The Criminal Code
Directed by Howard Hawks
Written by Fred Niblo, Jr. and Seton I. Miller from a play by Martin Flavin
1930/US
Columbia Pictures
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube

Mark Brady: An eye for an eye. That’s the basis and foundation of the criminal code. Somebody’s got to pay!

Hawk’s fun early prison movie gets an extra star for the always wonderful Walter Huston.

Mark Brady (Walter Huston) is a District Attorney with political ambitions.  Robert Graham is a naive young man who kills a guy who was hitting on his girl in self defense.  Although Brady knows the kid has a valid defense he convinces his attorney and him to take a plea to a manslaughter charge.  Robert is convicted and sentenced to ten years.

Segue to six years later and Robert is a miserable and hardened inmate.  He shares a cell with one man who is planning an escape and Galloway (Boris Karloff) who has vowed to kill one of the guards.  The two keep a parental eye on their young friend.

Brady, having failed on his bid for the Governor’s mansion, is appointed Warden at the jail where Robert is incarcerated.  Now he goes all out trying to help Robert by trying to win him a pardon.  In the meantime, he gives the kid a soft job as his valet.  Brady has brought his daughter Mary (Constance Cummings) with him.  The two young people develop unspoken feelings for each other.

The whole thing ends with an escape attempt and hostage taking and Robert must choose between the code between criminals (no squealing) and the Criminal Code Brady is bound by.

This is a pretty good movie made even better by the dynamic Huston.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen him give a bad performance.   Hawks is building up to Scarface (1932) and The Front Page (1931) with some snappy dialogue here.  And to add to it Boris Karloff has a nice juicy non-Monster role!  Recommended.

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