Those Who Dance (1930 film)

Those Who Dance is a 1930 American Pre-Code crime film produced and distributed by Warner Bros., directed by William Beaudine, and starring Monte Blue, Lila Lee, William "Stage" Boyd and Betty Compson. It is a remake of the 1924 silent film Those Who Dance starring Bessie Love and Blanche Sweet.^[1] The story, written by George Kibbe Turner, was based on events that occurred among gangsters in Chicago.

Those Who Dance
Directed by	William Beaudine
Screenplay by	Joseph Jackson
Story by	George Kibbe Turner
Produced by	Robert North
Starring	Monte Blue Lila Lee Betty Compson
Cinematography	Sid Hickox
Edited by	George Amy
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Release date	April 19, 1930 (1930-04-19) (U.S.) (Limited release)
Running time	75 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

A police detective (Monte Blue) is after a famous gangster (William Boyd). The detective disguises himself and lives incognito in the house of the gangster by pretending to be an out-of-town gangster who has just murdered someone. The detective pretends to be the sweetheart of a girl (Lila Lee) who suspects her brother has been framed for murder by Monte Blue. Blue's moll (Betty Compson) is also in on the conspiracy as she became fed up with his cheating, lying and mistreatment. The life of Lee's brother, who has been sentenced to death in the electric chair, depends on their getting evidence against Boyd.

Cast

• Lila Lee as Nora Brady
• Monte Blue as Dan Hogan
• William "Stage" Boyd as Diamond Joe Jennings
• Betty Compson as Kitty
• William Janney as Tim Brady
• Wilfred Lucas as Big Ben Benson
• Cornelius Keefe as Pat Hogan
• DeWitt Jennings as Captain O'Brien
• Gino Corrado as Tony
• Richard Cramer as Steve Daley
• Harry Semels as Hood
• Nick Thompson as Hood

The Silver Sheet, a studio publication promoting Thomas Ince Productions, April 1924

Foreign-language versions

Foreign-language versions were made in Spanish (Los Que Danzan), German (The Dance Goes On or Der Tanz geht weiter), and French Counter Investigation (Contre-Enquête). They are all apparently lost.^{[citation needed]}

Pre-Code material

The film contains a lot of Pre-Code material. For example, Lila Lee's character is called "a professional virgin" and two unmarried couples live together. There is a reference to homosexuality where a man is vaguely called being "that way" about Tim Brady (played by William Janney), etc.

Preservation

The complete film survives in 16 mm. It was remastered in this format by Associated Artists Productions in 1956 and included in a package of vintage feature films syndicated to television stations. A 16-mm print is housed at the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research.^[2] Another print exists at the Library of Congress.^[3]