At the Stroke of Twelve

At the Stroke of Twelve (1941)

Drama

This entry in Warner's "Broadway Brevity" series of shorts is based on Damon Runyon's short story, "The Old Doll's House". Racketeer Lance McGowan, on the night he has decided to go straight, finds himself caught between the gunfire of two rival gangsters and, wounded by a bullet, he finds refuge in the home of a wealthy recluse. One of the gangsters is found riddled with bullets from the gun Lance dropped while making his escape, and he is arrested and tried for murder. The reclusive widow comes to the trail and testifies that Lance was her guest that night when the clock struck twelve, the time of the killing. Lance, while innocent, is also lucky, as the widow had her all her clocks set to always strike twelve, as the time her husband had died.

Director: Jean Negulesco

Casts

	Craig Stevens as Lance McGowan
	Elisabeth Risdon as Abigail Ardsley, aka The Old Doll
	Knox Manning as Carson
	Howard Da Silva as Angie the Ox
	Ben Welden as Babe Summers
	Frank Ferguson as Prosecuting Attorney
	Eddie Dunn as Policeman
	Faye Emerson as Miss LaMond
	Fred Kelsey as Police Sergeant
	John Ridgely as Reporter

Crew