We Who Are About to Die

We Who Are About to Die
Lobby card
Directed byChristy Cabanne
James Anderson (assistant)
Written byJohn Twist
Based onWe Who Are About to Die
1936 book
by David Lamson[1]
Produced byEdward Small
StarringPreston Foster
Ann Dvorak
John Beal
CinematographyRobert Planck
Edited byArthur Roberts
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • January 8, 1937 (1937-01-08)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

We Who Are About to Die is a 1937 American crime drama film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Preston Foster, Ann Dvorak, and John Beal. It was based on a book,[1] published while on death row,[2] by David Lamson, who was tried four times for murdering his wife before being set free.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

Plot

A man is kidnapped by mobsters after quitting his job, then wrongly arrested, tried, and sentenced to death for murders they committed. A suspicious detective thinks he is innocent and works to save his life.

Cast

Production

Lamson was hired by producer Edward Small to work on the script.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b Lamson, David (1936). We Who Are About to Die. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
  2. ^ Chessman, Caryl (25 March 2009). Cell 2455, Death Row: A Condemned Man's Own Story. Hachette Books. ISBN 978-0-7867-3583-9.
  3. ^ Bernard Butcher, "Was it Murder?', Stanford Magazine, January/February 2000 accessed 25 May 2000
  4. ^ Gioia, Ted (May 12, 2021). "When a Famous Literary Critic Unraveled Silicon Valley's Most Sensational Murder Case". The Honest Broker. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  5. ^ Russell, Frances Theresa; Winters, Yvor (1934). The Case of David Lamson: A Summary. San Francisco: Lamson Defense Committee. Retrieved 3 August 2024 – via The Online Books Page.
  6. ^ "People v. Lamson - 1 Cal.2d 648 - Sat, 10/13/1934". California Supreme Court Resources. stanford.edu.
  7. ^ Guy, Fiona (11 October 2022). "Fate Is Not Kind: The True Crime Case of David Lamson". Crime Traveller. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  8. ^ Zaniello, Tom (2016). California's Lamson Murder Mystery: The Depression Era Case that Divided Santa Clara County. History Press Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4671-3653-2.
  9. ^ Herhold, Scott (11 March 2017). "Book defends Lamson in murder mystery". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2024. I base my view on a 1934 letter that I found in Stanford's publicly available online archives written by Lowell Turrentine, a brilliant Stanford law professor who took an interest in the case. Turrentine argued that the pattern of cuts on Allene Lamson's head — he described them as three horizontal and one vertical — could not have been produced as a result of a fall. One of the cuts had a tear at the end, which Turrentine suggested could have been produced as an assailant clutched her hair and delivered a blow.
  10. ^ Drexler, Paul (May 28, 2017). "David Lamson's Ordeal, Part I". San Francisco Examiner. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  11. ^ Drexler, Paul (June 11, 2017). "David Lamson's Ordeal, Part II". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  12. ^ "We Who Are About to Die by David Lamson". The Publishers Weekly. F. Leypoldt. 1936. Retrieved 3 August 2024 – via google books.
  13. ^ Dawson, Kate Winkler (11 February 2020). American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI. Penguin. p. 262. ISBN 978-0-525-53957-5.
  14. ^ "Recreational Reading". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Princeton University Press. March 6, 1936. p. 483. Retrieved 3 August 2024. Boomed by Woolcott
  15. ^ Schallert, Edwin (Apr 11, 1936). "Lamson's Book, "We Who Are About to Die", Will Be Produced as Film: Author Will Adapt; Beal May Be Starred Story of Father Damien's Experiences in Leper Colony Considered; Alex Esway of England to Seek Players Here". Los Angeles Times. p. 7.


Stub icon

This article about a 1930s crime drama film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.