Week Forty-Three
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| "Over The Wall" 1938 |
MOVIE NAME: OVER THE WALL
STUDIO: WARNER BROTHERS STUDIOS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACK L. WARNER and HAL B. WALLIS
PRODUCER: BRYAN FOY
DIRECTOR: FRANK MacDONALD
DATE: 1938
TYPE: BOXING, PRISON, DRAMA with Songs
SONGS:"One More Tomorrow," "Have You Met My Lulu," "Little White House on the Hill," "Ave Maria"
CAST:
DICK FORAN as Jerry Davis, JUNE TRAVIS as Kay Norton, JOHN LITEL as Father Neil Connor, DICK PURCELL as Ace Scanlon, VEDA VAN BORG as Maxine , GEORGE E. STONE as Gyp Hatton, WARD BOND as Eddie Edwards, JOHN HAMILTON as Warden, JONATHAN HALE as Governor, TOMMY BUPP, as Jimmy Davis , ROBERT HOMANS as John Davis , MABEL HART as Mrs. Davis , RAYMOND HATTON as Convict, ALAN DAVIS as Joe , EDDIE CHANDLER, WILLFRED LUCAS as Keepers, HENRY OTHO as Bruiser
SOURCE: A F I, Catalog of Feature Films 1931-1940
STORY: Quick-tempered Jerry Davis is determined to be a boxer. When his manager, Eddie Edwards, does not offer him a match, Jerry starts throwing furniture around. To stop him, Eddie promises him a match, but then sends the police to arrest him. As a favor to Jerry's parents, Duke, a policeman, lets Jerry off with a warning. Jerry's parents and his fiancée, Kay Norton, are opposed to his boxing. One afternoon, when Jerry and Kay are at the beach, Eddie introduces him to gangster Ace Scanlon, in a way that implies he has a hold on Scanlon. Eddie finally promises Jerry a match, but unknown to Jerry, Eddie has supplied his opponent with brass knuckles, and Jerry is knocked out immediately. Later, Jerry learns that Eddie fixed the game and confronts him at Scanlon's apartment. Jerry knocks Eddie out, but after Jerry leaves, Scanlon sees an opportunity to get rid of Eddie and kills him by hitting him on the head. Jerry is arrested for Eddie's murder, convicted of manslaughter and sent to prison. Because he believes that he is innocent, Jerry refuses to cooperate with prison rules. Father Neil Connor, the prison chaplain, talks to Kay, hoping that she will influence Jerry to accept his help. Kay says that she, too, believes that Jerry is innocent and has taken a job in Scanlon's office to find proof. Soon after, Jerry rescues someone from the boiler room just before it explodes. Father Connor praises his actions, but Jerry rejects his support. When Connor hears Jerry sing, he suggests he solo in church. He also points out that Jerry's voice might provide him with a career. Jerry does sing in church and soon is singing over the radio. Then, Gyp Hatton, Scanlon's right-hand man, is sent to prison. He is injured and sent to the hospital where Jerry works. Believing he is on his death bed, Gyp confesses Scanlon's part in the murder. Before Jerry can get the doctor as another witness, however, Gyp dies. Meanwhile, Kay overhears Maxine, Scanlon's former girlfriend, threaten to tell the district attorney about Eddie's murder. She approaches Father Connor and the warden with her story and eventually convinces them to ask the governor to reopen the case. While they are talking to the governor, Jerry escapes from prison and heads for Scanlon's apartment. They struggle and Jerry wrests Scanlon's gun away from him. Before he can kill Scanlon, Father Connor arrives, and together they knock Scanlon out until the police come. The governor pardons Jerry and everything is set for his new career as a singer.
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