The Hole in the Wall (1929 film)

The Hole in the Wall
The Hole in the Wall
Directed by	Robert Florey
Written by	Pierre Collings; Frederick J. Jackson (play)
Starring	Claudette Colbert; Edward G. Robinson; David Newell
Cinematography	George J. Folsey
Edited by
Music by	Gerard Carbonara; W. Franke Harling
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	April 27, 1929;
Running time	63 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Hole in the Wall is a 1929 mystery drama film directed by Robert Florey, and starring Claudette Colbert and Edward G. Robinson. This early talking picture marks the first appearance of Edward G. Robinson as a gangster, and "can be viewed as a dry run for his eventual success (in 1931 in Little Caesar)". It was also one of Claudette Colbert's first appearances in motion pictures.^[1]^[2]^[3]

It was shot at the Astoria Studios in New York. The film is a remake of an earlier 1921 silent The Hole in the Wall.

Plot[]

A con man called The Fox teams up with a fake fortune teller named Madame Mystera to bilk naive people out of their money. When Madame Mystera dies in a car accident, The Fox hires a woman named Jean Oliver to replace her. But as time goes on, he comes to believe that Jean actually does have real supernatural powers.

Cast[]

Claudette Colbert as Jean Oliver
Edward G. Robinson as The Fox
David Newell as Gordon Grant
as Madame Mystera
Donald Meek as Goofy
as Jim
Louise Closser Hale as Mrs. Ramsay
Katherine Emmet as Mrs. Carlake
as Marcia
as Dogface
George MacQuarrie as Inspector
as Mrs. Lyons

Criticism[]

According to critic Troy Howarth, "(It) is an interesting amalgam of gangster melodrama and horror, one in which Edward G. Robinson steals the show.....(Colbert's) character becomes more complex as the picture unfolds, and the actress keeps up just fine."^[1] He commented that Florey's bizarre set designs for the medium's den looked as if they were inspired by the classic 1919 film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.^[1]

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era. Midnight Marquee Press. p. 339. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
^ The Hole in the Wall at silentera.com
^ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films 1893-1993:The Hole in the Wall

External links[]

The Hole in the Wall at the TCM Movie Database
The Hole in the Wall at IMDb
The Hole in the Wall at AllMovie

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[Tome339-1] Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era. Midnight Marquee Press. p. 339. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.

[2] The Hole in the Wall at silentera.com

[3] The AFI Catalog of Feature Films 1893-1993:The Hole in the Wall

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