Gang War
| Gang War | |
|---|---|
lobby card
|
|
| Directed by |
Bert Glennon Charles Kerr (assistant) |
| Starring |
Jack Pickford Olive Borden |
| Music by | Al Sherman |
| Cinematography | Virgil Miller |
| Edited by | Archie Marshek |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by | Film Booking Offices of America |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
70 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Gang War (released as All Square in the UK) is a 1928 part-talking gangster film, best known for being the main feature attached to Steamboat Willie, the debut of Mickey Mouse in sound. The film starred Jack Pickford in his last major role, as "Clyde", a saxophone player whose love for a dancer named Flowers (Olive Borden) traps him in the middle of a . The film was released with talking sequences, as well as a musical score and sound effects for the silent sections. But despite the synchronised sound as well as the all-star cast, the film is largely unknown in its own right and is now a lost film, being overshadowed by its far more famous preceding short.
The film follows the saxophone player Clyde, who busks on the San Francisco Bay waterfront. One night, he meets Flowers, and teaches her to dance, but finds that "Blackjack" (Eddie Gribbon), the leader of a ruthless gang, is also in love with her. Despite the intense turf war between "Blackjack" and a rival gangster named Mike Luego (Walter Long), "Blackjack" wins the heart of Flowers and marries her, but without consummating the marriage. Clyde is eventually able to win "Blackjack" over however, and "Blackjack" sacrifices himself to protect Clyde and Flowers from Luego.
Gang War was produced in black and white on Academy ratio 35 mm film, and was originally to be a silent film. However, a spoken prologue was added, in which a group of reporters (including one played by Mabel Albertson) discuss the events that are to come.
...
Wikipedia