A Man Betrayed (1941)

Director

• John H Auer
• John A Auer

Starring

• John Wayne
• Frances Dee
• Edward Ellis
• Wallace Ford
• Ward Bond

Last On

11:00-12:40 Tue 6th Jul 2010 100m
Film4

Synopsis

John Wayne became Republic's biggest asset thanks to Stagecoach and other good films he made elsewhere. But his home studio repeatedly let him down with feeble pictures such as this, originally shown in Britain as Citadel of Crime, which tries to combine an exposé of crooked politics with doses of screwball comedy and fails on both counts. On the plus side, Wayne is appealing as a crusading lawyer, Edward Ellis is forceful as a corrupt but likeable politician, while Frances Dee is unusually vivacious as the latter's daughter. The oddest element is Ward Bond's mobster, excruciatingly played as an imitation of the simple-minded Lenny from Of Mice and Men.