Sergeant Madden [SEP] director
Sergeant Madden
Sergeant Madden is a 1939 film noir forerunner directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Wallace Beery. The supporting cast in this dark police crime drama, noted for its imaginative and evocative cinematography, includes Tom Brown, Laraine Day, Alan Curtis, and Marc Lawrence.
Cast.
- Wallace Beery as Sergeant Madden
- Tom Brown as Al Boylan, Jr.
- Alan Curtis as Dennis Madden
- Laraine Day as Eileen Daly (billed as "Laraine Johnson")
- Fay Holden as Mary
revenue for the corporation, despite his “tiresome screen performance.” When Sternberg attempted to elicit a more disciplined approach from Berry, the studio hierarchy instructed the director to cease his overly “demanding rehearsals.” Despite the Metro's interference “Berry’s performance in "Sergeant Madden" is one of the least maudlin in his gallery of indistinguishable character roles” and “unusually controlled and believable” is attributable to Sternberg's influence.
The film was released on March 29, 1939 and “did quite well.”