You Can't Get Away with Murder
AMERICA'S TWO-FISTER ANSWER to the Gun-Mad Rats Who Rule the Underworld!
1939 | 89m | English
Popularity: 0.4 (history)
| Director: | Lewis Seiler |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Robert Buckner, Don Ryan, Kenneth Gamet |
| Staring: |
| Johnnie learns crime from petty thug Frank Wilson. When Wilson kills a pawnbroker with a gun stolen from Johnnie's sister Madge's fiance Fred Burke, Fred goes to Sing Sing's death house. Wilson uses all the pressure can to keep Johnnie silent, even after he and Johnnie themselves wind up in the big house. | |
| Release Date: | Mar 23, 1939 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Lewis Seiler |
| Writer: | Robert Buckner, Don Ryan, Kenneth Gamet |
| Genres: | Drama, Crime |
| Keywords | robbery, gun, pawnbroker |
| Production Companies | Warner Bros. Pictures, First National Pictures |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 09, 2025 (Update) Entered: Apr 25, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Humphrey Bogart | Frank Wilson |
| Gale Page | Madge Stone |
| Billy Halop | John 'Johnny' Stone |
| John Litel | Attorney Carey |
| Henry Travers | Pop |
| Harvey Stephens | Fred Burke |
| Harold Huber | Scappa |
| Joe Sawyer | Red |
| Joe Downing | Smitty |
| George E. Stone | Toad |
| Joe King | Prison Guard |
| Joseph Crehan | Warden of Sing Sing |
| John Ridgely | Gas Station Proprietor |
| Herbert Rawlinson | District Attorney |
| Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson | Sam (uncredited) |
| Sidney Bracey | Tourist on Boat (uncredited) |
| Edwin Brian | Billiards Observer (uncredited) |
| Frankie Burke | Billiards Player (uncredited) |
| Eddy Chandler | Attacked Keeper (uncredited) |
| Noble 'Kid' Chissell | Convict (uncredited) |
| Martin Cichy | Guard (uncredited) |
| Hal Craig | Motorcycle Policeman (uncredited) |
| Tom Dugan | 'Lock' Man Inventor (uncredited) |
| Edgar Edwards | Trainer (uncredited) |
| Frank Faylen | Boat Tour Guide (uncredited) |
| Jack A. Goodrich | Stenographer (uncredited) |
| John Harron | Convict Remaining in Cell (uncredited) |
| Robert Homans | Keeper Burns (uncredited) |
| Frank Mayo | Keeper Collins (uncredited) |
| Jack Mower | Keeper Monahan (uncredited) |
| Robert Emmett O'Connor | First Detective (uncredited) |
| George Offerman, Jr. | Billiards Player (uncredited) |
| Garry Owen | Lock Man Inventor (uncredited) |
| Emory Parnell | Second Detective (uncredited) |
| Cliff Saum | Officer (uncredited) |
| Gertrude Short | Peg (uncredited) |
| Robert Strange | Chapin Loan Co. Pawnbroker (uncredited) |
| George Taylor | Prisoner (uncredited) |
| Tom Wilson | Pool Hall Proprietor (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Lewis Seiler | Director |
| Robert Buckner | Screenplay |
| Don Ryan | Screenplay |
| Sol Polito | Director of Photography |
| James Gibbon | Editor |
| Kenneth Gamet | Screenplay |
| Lewis E. Lawes | Theatre Play |
| Jonathan Finn | Theatre Play |
| Hugh Reticker | Art Direction |
| Milo Anderson | Costume Design |
| Louis Baum | Unit Manager |
| Francis J. Scheid | Sound |
| Leo F. Forbstein | Music Director |
| Heinz Roemheld | Original Music Composer |
| William Kissell | Assistant Director |
| Eugene Joseff | Other |
| Hugo Friedhofer | Orchestrator |
| Arthur Kay | Orchestrator |
| Rudolph G. Kopp | Orchestrator |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Samuel Bischoff | Associate Producer |
| Hal B. Wallis | Executive Producer |
| Jack L. Warner | Executive Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| 2024 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 2 |
| 2024 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 2024 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 2024 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 2 |
| 2024 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Trending Position
Even though the star of the piece was Humphrey Bogart, the best performance here belongs to the young Billy Halop ("Johnnie") who falls in with petty criminal "Wilson" (Bogart). The latter man pinches a gun from the younger man's soon-to-be brother in law, and when it is used in a killing, it's the ... fiancé "Fred" (Harvey Stephens) who faces the chair... Shortly afterwards, our two aspiring hoodlums are incarcerated for another crime, and this is where the story gets a little more interesting: the young man knows "Fred" is innocent and must wrestle with his conscience, and his dubious friend and maybe do the right thing. There is a lot of clutter with the screenplay, the story takes too long to get going but once it does, young Halop (only 19 here) puts in a decent effort, well complimented by "Pop" (Henry Travers) and Gale Page as his on-screen sister "Madge". Bogart is really just going through the motions, he excelled at these gritty crime noir films but this one is all just a bit too formulaic; it has too much of a beginning, a middle and an end to really get particularly exciting. Worth a watch, but not a film I expect to remember.