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Caught Cheating

Director: Frank Strayer (Dir) Release Date: 21 Jan 1931 Duration (in mins): 53, 63 or 65 Duration (in feet): 5,678 Duration (in reels): 7			Print this page Display Movie Summary

Cast:	Charles Murray	(T. McGillicuddy Hungerford)
	George Sidney	(Sam Harris)
	Nita Martan	(Madelynne Cabrone)
	Robert Ellis	(Joe Cabrone)
	Dorothy Christy	(Tessie)
	Bertha Mann	(Lena Harris)
	Fred Malatesta	(Tobey Moran)
	George Regas	(Guisseppe)
	Tenen Holtz

Summary:

Sam Harris gives a lift to a redhead, Madelynne Cabrone, being chased by her husband, gangster Joe Cabrone, who has caught her with another man. Joe assumes that Sam is the man she was with in the hotel and vows to kill him within twenty-four hours. The only thing that prevents him from carrying out the murder right away is the presence of a policeman who has stopped Sam for speeding. Hoping to lure Sam into the open, Joe sends him free tickets to a masquerade ball, which he and his men plan to attend dressed as policemen. Knowing that Joe intends to kill him, Sam is worried about what he will leave to his widow Lena, as his business is bankrupt and his insurance has lapsed. Lena is angry at Sam because his escapades made newspaper headlines and she partly believes that he is guilty. T. McGillicuddy Hungerford, known as Mac, has also read about Sam's exploits in the papers, but he admires Sam's bravery. He offers Sam a million dollar contract if he will go to the masquerade with him and two fast women. A rival gangster, Tobey Moran, offers Sam his protection, giving him two bodyguards. Although Sam tells Lena that he is working late, she learns that he and Mac are attending the costume party with two women. To keep an eye on him, Lena uses the free tickets that Joe has sent to attend the party herself. Unknown to everyone, one of the women with Sam is Madelynne. When Sam discovers her identity, he begs a policeman to take him to jail for protection, but the policeman turns out to be Joe in disguise. In a shootout between the two rival gangs, all the gangsters are killed but Sam and Mac escape unharmed. Lena learns the truth about Sam and Madelynne and forgives him. Mac leaves town in a hurry, without giving Sam the contract after all.

Production Company:	Tiffany Productions, Inc.
Distribution Company:	Tiffany Productions, Inc.
Director:	Frank Strayer	(Dir)
Producer:	Phil Goldstone	(Prod)
Writer:	W. Scott Darling	(Story and scr by)
	W. Scott Darling	(Dial)
	Frances Hyland	(Dial)
Photography:	Max Dupont	(Photog)
Film Editor:	Edgar Adams	(Film ed)
Country:	United States

Copyright Claimant	Copyright Date	Copyright Number
Tiffany Productions, Inc.	27/1/1931 dd/mm/yyyy	LP1939

Physical Properties:	b&w:
	Sd:	RCA Photophone System


Genre:	Comedy
Sub-Genre:	Gangster

Subjects (Major):	Marriage
	Revenge

Subjects (Minor):	Costume parties
	Gangsters
	Love affairs
	Police
	Shootouts

Note:	Charles Murray and George Sidney were a Jewish-Irish comedy team on screen since the mid-1920s, who appeared in the Cohens and Kellys comedy films. For more information on the series see The Cohens and Kellys in Africa (below). According to Har , "Sam" is awarded the contract at the end of the film

Bibliographic Sources:	Date	Page
Film Daily	4 Jan 31	p. 10.
Motion Picture Herald	7 Mar 31	p. 60.
Variety	11 Mar 31	p. 15.

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The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.

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