Men Without Souls

Men Without Souls is a 1940 black and white crime movie, starring Barton MacLane and Glenn Ford and directed by Nick Grinde.

Men Without Souls
Directed by	Nick Grinde
Written by	Harvey Gates Robert Hardy Andrews
Starring	Barton MacLane John Litel Glenn Ford Rochelle Hudson
Cinematography	Benjamin Kline
Edited by	James Sweeney
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	May 20, 1940 (1940-05-20)
Running time	62 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

Johnny Adams goes to prison, under a false name, with the intention of killing the sadistic Captain White, a bastard guard, who had beaten Johnny's father to death just before the end of his sentence. Not knowing Johnny's true identity, White asks him to spy on his cellmate "Blackie" Drew, but Johnny and Blackie develop a mutual respect for one another.

Rev. Thomas Storm, the prison's idealistic new chaplain, well-meaning but seen by the prisoners as a fink, learns of Johnny's plan and persuades him to give it up and do his time peacefully, but when "Blackie" quietly kills White, he frames Johnny out of misguided spite. The honesty of Rev. Storm ensures that Johnny gets convicted, and sentenced to the chair, but Storm has a feeling that Blackie is holding out some angle on the truth.

Only Blackie can save Johnny, but will the truth set Johnny free, or an explosion in the prison boiler room?

Cast

Actor	Role
Barton MacLane	Blackie Drew
John Litel	Reverend Thomas Storm
Rochelle Hudson	Suzan Leonard
Glenn Ford	Johnny Adams
Don Beddoe	Warden Schafer
Cy Kendall	Capt. White
Eddie Laughton	Lefty
Dick Curtis	Duke
Richard Fiske	Crowley
Walter Soderling	Old Muck
Walter Sande	First Reporter (unconfirmed)

References

• Gunmen and gangsters: profiles of nine actors who portrayed memorable screen, by Michael Schlossheimer
• The American movies reference book: the sound era, by Paul Michael, James Robert Parish, Prentice-Hall, inc

External links

• Men Without Souls at IMDb