The Criminal Code

The Criminal Code (Howard Hawks, 1931) The Hawks canon has always been about liberte, egalite, fraternite, and of the power of the group to come together to create something greater than the whole. So...a Howard Hawks prison movie?

Depends on the story, of course. But, The Criminal Code fits right into the Hawks niche, right down to the central authority figure who will give you a fair shake as long as you prove yourself worthy by adhering to their code as a "professional."

 

That figure is newly-installed warden Mark Brady (played by John Huston's dad, Walter) who's been brought up from his previous position as District Attorney. He's overseeing the imprisonment of some of the very men he sent to prison, so the resentment in "the yard" is palpable. So much so that his first day on the job, when he looks out of his office window overlooking the prison yard, he is greeted with cat-calls and "boo's" and the mutterings of threats. He responds, as any member of the court would, by confronting his accusers and going amongst them to talk and let them know what "the rules" are—look them eye to eye to say that as long as they kept their noses clean, there won't be any issues. 

He's not without a heart, and he knows that he's responsible for the cons...and for a lot of them being there. He takes an interest in one young man (Phillip Holmes) that he sent away, now on his sixth year in the stretch, who's about to crack from the strain. He offers the kid, Robert Graham, a job as his valet, hoping that the change in situation and out of the harsh conditions of the prison's jute mill, will improve his psychological condition. It should come as no surprise that it does, especially once Brady's daughter (played by Constance Cummings) takes an interest in young Graham.

But, it's a prison movie, and it wouldn't be one if there wasn't an escape attempt made that would put Graham's improved life in peril. Three hoods—one of them Graham's former cell-mate Ned Galloway (Boris Karloff)—plan an elaborate escape, but during the attempt one of the prisoners is shot and killed. Galloway discovers that the other of the escapee's ratted them out, violating the prison code of silence, and he secretly plans revenge, warning Graham to stay away from that particular prisoner.

Even without seeing his face you can see the menace of Karloff

But, Graham is found, by happenstance, near the body, and even though evidence isn't found that he did it, and despite Brady's ministrations to save himself and tell him who the culprit is, Graham won't betray the ethic of the prison yard, even if it means taking the fall himself. Reluctantly, Brady sends him to solitary confinement.

It is unusual, for a Hawks film, for the communal spirit be the one amongst the prisoners, but the emphasis on the code of silence as the one mark of the professional prisoner that must be kept above all else runs right alongside the usual stoicism, the "keep-it-amongst-ourselves" attitude of the enclave that you'll find in most of the director's work. That it is among the criminal element makes The Criminal Code (with the title's double meaning) stand out from every other posse of professionals, be they cowboys, pilots, race-drivers, newspapermen, even big-game trappers.

The Criminal Code is a "pre-code" film, meaning it was made before the establishment of The Hays Code—Hollywood's attempt to police itself, amid calls that films were starting to depict too many immoral acts and that it might have an effect on the country. Even though there is quite a bit of violence and some of the prison guards are seen as corrupt, the "bad guys" end up punished and the "good guys" are given a second chance. It was still early in the days of Hollywood's own "code" and a few listed improprieties could be seen to still eke their way onto the silver-screen. Over the next few weeks, we'll occasionally be looking at some of those films to see what Hollywood was getting away with, so soon after the advent of "the talkies."