Tiger Shark (film)

1932 film

Edward G. Robinson
Richard Arlen
Zita Johann

CinematographyTony GaudioEdited byThomas PrattMusic byBernhard KaunDistributed byFirst National Pictures

Release date

September 22, 1932 (1932-09-22) (U.S.)

Running time

77 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget$375,000^[1]Box office$879,000^[1]

Tiger Shark is a 1932 American pre-Code melodrama romantic film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Edward G. Robinson, Richard Arlen and Zita Johann.^[2]

Plot

The wife of one-handed tuna fisherman Mike Mascarenhas falls for the man whose life Mike had saved while at sea.

Cast

Edward G. Robinson as Mike Mascarenhas
Richard Arlen as Pipes Boley
Zita Johann as Quita Silva
Leila Bennett as Muggsey, A Barber
J. Carroll Naish as Tony
Vince Barnett as Fishbone, A Crewman
William Ricciardi as Manuel Silva, A Crewman
Maurice Black as Jean Fernandez, a Shipwrecked Crewman
Sheila Bromley as 'Red'
Wong Chung as Chinese Laundryman
Edwin Maxwell as Doctor
Toshia Mori as Oriental Lady Barber
Henry Otho as Crewman
Inez Palange as Mike's Neighbor
Pedro Regas as Crewman
Joe Roig
Hector V. Sarno as Crewman
Harry Semels as Crewman
Leo Sulky as Drinking Crewman

Production notes

The film was made in the same year as Scarface, which is considered to be the Howard Hawks' best film of the early sound era. The general storyline was repeated several times in later films such as Manpower (1941) with Marlene Dietrich and George Raft, in which Robinson plays the same role but as a powerline worker.

John Lee Mahin worked on the script for the film uncredited.^[3]

The film's leading lady Zita Johann may be best remembered for her role in Karl Freund's The Mummy, also released in that same year, 1932.

Box office

According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $436,000 domestically and $443,000 foreign.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 13 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
^ Sala, Ángel (October 2005). "Apéndices". Tiburón ¡Vas a necesitar un barco más grande! El filme que cambió Hollywood (1st ed.). Festival Internacional de Cinema de Catalunya. p. 114. ISBN 84-96129-72-1.
^ McCarthy, Todd; McBride, Joseph (1986). "John Lee Mahin: Team Player". In Patrick McGilligan (ed.). Backstory: Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age. University of California Press. p. 248. ISBN 9780520056893.