The Public Pays
| The Public Pays | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Errol Taggart |
| Produced by | Jack Chertok |
| Written by | John C. Higgins |
| Starring |
Richard Alexander Barbara Bedford |
| Distributed by | MGM |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 19 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Public Pays is a 1936 short crime film directed by Errol Taggart. It won an Academy Award in 1937 for Best Short Subject (Two-Reel).[1][2] The film shows a dramatization of actual court records which tell the story of a gang's racketeering in the milk industry, and its eventual defeat through the heroism of one dealer.[3]
Plot
We see three tough-looking men renting an office in one of the better buildings of Claybourne City. Soon "The Creamery Betterment Association" appears on their door. They intend to force every dealer in the city to sign as members, dues to be one cent on every quart of milk sold in the city; and the dealers are to get this back by raising the price of milk three cents a quart.
Then comes the technique for getting members; the vicious means resorted to in "stubborn" cases. Only one dealer, John Paige has the courage to hold out. He cooperates with the police, but weakens when his family is threatened. Police persuade him to wait, replace all his drivers with detectives, who arrest the gangsters when they do attack the trucks. Finally, the police surround members of the gang who are waiting in ambush to drill Paige's trucks with a "tommy" gun. This provides sufficient evidence, and the gang is arrested and sent to prison for 50 years.[3]
Cast
- Richard Alexander - Drunken Hood Who Knocks Over Milk Wagon (uncredited)
- Barbara Bedford - Markovitz's Secretary (uncredited)
- Harry C. Bradley - Grocer (uncredited)
- Betty Ross Clarke - Paige's Secretary (uncredited)
- Russ Clark - Bit Part (uncredited)
- John Dilson - Moore, Milk Company Executive (uncredited)
- Bess Flowers - Bit (uncredited)
- Karl Hackett - Markovitz, Milk Company Executive (uncredited)
- Robert Homans - Cop (uncredited)
- George Humbert - Simonelli, Italian Milk Dealer (uncredited)
- Cy Kendall - Police Chief John Carney (uncredited)
- Ivan Miller - Charles Paige (uncredited)
- William Pawley - Kelly (uncredited)
- Frank Puglia - Moran's Hood (uncredited)
- Edwin Stanley - John Allgren, Department of Justice (uncredited)
- Paul Stanton - Moran (uncredited)
- Ben Taggart - Cop (uncredited)
- Phillip Trent - MGM Reporter (uncredited)
- Emmett Vogan - Ardley, Moran's Assistant (uncredited)
- Frederick Vogeding - Dickman, Milk Company Executive (uncredited)
- Eddy Waller - The Association's Landlord (uncredited)
References
- ↑ "The 9th Academy Awards (1937) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-07.
- ↑ "New York Times: The Public Pays". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
- 1 2 Catalog of films for classroom use : handbook of information on films selected and classified by the advisory committee on the use of motion pictures in education. New York, N.Y.: Teaching Film Custodians, Inc. 1941. p. 222.