We Who Are About to Die is a 1937 American crime drama film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Preston Foster, Ann Dvorak, and John Beal. It was based on a book,[1] published while on death row,[2] by David Lamson, who was tried four times for murdering his wife before being set free.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
| We Who Are About to Die | |
|---|---|
 Lobby card | |
| Directed by | Christy Cabanne James Anderson (assistant) |
| Written by | John Twist |
| Based on | We Who Are About to Die 1936 book by David Lamson[1] |
| Produced by | Edward Small |
| Starring | Preston Foster Ann Dvorak John Beal |
| Cinematography | Robert Planck |
| Edited by | Arthur Roberts |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 82 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
editA man is kidnapped by mobsters after quitting his job, then wrongly arrested, tried, and sentenced to death for murders they committed. A suspicious detective thinks he is innocent and works to save his life.
Cast
edit- Preston Foster as Steven Mathews
- Ann Dvorak as Miss Connie Stewart
- John Beal as John E. 'Johnny' Thompson
- Ray Mayer as Bright Boy Schultz
- Gordon Jones as Slim Tolliver
- Russell Hopton as 'Mac' MacAndrews
- J. Carrol Naish as Nick Trotti
- Paul Hurst as Tip Fuller
- Frank Jenks as Clyde Beasley
- John Wray as Jerry Daley
- Frank M. Thomas as M.L. Carter
- Barnett Parker as John Barkley
- Willie Fung as Kwong
- John Carroll as Joe Donahue
- DeWitt Jennings as Mike Brannigan
- Landers Stevens as Warden Lawton
- John 'Skins' Miller as Macy
- Howard Hickman as Prison Chaplain
- Robert Emmett O'Connor as Detective Mitchell
Production
editLamson was hired by producer Edward Small to work on the script.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b Lamson, David (1936). We Who Are About to Die. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
- ^ Chessman, Caryl (25 March 2009). Cell 2455, Death Row: A Condemned Man's Own Story. Hachette Books. ISBN 978-0-7867-3583-9.
- ^ Bernard Butcher, "Was it Murder?', Stanford Magazine, January/February 2000 accessed 25 May 2000
- ^ Gioia, Ted (May 12, 2021). "When a Famous Literary Critic Unraveled Silicon Valley's Most Sensational Murder Case". The Honest Broker. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ Russell, Frances Theresa; Winters, Yvor (1934). The Case of David Lamson: A Summary. San Francisco: Lamson Defense Committee. Retrieved 3 August 2024 – via The Online Books Page.
- ^ "People v. Lamson - 1 Cal.2d 648 - Sat, 10/13/1934". California Supreme Court Resources. stanford.edu.
- ^ Guy, Fiona (11 October 2022). "Fate Is Not Kind: The True Crime Case of David Lamson". Crime Traveller. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ Zaniello, Tom (2016). California's Lamson Murder Mystery: The Depression Era Case that Divided Santa Clara County. History Press Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4671-3653-2.
- ^ Herhold, Scott (11 March 2017). "Book defends Lamson in murder mystery". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
I base my view on a 1934 letter that I found in Stanford's publicly available online archives written by Lowell Turrentine, a brilliant Stanford law professor who took an interest in the case. Turrentine argued that the pattern of cuts on Allene Lamson's head — he described them as three horizontal and one vertical — could not have been produced as a result of a fall. One of the cuts had a tear at the end, which Turrentine suggested could have been produced as an assailant clutched her hair and delivered a blow.
- ^ Drexler, Paul (May 28, 2017). "David Lamson's Ordeal, Part I". San Francisco Examiner. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ Drexler, Paul (June 11, 2017). "David Lamson's Ordeal, Part II". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ "We Who Are About to Die by David Lamson". The Publishers Weekly. F. Leypoldt. 1936. Retrieved 3 August 2024 – via google books.
- ^ Dawson, Kate Winkler (11 February 2020). American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI. Penguin. p. 262. ISBN 978-0-525-53957-5.
- ^ "Recreational Reading". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Princeton University Press. March 6, 1936. p. 483. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
Boomed by Woolcott
- ^ Schallert, Edwin (Apr 11, 1936). "Lamson's Book, "We Who Are About to Die", Will Be Produced as Film: Author Will Adapt; Beal May Be Starred Story of Father Damien's Experiences in Leper Colony Considered; Alex Esway of England to Seek Players Here". Los Angeles Times. p. 7.
External links
edit- We Who Are About to Die at the TCM Movie Database
- We Who Are About to Die at IMDb
- We Who Are About to Die at AllMovie
- We Who Are About to Die at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
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