are Barton MacLane, Joseph Sawyer, Veda Ann Borg, James Robbins, Joe King, Gordon Oliver, Garry Owen, Marc Lawrence, Emmett Vogan, William Pawley, Al Hill, Max Wagner, George Lloyd, Ernie Adams, Lane Chandler, Glen Cavender, Davison Clark, Gino Corrado, Ralph Dunn, Pat Flaherty, James Flavin, Jerry Fletcher, Edward Gargan, Gordon Hart, Raymond Hatton, Ben Hendricks Jr, Herbert Heywood, George Humbert, John Ince, Edward Keane, Herman Marks, Frank Marlowe, Bruce Mitchell, Dennis Moore, Pat O’Malley, George Offerman, Frank Orth, Paul Panzer, Jack Perrin, Bob Perry, Lee Phelps, Jack Richardson, Elliott Sullivan, William A Williams, Harry Wilson, Douglas Wood and Ernest Wood.

It runs a brief 70 minutes, is released by Warner Bros, is hot in black and white by Sid Hickox, is produced by Jack L Warner, Hal B Wallis and Sam Bischoff, is scored by Heinz Roemheld, David Raksin and Charles Maxwell, and is designed by Esdras Hartley

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5070

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