The Earl of Chicago (1940)

Robert Montgomery, Edward Arnold, Reginald Owen, Edmund Gwenn, E.E. Clive ... see more  , Ronald Sinclair , Norma Varden , Halliwell Hobbes , Peter Godfrey , Billy Bevan , Harry Allen , George Anderson , Jimmy Aubrey , Frank Baker , Barbara Bedford , Gladys Blake , Barlowe Borland , Matthew Boulton , John Burton , John K. Butler , David Clyde , Charles Coleman , Alec Craig , David Dunbar , Rex Evans , Henry Flynn , William Haade , Alec Harford , Holmes Herbert , Kenneth Hunter , Olaf Hytten , Ellis Irving , Boyd Irwin , Gladden James , Colin Kenny , Crauford Kent , Miles Mander , Eddie Marr , Leonard Mudie , Forbes Murray , Tempe Piggott , C. Montague Shaw , Ivan Simpson , William Stack , Zeffie Tilbury , Anthony Warde , Pierre Watkin , Ben Webster , Ben Welden , Ian Wolfe , Frederic Worlock , Ralph Stock , Robert Warwick , Paul England , Lowden Adams , Vangie Beilby , Frank Benson , Art Berry Sr. , Starrett Ford , Harold Howard , Arthur Mulliner , Yvonne Severn , John Power

The schizophrenic screenplay of The Earl of Chicago is rendered even more bizarre by the uneven performance by Robert Montgomery. He plays Silky Kilmont, a Runyonesque American gangster who inherits a... read more  British title (Earl of Gorley) and mansion. Taking charge of his new estate, Silky has an amusing time trying to acclimate himself to the customs of the "landed gentry". Things take a sinister turn when Silky discovers that his trusted attorney Doc Ramsey (Edward Arnold) is actually a bigger crook than he is. In a rage, Silky murders Ramsey, then goes into what appears to be a catatonic shock, refusing to defend himself at his murder trial. Blood finally tells at the climax when Silky Kilmont, aka the Earl of Gorley, meets his fate with a dignity and decorum worthy of his aristocratic forebears. The queasy atmosphere of the film is heightened by its utter lack of romance; outside of character actress Norma Varden, there are barely any women in the film at all. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi