X Marks the Spot is a 1931 American pre-Code crime drama film directed by Erle C. Kenton and released by Tiffany Pictures, which operated from 1921 to 1932.
The source material was remade into a 1942 film of the same name. Helen Parrish appeared in both versions.
Plot Newspaper columnist Ted Lloyd borrows $5,000 from gangster Eddie Riggs to pay for an operation that might let his younger sister Gloria walk again. Soon after, showgirl Vivian Parker is strangled in her apartment, hours after a fight with Lloyd over a libel release, and the police arrest him for the murder. Lloyd's editor, George Howard, tracks Parker's missing jewels to Riggs, who confesses to Lloyd in private but reminds him of the debt. Riggs is convicted on Lloyd's testimony, then pulls a gun in the courtroom and demands Lloyd face him there, but Howard goes in Lloyd's place and shoots it out with Riggs.
Cast
Censorship Before X Marks the Spot could be exhibited in Kansas, the Kansas Board of Review required the elimination of a scene in reel 4, where a black porter is telling a story about dogs and poles.
References
External links
New York Times contemporary review