Born Reckless (1930 film)
Encyclopedia
Born Reckless is a American
crime
comedy
directed by Andrew Bennison
and John Ford
, from a screenplay written by Donald Henderson Clarke
based on his novel Louis Beretti. The film starred Edmund Lowe
and Catherine Dale Owen
.
, Louis Beretti, gets caught involved in a jewelry heist and taken to see the judge. The war has begun and hoping to use the publicity to get re-elected, the judge offers Louis and his two buddies, the choice of going to jail, or signing up to fight in the war - if they prove themselves, he will throw away their arrests.
Louis makes it home from the war (one of his buddies was killed), and opens up a night club downtown that becomes very successful. His employees are former members of his gang, and he maintains contact with "Big", still a gangster.
Louis falls for the girlfriend of his buddy who was killed in the war, but she already has plans to marry. He tells her nevertheless, that if she ever needs him, she should call and he will come. When her baby is kidnapped (her husband is away), she does call for Louis and he realizes that the kidnapping has been done by "Big" and the gang. Louis goes to save the baby and confront those of the gang who have taken part in the kidnapping. Shots are exchanged.
After he returns the baby to his mother, Louis goes back to his nightclub where "Big" is waiting. They talk of old times though they realize they will need to shoot it out, which they do...
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Andrew Bennison
Andrew Bennison
Andrew Bennison was an American screenwriter and film director whose career was at its peak in the 1930s....
and John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
, from a screenplay written by Donald Henderson Clarke
Donald Henderson Clarke
Donald Henderson Clarke was an American writer and journalist, known for his romantic novels, mystery fiction, and screenplays. Clarke was born on August 24, 1887 in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and died March 27, 1958 in Delray Beach, Florida Many of his screenplays were directed by John...
based on his novel Louis Beretti. The film starred Edmund Lowe
Edmund Lowe
Edmund Dantes Lowe was an American actor. His formative experience began in vaudeville and silent film. He was born in San Jose, California.-Film career:...
and Catherine Dale Owen
Catherine Dale Owen
Catherine Dale Owen was an American stage and film actress.-Stage career:Born to a prominent family in Louisville, Kentucky, Owen graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City...
.
Plot
A gangsterGangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
, Louis Beretti, gets caught involved in a jewelry heist and taken to see the judge. The war has begun and hoping to use the publicity to get re-elected, the judge offers Louis and his two buddies, the choice of going to jail, or signing up to fight in the war - if they prove themselves, he will throw away their arrests.
Louis makes it home from the war (one of his buddies was killed), and opens up a night club downtown that becomes very successful. His employees are former members of his gang, and he maintains contact with "Big", still a gangster.
Louis falls for the girlfriend of his buddy who was killed in the war, but she already has plans to marry. He tells her nevertheless, that if she ever needs him, she should call and he will come. When her baby is kidnapped (her husband is away), she does call for Louis and he realizes that the kidnapping has been done by "Big" and the gang. Louis goes to save the baby and confront those of the gang who have taken part in the kidnapping. Shots are exchanged.
After he returns the baby to his mother, Louis goes back to his nightclub where "Big" is waiting. They talk of old times though they realize they will need to shoot it out, which they do...
Cast
- Edmund LoweEdmund LoweEdmund Dantes Lowe was an American actor. His formative experience began in vaudeville and silent film. He was born in San Jose, California.-Film career:...
as Louis Beretti - Catherine Dale OwenCatherine Dale OwenCatherine Dale Owen was an American stage and film actress.-Stage career:Born to a prominent family in Louisville, Kentucky, Owen graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City...
as Joan Sheldon - Frank AlbertsonFrank AlbertsonFrank Albertson was an American character actor who made his debut in a minor part in Hollywood at age 13....
as Frank Sheldon - Marguerite ChurchillMarguerite ChurchillMarguerite Churchill was an American movie actress with a film career spanning from 1929 to 1952.She was daughter of a producer who owned a chain of theaters but he died when she was ten years old. She was educated in New York at the Professional Children's School and the Theatre Guild Dramatic...
as Rosa Beretti - William HarriganWilliam HarriganWilliam Harrigan was an American actor who played standard roles in Hollywood during the thirties and forties.-Filmography:*On the Level *Cabaret *Nix on Dames *Born Reckless...
as Good News Brophy - Lee TracyLee TracyWilliam Lee Tracy was an American actor.- Early life :Tracy was born in Atlanta, Georgia.After graduating from Western Military Academy in 1918 he studied electrical engineering at Union College, and then served as a 2nd lieutenant in World War I. In the early 1920s he decided to work as an actor...
as Bill O'Brien - Warren HymerWarren HymerWarren Hymer was an American film actor. He appeared in 129 films between 1929 and 1946.He was born in New York, New York, and died in Los Angeles, California...
as Big Shot - Ilka ChaseIlka ChaseIlka Chase was an American actress and novelist.Born in New York City and educated at convent and boarding schools in the United States, England, and France, she was the only child of Edna Woolman Chase, the editor in chief of Vogue magazine, and her first husband, Francis Dane Chase.Chase made...
as High Society Customer At Beretti's - Ferike Boros as Ma Beretti
- Paul PorcasiPaul PorcasiPaul Porcasi was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 142 films between 1917 and 1945.He was born in Palermo, Sicily and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:* Broadway...
as Pa Beretti - Joe Brown as Needle Beer Grogan, bartender
- Ben BardBen BardBen Bard was a movie actor, stage actor, and acting teacher. With comedian Jack Pearl, Bard worked in a comedy duo in vaudeville...
as Joe Bergman - Pat Somerset as Duke
- Eddie GribbonEddie GribbonEddie Gribbon was an American film actor. He appeared in 184 films between 1916 and 1951.He was born in New York, New York and died in Hollywood, California from cancer...
as Bugs - Mike DonlinMike DonlinMichael Joseph Donlin was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Perfectos/Cardinals , Baltimore Orioles , Cincinnati Reds , New York Giants , Boston Rustlers , and Pittsburgh Pirates...
as Fingy Moscovitz - Paul Page as Ritzy Reilly
- Roy StewartRoy Stewart (silent film actor)Roy Stewart was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in 138 films between 1915 and 1933.He was born in San Diego, California and died in Los Angeles, California from a heart attack.-Selected filmography:...
as District Attorney Cardigan - Jack PennickJack PennickJack Pennick was an American film actor. After working as a gold miner as a young man, he appeared in over 140 films between 1926 and 1962. Pennick was a leading member of the informal John Ford Stock Company, appearing in dozens of the director's films...
as Sergeant - Ward BondWard BondWardell Edwin "Ward" Bond was an American film actor whose rugged appearance and easygoing charm were featured in over 200 movies and the television series Wagon Train.-Early life:...
as Sergeant - Yola d'AvrilYola d'AvrilYola d'Avril was a French-born actress, who appeared in numerous American productions such as New Movietone Follies of 1930 between 1925 and 1953....
as French Girl