{{short description|1938 film by Robert Florey}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox film | name = King of Alcatraz | image = File:King of Alcatraz.jpg | caption = | director = [[Robert Florey]] | producer = [[William C. Thomas]] | writer = [[Irving Reis]] | starring = [[Gail Patrick]]<br>[[Lloyd Nolan]]<br>[[Harry Carey (actor)|Harry Carey]]. | music = | cinematography = [[Harry Fischbeck]] | editing = [[Eda Warren]] | distributor = [[Paramount Pictures]] | released = {{film date|1938|9|30}} | runtime = 68 minutes | country = United States | language = English }}
'''''King of Alcatraz''''' is a 1938 American [[drama film]] directed by [[Robert Florey]] and starring [[Gail Patrick]], [[Lloyd Nolan]] and [[Harry Carey (actor)|Harry Carey]].<ref name="NY Times">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/10/07/archives/the-screen-king-of-alcatraz-rules-the-screen-of-the-criterionthe.html|title=THE SCREEN; ' King of Alcatraz' Rules the Screen of the Criterion--The Palace Takes 'Time Out for Murder' At the Palace|access-date=January 2, 2021|work=NY Times | first=Frank S. | last=Nugent}}</ref> It was the film debut of [[Robert Preston (actor)|Robert Preston]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 28, 1938|title=Roundabout Previews Lead to Film Contract|pages=55|work=The Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66673881/article-on-robert-preston-debut/|access-date=January 2, 2021|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
==Plot== Just as gangster Steve Murkil is escaping from [[Alcatraz]] prison, rival [[San Francisco]] radio operators Ray Grayson and Bob MacArthur find themselves assigned to a freighter run by Captain Glennan, headed out to sea.
Among those on board are a new nurse, Dale Borden, and passengers including a young woman and her mother. The younger one is Murkil's moll and the mother is Murkil himself in disguise, making a getaway, with several of his cronies also aboard ship.
Ray and Bob both develop a romantic interest in Dale and both end up in confrontations with Murkil. A fight results in Ray being wounded, with Dale receiving radio instructions on how to perform an operation that he immediately needs. Murkil nearly makes his escape until he is shot by Glennan. On shore, Ray and Dale decide to get married, with Bob their best man.
==Cast== * [[Gail Patrick]] as Dale Borden * [[Lloyd Nolan]] as Raymond Grayson * [[Harry Carey (actor born 1878)|Harry Carey]] as Captain Glennan * [[J. Carrol Naish]] as Steve Murkil * [[Robert Preston (actor)|Robert Preston]] as Robert MacArthur * [[Anthony Quinn]] as Lou Gedney * [[Dennis Morgan]] as First Mate Rogers (as Richard Stanley) * [[Richard Denning]] as Harry Vay * [[Konstantin Shayne]] as Murok * Eddie Marr as Dave Carter * [[Emory Parnell]] as Olaf * [[Paul Fix]] as 'Nails' Miller * [[Virginia Vale]] as Dixie (as Dorothy Howe) * [[Monte Blue]] as Officer * [[John Hart (actor)|John Hart]] as 1st Radio Operator
== Critical reaction == ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' critic [[Frank Nugent]] called the film "a trim little melodrama, tightly written and logically contrived."<ref name="NY Times" /> Kate Cameron of the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' gave the film three of four stars. She praised Florey's direction and Nolan's performance.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cameron |first1=Kate |title="Dark Rapture" Jungle Thriller|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68082047/dark-rapture-and-king-of-alcatraz/ |access-date=January 20, 2021 |work=New York Daily News |date=October 16, 1938 |pages=35|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> An ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]'' reviewer called the film "a conglomeration of the old gangster films with a not quite conscientious triangle added."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Klepper |first1=Elaine |title="King of Alcatraz" Offers Gunplay On The High Seas| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/68082456/king-of-alcatraz-and-broadway/ |access-date=January 20, 2021 |work=The Orlando Sentinel |date=November 7, 1938 |pages=2|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
==See also== * [[Harry Carey filmography]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb title|id=0030322|title=King of Alcatraz}}
{{Robert Florey}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:King Of Alcatraz}} [[Category:1938 films]] [[Category:1938 drama films]] [[Category:American drama films]] [[Category:1938 English-language films]] [[Category:American black-and-white films]] [[Category:Films directed by Robert Florey]] [[Category:Paramount Pictures films]] [[Category:Alcatraz Island in fiction]] [[Category:Films set on islands]] [[Category:Films set in San Francisco]] [[Category:Films about ship hijackings]] [[Category:1938 American films]] [[Category:English-language drama films]]