
Big Town Czar
Seen it?1939 | 66 min | Mystery
Why it’s a Monday Morning Maybe
With almost no lasting buzz and soft box office, this one could be a tough watch. Keep your phone handy.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- A natural pick for anyone fascinated by the criminal underworld and people who enjoy a knot in their stomach. A look inside a world of loyalty, money and betrayal. Same wavelength as Eastern Promises or Lost Highway.
- The mood
- Tense.
- The pace
- Moves along nicely, at 1 hr 6 min. Done before bedtime.
- What might put you off
- Made in 1939: an older pace and style.
- Skip it if you want something to relax to.
When gangster Phil Daley gets rid of his chief Paul Burgess he has everything that money can buy, except the respect of his parents and his sweetheart Susan Warren. His younger brother Danny quits college and forces Phil to make him part of the gang. The overly-ambitious Danny fixes a prize-fight on which rival gang-leader Mike Luger loses heavily and, thinking that Phil has double-crossed him, sends gunmen out to kill Phil. They kill Danny instead and the frightened Phil flees to a country hideout. His chief lieutenant, Sid Travis, sets a trap for Phil when he returns.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsNot counted
Not enough reviews on record yet
- AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
- AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
- Reach & staying powerBelow par
Streaming release that reached a small audience so far; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactWeak
About 732 people sought it out in the past year
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Cast & crew
Directed by Arthur Lubin
- Barton MacLanePhil Daley
- Tom BrownDanny Daley
- Eve ArdenSusan Warren
- Jack La RueMike Luger
- Frank JenksSid Travers
- Walter Woolf KingPaul Burgess
- Oscar O'SheaPa Daley
- Esther DaleMa Daley
- Horace McMahonPunchy
- Ed SullivanNarrator / Newspaper Columnist