The Czar of Broadway

The Czar of Broadway
The Czar of Broadway
	Swedish release poster
Directed by	William James Craft
Written by	Gene Towne
Produced by	Carl Laemmle
Starring	John Wray; Betty Compson ; John Harron ; Claud Allister
Cinematography	Hal Mohr
Edited by	Harry W. Lieb
Music by	Heinz Roemheld
Production; company	Universal Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	May 25, 1930;
Running time	79 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Czar of Broadway is a 1930 American pre-Code crime film produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, directed by William James Craft and starring John Wray, Betty Compson, John Harron and Claud Allister.^[1]

Plot

Jay Grant is a journalist who prioritizes friendship over his career, offering a critique of the journalism industry. Hired by a managing editor, Grant's assignment is to unveil the illicit activities of Morton Bradstreet, a powerful underworld figure who dominates a significant part of the city's nightlife and has considerable influence over the media. Adopting the disguise of an innocent countryman, Grant gets close to Bradstreet. However, when Bradstreet discovers Grant's true intentions, he orders one of his subordinates to eliminate him. Before this can happen, Bradstreet and his associate are taken down by a competing gang. Owing to their formed bond, Grant chooses not to publish a revealing article about the mobster, leading to his resignation.^[2]

Cast

John Wray as Morton Bradstreet
Betty Compson as Connie Cotton
John Harron as Jay Grant the reporter
Claud Allister as Francis
Wilbur Mack as Harry Foster
King Baggot a Dane Harper
Edmund Breese as McNab
Gino Corrado as El Dorado Club Headwaiter
William B. Davidson as Club Manager

Preservation status

This film is preserved in the collection of the Library of Congress.^[3]

References

^ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Czar of Broadway, afi.com; accessed August 10, 2015.
^ Langman, Larry (2009). The Media in the Movies. p. 69.
^ Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at the Library of Congress (1978), p.39