DYNAMITE (1929)Conrad Nagel, Kay Johnson & Charles Bickford | Romance, Comedy | B&W | Classic Film

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Dynamite is a 1929 American pre-Code drama film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Conrad Nagel, Kay Johnson, Charles Bickford, and Julia Faye.Written by Jeanie MacPherson, John Howard Lawson, and Gladys Unger, the film is about a convicted murderer scheduled to be executed, whom a socialite marries simply to satisfy a condition of her grandfather's will. Mitchell Leisen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.

Synopsis

Hagon Derk, a coal miner sentenced to hang for murder, is deeply concerned about his younger sister Katie. Meanwhile, socialite Cynthia Crothers, who stands to lose her inheritance unless married by her twenty-third birthday, is involved in a complex love triangle. She offers Hagon $10,000 to marry her, and he accepts. Just before Hagon's execution, the real killer confesses, and Hagon is freed.

After their marriage, Cynthia struggles with Hagon’s simple life, but she begins to change. She helps save a child’s life by bringing a doctor from the city, and despite tensions, she starts to show genuine care. However, a misunderstanding leads Hagon to think she is leaving him. When they are trapped in a mine together with Roger, they face a life-or-death situation. Hagon confesses his love for Cynthia, and in a final act of self-sacrifice, Roger detonates dynamite to save them, dying in the process. Cynthia, in a moment of clarity, confesses her love for Hagon, and they both survive, with Hagon realizing he was wrong about Roger.

Cast & Crew

Conrad Nagel as Roger Towne
Kay Johnson as Cynthia Crothers
Charles Bickford as Hagon Derk
Julia Faye as Marcia Towne
Muriel McCormac as Katie Derk
Joel McCrea as Marco
Robert Edeson as First Wise Fool
William Holden as Second Wise Fool
Henry Stockbridge as Third Wise Fool
Leslie Fenton as Young "Vulture" Firing Gun
Barton Hepburn as Young "Vulture" Confessing Crime
Ernest Hilliard as Good Mixer
June Nash as Good Mixer
Judith Barrett as Good Mixer
Neely Edwards as Good Mixer
Marjorie Zier as Good Mixer
Rita La Roy as Good Mixer
Tyler Brooke as The Life of the Party
Clarence Burton as Police Officer
Jim Farley as Death Row Police Officer
Robert T. Haines as The Judge
Douglas Scott as Bobby Smith
Jane Keckley as Bobby's Mother
Blanche Craig as Neighbor (Mrs. Johnson)
Mary Gordon as Neighbor at Store
Ynez Seabury as Neighbor (Mrs. Johnson's daughter)
Scott Kolk as Radio Announcer
Fred Walton as Doctor Rawlins