"A Different Hollywood"

Hollywood films in the early 1930s were wild in ways that might surprise theatergoers today. Films featuring gangsters, violence and illegal substances packed the movie houses, even as the nation was suffering through a brutal crime wave.

The belief that certain actors were ne'er-do-wells off camera as well only heightened their popularity. One such rumor, for example, was that George Raft was an actual mobster.

So it was no surprise then when actor Paul Kelly emerged from San Quentin State Prison after serving time for homicide, he was able to stage a successful Hollywood comeback.