IMDb RATING
7.2/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
A politically ambitious district attorney, unscrupulous tabloid journalists, and regional prejudice combine to charge a teacher with the murder of his student.A politically ambitious district attorney, unscrupulous tabloid journalists, and regional prejudice combine to charge a teacher with the murder of his student.A politically ambitious district attorney, unscrupulous tabloid journalists, and regional prejudice combine to charge a teacher with the murder of his student.
- Awards
- 1 win
Elisabeth Risdon
- Mrs. Hale
- (as Elizabeth Risdon)
Sibyl Harris
- Mrs. Clay
- (as Sybil Harris)
- Director
- Mervyn LeRoy(uncredited)
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe novel "Death in the Deep South" and this movie version were based on the notorious murder trial and subsequent lynching of Leo Frank. The film mentions the suspect's Northern background, which was a factor in his lynching, but does not mention that he was Jewish. The real-life victim, Mary Phagan, was only 13 years old, a far cry from Lana Turner's 16-year-old "sweater girl."
- GoofsDuring the entire trial the shadow of the window is showing in the same place; behind the witness chair/over the back door of the courtroom.
- Quotes
Drugstore Clerk: What'll it all be be, ladies?
Imogene Mayfield: Dope and cherry, Fred.
Drugstore Clerk: [to Mary] How about you, half-pint?
Mary Clay: Make mine a chocolate malt and drop an egg in it as fresh as you are.
Drugstore Clerk: The hens don't lay 'em that good.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hollywood and the Stars: The Angry Screen (1964)
- SoundtracksKingdom Coming
(1862) (uncredited)
aka "The Year of Jubilo"
Music by Henry Clay Work
Played during the opening credits
Featured review
Frankly speaking
It begins with a disclaimer that all characters are entirely fictitious, etc. etc., and cites as source material a novel, but you can't fool us: It's the Leo Frank trial of 1915, updated to the then-present-day South and with Frank's Judaism carefully removed. Other than that, the details are surprisingly close to the actual trial, and the downbeat ending chillingly mirrors reality. Warner Brothers, known in the 1930s as the socially conscious studio, had a message to flog, and in this case it goes a bit overboard: No character has more than one dimension, and even that excellent actor Claude Rains, as the DA, snarls and rolls his eyes and gesticulates wildly, overdoing the blind ambition bit. But for its day it's a pretty brave and out-there indictment against mob violence, bigotry, and sensationalism, particularly the latter. Indeed, the message one takes from it today is that the media hasn't really grown worse in the intervening years -- there's just more of it.
helpful•325
- marcslope
- Nov 1, 2004
- How long is They Won't Forget?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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