Do Your Duty

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Do Your Duty
Directed byWilliam Beaudine
Written byJulien Josephson
Casey Robinson
Vernon Smith
Gene Towne
StarringCharles Murray
CinematographyMike Joyce
Edited byStuart Heisler
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Brothers
Release date
  • October 14, 1928 (1928-10-14)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent

Do Your Duty is a 1928 American silent comedy film directed by William Beaudine.[1][2] The film was originally planned to be a Part-Talkie but this was quickly abandoned when Warner Bros. acquired control of First National in September 1928. The film was unceremoniously released as a silent. Charlie Murray was dropped from the First National roster and three films that had been already planned by First National as starring vehicles for Charlie Murray before the acquisition were cancelled. This is lost film.[3][4]

Plot

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Sergeant Tim Maloney (Charles Murray), a cheerful Irish cop on the New York police force, is the picture of contentment. Devoted to his lively household—including his spirited wife (Aggie Herring), his two younger children, and his charming daughter Mary Ellen (Doris Dawson)—Tim is especially proud that she is soon to marry Danny Sheehan Jr. (Charles Delaney), a clean-cut young patrolman under the command of Captain Dan Sheehan (George C. Pearce), Danny’s father.

Promotion is in the air—both for Danny and for Tim himself, who dreams of donning his new lieutenant’s uniform, currently being tailored by his loyal Scottish friend Andy McIntosh (Lucien Littlefield). But not everything on Tim’s beat is so cheerful. In his precinct lurks Ritzy Dalton (Ed Brady), a slick and dangerous racketeer, and Dude Jackson (Blue Washington), one of his henchmen, who are plotting something big.

At a surprise celebration for Danny’s promotion to sergeant, Captain Sheehan proudly commends his son, and Tim gives a speech as the newly minted Lieutenant Maloney. But the joy is short-lived.

Dalton sets a trap: Tim is lured into an apartment by the screams of a young woman and knocked unconscious. When he comes to, he’s been doused with whiskey and tossed into the street, making it appear that he’s fallen off the wagon. Meanwhile, the robbery goes off as planned. The disgrace costs Tim his rank—he’s demoted back to patrolman.

Ashamed, Tim hides the truth from his family. But as Mary Ellen and Danny prepare for a joyful wedding at the police station, Tim feels he cannot bear to show his face. He makes an excuse and slips away, his heart heavy with shame.

Fate intervenes through Andy, the ever-faithful tailor, who unknowingly steps into danger. While delivering clothes to an apartment, Andy overhears a heated discussion—Dalton, the same woman who framed Tim, and their gang are planning a jewelry heist that night. But before he can warn anyone, Andy is discovered and locked inside a closet.

Determined to make things right, Tim follows a hunch to the same apartment. There, he bursts in just as one of Dalton’s thugs is strangling the girl who had helped frame him. Tim saves her, frees Andy, and together they bring down the entire gang in time to prevent the robbery.

With his name cleared, Tim is reinstated to his former glory on the force. He arrives just in time to escort Mary Ellen and Danny to the altar at the police station. As the young couple embarks on their new life, Tim, proud and redeemed, smiles with satisfaction. He's done his duty—twice over.

Cast

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References

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  1. ^ Sandra Brennan (2013). "Do Your Duty". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
  2. ^ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:..Do Your Duty
  3. ^ The Library of Congress/FIAF American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog:..Do Your Duty
  4. ^ Do Your Duty at Arne Andersen's Lost Film Files:lost First National films - 1928 Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
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