The Secret Six
| The Secret Six | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | George W. Hill |
| Produced by |
George W. Hill Irving Thalberg |
| Written by | Frances Marion |
| Starring |
Wallace Beery Lewis Stone John Mack Brown Jean Harlow Clark Gable Ralph Bellamy Marjorie Rambeau |
| Cinematography | Harold Wenstrom |
| Edited by | Blanche Sewell |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $494,000[1] |
| Box office | $994,000[1] |
The Secret Six is a fast-paced 1931 American Pre-Code crime film starring Wallace Beery as "Slaughterhouse Scorpio", a character very loosely based on Al Capone, and featuring Lewis Stone, John Mack Brown, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Marjorie Rambeau and Ralph Bellamy. The film was written by Frances Marion and directed by George W. Hill for MGM.
Plot
Bootlegger Johnny Franks recruits a crude working man called Louis "Louie" Scorpio as part of the gang of mob boss Richard "Newt" Newton. Scorpio eventually becomes head of the organization himself. Then he is prosecuted by a secret group of six masked crime fighters, aided by newspaper reporters Carl Luckner and Hank Rogers.
Cast (in credits order)
- Wallace Beery as Louis 'Louie' Scorpio
- Lewis Stone as Richard 'Newt' Newton
- John Mack Brown as Hank Rogers
- Jean Harlow as Anne Courtland
- Marjorie Rambeau as Peaches
- Paul Hurst as Nick 'The Gouger' Mizoski
- Clark Gable as Carl Luckner
- Ralph Bellamy as Johnny Franks
- John Miljan as Smiling Joe Colimo
- DeWitt Jennings as Chief Donlin
- Murray Kinnell as 'Dummy' Metz (alias of Fink)
- Fletcher Norton as Jimmy Delano
- Louis Natheaux as Eddie
- Frank McGlynn, Sr. as Judge
- Theodore Von Eltz as District Attorney Keeler
- Lynton Brent ... Reporter (uncredited)
- Charles Giblyn ... Mr. Simms - Ballistics Expert (uncredited)
- Joseph W. Girard ... Official (uncredited)
- Tom London ... Blackjacking Gangster (uncredited)
- George Magrill ... Police Guard at Jailhouse (uncredited)
- Lee Phelps ... Smelts - Waiter (uncredited)
- Oscar Rudolph ... Ivan Colimo (uncredited)
- Hector Sarno ... Finko (uncredited)
- Carol Tevis ... Manicurist (uncredited)
- Walter Walker ... Onlooker in Courtroom (uncredited)
- S.D. Wilcox ... Protesting Man in Courtroom (uncredited)
Context
The film was Ralph Bellamy's first screen role. Beery and Gable made Hell Divers the following year, this time with Gable's role almost as large as Beery's. Beery, Harlow and Gable would work together again four years later in the epic seafaring adventure China Seas (1935), only with their billing reversed and all three names above the title.
Box office
According to MGM records the film earned $708,000 in the US and Canada and $286,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $148,000.[1]
References
External links
- The Secret Six at the Internet Movie Database
- The Secret Six at AllMovie
- The Secret Six at the TCM Movie Database