Marked Woman (1937)

Directed by Lloyd Bacon. Starring Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Isabel Jewell, Eduardo Ciannelli, Jane Bryan, Lola Lane, Mayo Methot, Rosalind Marquis, John Litel, Allen Jenkins.

Pretty standard crime melodrama where Bogie’s district attorney tries to convince Davis and her fellow club hostesses to testify against heartless gangster Ciannelli; the ladies are hesitant, but then Davis’ kid sister (Bryan) shows up and starts frequenting the joint herself and… Inspired by the real-life case against Charles “Lucky” Luciano, there’s nothing dynamic about the storytelling or direction to leave much of an impression, but it moves at a steady clip and gets by on a mix of portrayals both earnest and cynical. An uncredited Michael Curtiz briefly took over directing duties when Bacon took an absence from the shoot to go on his honeymoon. Herman “Hymie” Marks, an ex-associate of Luciano, was cast in a minor role as one of Ciannelli’s henchmen.

62/100