The Criminal Code
- IMDb link: 0021770
- IMDb rating: 6.9 (1,771 votes)
- Genres: Crime, Drama, Romance
- Director: Howard Hawks
- Cast: Boris Karloff, Walter Huston, Constance Cummings, Phillips Holmes and others
- Release date: 3 Jan 1931
- Release year: 1930
- Runtime: 97 minutes
- Country: United States
- Keywords: train station, prostitute, pinochle the card game, cynicism, actor recreates his stage role, responsibility, stabbing, brother sister relationship, prison riot, melodrama
Plot:
A wily D.A. (Brady) gets a 10-year conviction of a 20-year-old (Robert Graham) who killed a man in self-defense. Years later Brady becomes warden of the prison holding Graham. When Brady realizes that 6 years of working in the prison jute mill has pushed Graham to the breaking point, he gives him a chance--a new job as his valet. Graham responds well and earns the respect of both the warden and his beautiful daughter. Graham's mettle is put to the test when he stumbles onto a prison murder committed by his cellmate. He must choose between the criminal code of silence and the warden's strong persuasion to reveal the killer.