The Widow from Chicago

1930 "WIDOW STEALS GANGSTERS LOVE"
6.4| 1h4m| en| More Info
Released: 23 November 1930 Released
Producted By: First National Pictures
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A woman infiltrates a criminal mob to avenge her brother's death.

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Reviews

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.
Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
utgard14 Ruthless gangster Dominic (Edward G. Robinson) bumps off a young detective impersonating Swifty Dorgan. The detective's sister (Alice White) sets out to get revenge. She passes herself off as Swifty's wife in order to infiltrate the gang. But then the real Swifty (Neil Hamilton) shows up.Pre-Little Caesar gangster movie for Robinson, his first at Warner Bros. Also very early role for Frank McHugh, who already seems to be perfecting his screen persona. Alice White is pretty bad. She says every line the same way, regardless of what emotion she's supposed to be displaying. It's an early talkie so there's the expected amount of creakiness. Watchable, particularly for Robinson fans, but nothing special. Believe it or not, this was originally a musical!
davidjanuzbrown The primary reason to watch this movie is to see Edward G. Robinson's first time playing a gangster ( Dominic) at Warner Brothers. Robinson had that role down pat ( this was his fourth time he played a mob boss). The biggest problem is the main star Alice White ( Polly Henderson). The problem is although Polly is beautiful to look at, she is far too lightweight to be in a gangster movie ( as is her future love interest 'Swifty' Dorgan Neil Hamilton (best known as Perry White on the 'Superman' a TV Series)). The story involves Polly pretending to be the 'Widow' of Hamilton in order to find out who murdered her policeman brother., who was pretending to be Hamilton ( who he believed died from a leap into the East River). Of course, the problem happens when ( spoilers ahead) he survived and found out about his "Widow." Of course, she succeeds and tricks Robinson into confessing to the murder on the phone while the cops listen. Of course, 'Swifty' saves her from Dominic, and as Dominic says "Invite me to the wedding, but make it fast, because I am afraid, I will not be around for awhile." Which inspires 'Swifty to pop the question. One other thing about the movie is songs ( probably sung by Alice White), that were cut from the movie ( as a gangster film fan ( and hater of musicals) that was a good thing). Basically this movie shows clearly the rise of Robinson and harder edge movies and the end of Alice White's fluff. 8 of 10 stars.
drednm Alice White stars in this 1930 crime drama that also boasts an early starring role for Edward G. Robinson. He plays a nightclub owner and bootlegger; she plays the widow. She shows up in his club looking for work and claiming to be the widow of a gangster (Neil Hamilton) who was killed when he jumped off a train in an attempt to escape the cops. In reality she's the sister of the cop who was tracking Hamilton. Now she's out to track down her brother's killer.Smart dialog and solid story here with White in a slightly different role. Although she masquerades as a floozie she's really a pretty smart cookie as she leads to police to her brother's killer. Although the setting is a nightclub, White does not do a musical number (perhaps cut from the final print?) as she usually does in her talkies.Although White was not an actress in the way Bette Davis or Joan Crawford were, she's got a great screen presence and holds her own here in scenes with the great Robinson. Hamilton is also solid as the undead gangster who returns to cause problems for White.Co-stars include Frank McHugh, Harold Goodwin (as the brother), Betty Francisco, Brooks Benedict, and Anne Cornwall and Dorothy Mathews as the dance hall babes.Worth a look.
frankfob Edward G. Robinson and Alice White star in this early Warner Bros. gangster flick. White is the sister of a murdered policeman, and she sets out to find her brother's killer by impersonating the widow of a dead gangster and cozying up to Robinson, a rackets boss. There are even more complications in this, frankly, badly directed film (Edward F. Cline fared much better as a comedy director at Universal later in his career), several of the supporting performances are either weak or hammy, the film tends to meander and has quite a few dead spots, but Robinson and the unjustly neglected (and very sexy) Alice White do quite well despite the convoluted plot. It's main interest is as a precursor to the classic WB '30s gangster films, and you can see the famous Warners style emerging. It's just a pity that the film itself is so mediocre. It's worth a look to see where Warners was going with the gangster genre, and you can see a lot of Joan Blondell in the vivacious Alice White, but other than that, it's nothing really special, and doesn't hold a candle to Robinson's later work in "Little Caesar" and "Smart Money," which came out a year later.