Now I'll Tell (1934)

Genres - Crime, Drama, Romance  |   Sub-Genres - Biopic [feature]  |   Run Time - 72 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Sandra Brennan

Though the names have been changed to protect the guilty, this romantic crime drama offers a relatively factual account of the life of Arnold Rothstein, an infamous bookie and is based upon a story by his widow. The story tells how he gambled his way to the top of his profession. Though he originally promised his wife that he would stop gambling once he made $200,000, he became addicted and decided he had to make $300,000 more before he could be happy. Soon his greed leads him to crooked gambling. Things get worse when he openly carries on an affair with a singer. The bookies dirty dealings get him into trouble and his wife is kidnapped while he is out of town. While rushing back to save her, he has a car accident and his lover is killed. By the time she is rescued, the wife has decided enough is enough and takes off to get a European divorce. The greedy gambler finds himself utterly lost without his two lovers and so after selling his wife's jewels takes out a large insurance policy upon himself. On an interesting footnote: Inez Norton, Rothstein's real-life widow, has a bit part in the film, as does then-ingenue Susan Fleming, AKA Mrs. Harpo Marx.

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Keywords

criminal, accident, ambition, assassination, bookie, car, conflict, daughter, death, divorce, expensive, extramarital-affair, gambling, gangster, husband, insurance, invitation, kidnapping, killing, life, loot, manager, marital-problems, mistress, opal, pawnbroker, policy, quitting, rescue, scandal, songwriter, suspect, truth, urban, wealth, wife, wound [injury]