Ruth Snyder - Depiction in Popular Media

Depiction in Popular Media

  • Sophie Treadwell's play Machinal (1928) was inspired by the life and execution of Ruth Snyder.
  • T. S. Matthews based his novel To the Gallows I Must Go (1931) on the case.
  • The character, Police Inspector Oscar Piper, played by James Gleason in the movie Penguin Pool Murder (1932) considers if the wife of the victim is letting the blame fall on her boyfriend as in the case of Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray.
  • The Pre-Code Hollywood films Blessed Event (1932) and Picture Snatcher (1933) make references to Snyder's execution.
  • The case was the inspiration for the novel Double Indemnity (1943) by James M. Cain, which was later adapted for the screen (1944) by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler.
  • Cain also mentioned that his book The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) took inspiration from the crime.
  • In The Thing from Another World (1951), photographer Scotty (Douglas Spencer) informs the USAF crew that he attended the execution of Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray.
  • In The Bad Seed, William March based his depiction of Bessie Denker's execution upon that of Ruth Snyder.
  • Guns N' Roses' 1991 Use Your Illusion albums feature, as part of their enclosed artwork, a photo of the band posing in front of an over-sized reproduction of the Daily News' headline/photograph announcing Ruth Snyder's execution.
  • The novel A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion (2011), by Ron Hansen, is based on the murder case.

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