20,000 Years in Sing Sing (Warner Bros.) (1932)

CORKING NEWSPAPER SERIALIZATION NOTE TO EXHIBITORS: — You will find this 8,000 word newspaper serialization divided into seven chapters, one of the most powerful stories ever released in conjunction with a motion picture. It is a story that does justice to the tremendous power of the picture itself. The dramatic intensity of the story, the unsurpassed love interest, the stirring pathos and the heroic sacrifice of a man for his sweetheart, make this an amazing piece of fiction. Here is a story that any newspaper would pay big money for from a newspaper syndicate. We suggest, in giving it to your best newspaper, that you ar ate 2 “Screen Wersian Richart by Hamilton Thompson from | TWENTY THOUSAND was with him—and Big Joe repre range publication to start about four days before your play date. give you a three day run currently with your show. Complete Story Supplied in Mat Form $1.00 For Mats Address Merchandising Editor WARNER BROS. PICTURES, Inc. 321 West 44th Street New York reporter. ‘‘ Five to thirty years isn’t| tell my public I’ll soon be out...’ much—when you say it quick.’? There would have been more only ‘He's just kiddin yuh, Tommy,”? Daniels payee him ss pee we cajoled Finn. ‘Yuh can’t get the front barrier closed behind him with breaks all the time.’’ a slang. YEARS IN SING SING By LEWIS E. LAWES _ _... Warden Sing Sing Prison ‘‘That’s his finish.’’ The reporters re-entered their taxies for the to the Ossining station, **You bet yuh can’t; that’s why he’s here,’? »w2% 3d Deputy Sheriff eS Sey Ss one IES fae ————— handeuffed. public thought himself im they agreed. ‘“Well, Kid, cheer up; we’re still with you. You’re news to us until the gate slams on you. After that you’re just a number.’’ flipped another reporter. | Warner Bros.’ Sensational Picture of the Same Name # * @ A short forty-eight hours before Connors had been the center of a gay party in his Manhattan apartment in West 22nd Street—a quiet orderly section of artists and architects. It is a way gangsters have—of choosing their homes remote from the glare and blare of the bright lights. CHAPTER I ‘Ts that so?’’ belligerently flared Connors. 66 "RE Yuh, Sing Sing!”’ H “‘Goofy name; sounds like a chop suey joint!’’ This was Tom Connors’ humorous salutation to the **City of Cells and Sighs,’’ as the train bearing him and his escort of a deputy sheriff and several newspaper reporters rounded a bend in the tracks and the formidable prison walls were momentarily revealed to view. ‘“Yeah, that’s so. Listen, Guy, a month from now the females who sent you flowers and wrote you mash notes won’t give you a_ tumble. There’s many a tough mug to take your place in the spotlight.’’ Fully a dozen well known denizens ‘Say, Punks, of the Underworld ses foregathered there’s no one to take my place. I’ve to celebrate Connor’s latest coup, the _| details of which had that very after Connors. snarled. got color, I—I got personality .. You fellows been writin’ that your| 200% been spread before an eager selves—’? public by an avid press. ‘‘That’s our racket, Stupid—giv-| Liberty on bail is not always ac ing you gorillas personality.’ cordec gangsters. ‘‘It was because it was Connors and his pull,’’ said Tom Connors had a momentary chill. Could this be true? Was this really serious—the high walls and the cells they hid? Was this his finish? No, it couldn’t be. Big Joe Finn would have something to say when Big Joe Finn. Prominent in the party, besides Connors, Finn and the rest, was pretty Fay Layton, Connors’ sweet heart. eae If Connors had possessed half the But the feeling of depression persisted. acumen he was credited with, he would have read the purposeful look Connors enjoyed the shrillings cof the girls and young women who crowded the group as he was hustled out of the taxi, which brought the party from che railroad station to the in Finn’s eyes as he noted the lithe limbs of Fay, so generously displayed as she lolled on the couch between thc two men. | _ Fay Was Pretty | Fay was pretty, after the Broadway fashion; a low-cut dress, wide ana loose across the bust line. In her “Yowre news to us until the gate slams. After that you’re just a number.” (Spencer Tracy and Spencer Charters in a ; scene from the picture.) prison. ‘¢Thanks for comin’ folks,’’ Connors raised his manacled hand to wave, much to the annoyance of Daniels, whose left hand had to go up, too. “VIL Soon Be Out” | Turning to the reporters, Connors had another word. ‘‘Hey, you guys, *round, Connors was inclined to feel humorous—and cocky. Why shouldn’t he? <A criminal, true—but a glamorous one. Was he not a pet of women—idol of hero worshippers—pivot of attraction for newspapers? And hadn’t the big political boss fold tin Lineslos would Kick IMS Way) = sae ee eae eee out of this rap with moccasins on? | sented the right people, who could be And to make certain that he got|depended upon. ‘‘You boys can the proper reception from the warden, quote me as saying that this don’t Big Joe Finn, the ‘‘Mouthpiece,’’|™mean a thing.’ said Connors. ‘‘Yeah!’’ murmured one sarcastic face is a curious capacity for both the natural and the sophistication of the typical show girl. She is too soon from the country to have lost altogether all the good that was born in her. That will City There was a slight sneer on Finn’s face as he listened to Connors’ boasting, which disappeared ag the young gangster turned to him. ‘“Say, you oughter see the bunch of fan mail I got today—all wome of ’em i ty.?? and most ron & screwy houghtful. Being a woman, Fay saw more in Finn’s sneaky countenance and shifty eyes than did her worldly lover. Dis missing the unpleasant thoughts, she turned brightly to Connors, ‘*Will the trial be finished tomorrow?’’ she queried. Finn anticipated Connors’ reply. ‘*Yeah, maybe. Leave it to me. This has been a tough one. Maybe the judge will have to give Tommy a rap; but it will be a stall. That’s th’ answer. Tommy may go ‘up the river’ just for appearance sake, and then we spring him. See???’ Connors vented his anger in ro fane expressions, evidencing his contempt for so rotten a system of oli tics which allowed a man of his importance to go to the hoose-gow, even for a few days. Connors, always the egoist, dismissed the disagreeable subject with a gesture. ‘‘Aw, after I’ve baen in there awhile, I’ll own the joint. But at that I don’t see why we ean’t beat this rap.’’ ‘Vay off, will yuh, Tommy,’’ rasped Finn. ‘‘I’ve given yuh al) the dope. We’ll beat th’ rap if we can—you know that. But yuh know how it is; sometimes the high-ups gits sore if we spring too many guys.’? Then playing up to Connors. ‘*You’re too prominent; everylbody’s reading "bout you. The papers are spreading yuh across their front pages. And if we go to springing yuh in court and then something happens, it won’t be so good. Leave it to th’ boss, Tommy.’’ *“Yeah!’? Fay became flippant. ‘“Leave it to the boss. I’m beginning to know something, too.’’ (Continued tomorrow) Page Nine