Jail Bait (1937) User Reviews

A few good moments, but mostly pretty dull

[Chrissie · 5/10 · 31 October 2009]

There are a few shining moments in "Jail Bait", in which Buster Keaton treats us to some of his physical magic. Overall, however, "Jail Bait" serves as yet another example of a talkie written, produced, and directed by people who clearly didn't grasp the naiveté and innocence of a genuine Keaton character. They instead produced a mawkish simpleton. He possesses no traits to endear him to us -- no pluck, no wit, no perseverance. His only motive -- love for a girl who clearly doesn't even know he exists -- only underscores the fact that he's clueless, dimwitted, and oblivious. And unlike a real Keaton character, who triumphs due to his own persistence and ingenuity, the hapless hero of "Jail Bait" succeeds only through sheer dumb luck and a touch of deus ex machina.

"Jail Bait" isn't as painful to watch as "Free and Easy", which left me unsure which I wanted to do more, cry or vomit. But it's not a pleasure, either.

Buster goes to jail

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 13 November 2018]

This is a rather silly Buster Keaton short and he talks!

Buster plays a rather old office boy for a newspaper. A reporter in order to share the ransom with Buster, asks Buster to confess to a crime of murder and get himself jailed.

The reporter who has a good idea of who the actual murderer is will go and find the culprit. While Buster is in jail, he finds out that the reporter died in a plane crash. Now Buster needs to escape from jail before he gets hanged.

The story is nonsense and unfortunately Buster is portrayed as a simpleton. There is still enough slapstick for Buster to show his comedy skills.

Keaton comedy short

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 18 November 2018]

JAIL BAIT is a simple comedy short starring the one and only Buster Keaton, the man possessed of one of the stoniest faces outside of Japanese action cinema. Keaton plays a reporter who ends up posing as a murderer and in the process inadvertently catches the real killer. At just 20 minutes this flies along rapidly, although it's never quite as amusing as it wants to be and it has dated greatly, feeling at least twenty years older than it actually is.

One Of Buster's Better 'Talkies'

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 31 October 2007]

Boy, it was odd to actually hear Buster Keaton's voice. After watching almost all of his silent films, it was kind of shock for me to hear him utter his first words ("What happened?") His voice is a little shaky but that fits him. Keaton is famous for his silent films but he did make a few good short "talkies" and this is one of them.

You can still see him doing what he does best: pratfalls and other slapstick routines. As everyone knows, he was a master at that and his physical prowess was unmatched. Speaking of physicality, he plays a "fall guy" for his reporter-friend, who wants to capture a criminal. Nobody in their right mind would go to jail, with a good possibility of being hanged, just to help his pal out and get $98 so he can buy a diamond ring for his girl......except Buster!

Overall, there are enough jokes in this dated little short to make most Keaton fans happy and amuse others, too.

The chief of police is played by Bud Jamison, a frequent foil of The Three Stooges around this period." Actually, that's apt because this short had a definite Three Stooges atmosphere to it.

Pretty poor stuff...

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 9 July 2011]

Wow does this Buster Keaton film have a contrived plot--and one that is hardly reminiscent of his better days in film. It begins with a murder-kidnapping (now THAT'S funny!). A reporter has a lead but comes up with an insane plan--to have his roommate (Buster) confess to the crime while he searches for the real culprits. This makes no sense at all and you sure wish they had spent more than 40 seconds working on the script! Not surprisingly, Buster is sentenced to death and he hears nothing from his 'friend'--as the guy was killed in a plane crash (ho-ho, death in a plane crash--now THAT'S also hilarious!). Just who thought that this was a funny setup for a comedy?! Well, it does get better fortunately, as some of the gags in the prison are pretty cute. Buster's jailbreak is pretty well done and soon he hooks up with the real gang. However, by then it's just a little too late--the last portion of the film can't make up for the first portion. Plus, a very abrupt ending seemed almost tacked on--and came from out of nowhere. This is certainly one of Keaton's worst efforts for Educational--mostly because the entire plot just makes no sense at all.

Keaton Talks!

[Igenlode Wordsmith · 8/10 · 29 March 2006]

*This* is what Buster Keaton should have been doing, in those big-budget years at MGM; not grappling with dames in costly furs and dodgy dialogue. This is what the opening of "Spite Marriage" might have been, if he'd been allowed to make it as a talkie -- this is how the start of "Sidewalks of New York" might have come out, if he'd had any control over the script.

But this isn't a feature film; it's a Poverty Row short, and the date is not 1930 but 1937. We'll never know what Keaton might have produced for MGM if he had only been consulted in the matter, and hyperbole is out of place when dealing with the output of the all-too-grandly-named Educational Film Corporation of America. It remains nevertheless the case that this is a thoroughly attractive little comedy, the equal of many of his silent shorts of the 1920s -- minus the intertitles, plus sound.

The storyline is plausible, ingenious, satisfying and yet bizarre. The set-piece jokes are good ones, often classics to rival any of his earlier work, as in the sequence when he does his best to get arrested, or the scene where he enters the cell as possibly the least escape-prone prisoner in history! His physical gifts are displayed to good advantage, with the pratfalls of the MGM years all but forgotten in favour of gags that actually advance the plot -- "Jail Bait" is no masterpiece, deprived of any chance at beauty by its inescapable financial constraints, but it shares almost all the ingredients of Keaton's best work. And quite simply, it's very funny; the old magic strikes again.

More than that -- by and large it's "right", in a way that Keaton films had once always been right: everything fits. It's clever, it's good, and it's authentic Buster, as effective as ever... what more can one ask?

Has Some Very Good Sequences, & Keaton is In Good Form

[Snow Leopard · 10 March 2005]

The short feature "Jail Bait" has some very good moments, and Buster Keaton is in good form. Despite his personal struggles during this part of his life, when he had the chance to perform good material, he could still do it well. This movie offers him some sequences that go quite well with his talents.

The story has Buster as an office boy who allows a reporter to use him as a decoy in the hunt for a wanted criminal, resulting in some amusing tangles. The movie starts a bit slowly as things are set up, and it is a while before Keaton gets to take center stage. But once the story gives him a chance, the movie picks up considerably, and it becomes very amusing at times.

Buster gets the chance to use his trademark deadpan reactions on several occasions, and he carries it off as effectively as ever. He also gets some good chances for physical comedy, with one particularly funny sequence when he is trying to attract the attention of a policeman.

Overall, "Jail Bait" is definitely above average for its time and genre, thanks primarily to the comic timing and slapstick skills of Buster Keaton.

Mixture of gangster/prison drama and farce doesn't seem to work.

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 28 December 2016]

A befuddling and aggravating two reeler that is part "Crime Does Not Pay" short and little bits of inserted farce, this is a puzzlement as I wonder how it's script got picked up by Educational. I sat by stone faced as Buster Keaton pretends to be a gangster as a cop chats on a payphone, hoping that he will be arrested. Keaton goes through various skits and scenarios as he attempts to be noticed, and of course, it's the most innocuous situation that gets him put in lock up. From there, it's just moments until he is involved in an escape, rolling off a truck, wearing a barrel, and crashing into a large group of escapees. I found it just unbelievable and uninteresting, a mixture of themes that doesn't do anything but sit there, water on the bottom, oil on the top.

A little gem

[tom.hamilton · 13 February 2003]

SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD Despite their low budgets and rushed schedules many of Buster Keaton's Educational-period films are quite enjoyable, whilst a few, (such as this and Grand Slam Opera), are almost on a par with his silent work. Jail Bait is a fast moving gem, packing a great deal into it's 18 minutes. Yet it doesn't feel rushed and both story line and direction are distinctly Keatonesque. Buster, unable to buy his girl an engagement ring, frames himself for a murder so his best friend can track down the real killer and they can share the reward. His friend - frequent co-star Harry Goodwin - flies off to find the killer on board a plane ominously numbered 13. Meanwhile Buster tries to get himself arrested - a delightful sequence of Buster acting suspicious for a disinterested cop. Finally arrested for jay walking - then let off - Buster storms back into the station amd dramatically announces his guilt. He is tried and sentenced to death for the crime, but is not even slightly fazed - Buster shakes the judge's hand in gratitude. What makes this so enjoyable is that the style is completely in keeping with his silent work For example on death row, an unflappable Buster informs his prison warder that the bars are broken in his cell, and, blissfully confident of his imminent reprieve, picks up an old newspaper to browse. As he read we see the front page headline telling of the fatal crash of Flight 13. When Buster turns the paper round and reads this we don't see his expression change - the camera just pulls out from the paper as it starts violently shaking in his hands. What follows is a series of inventive and often hilarious gags as Buster has to escape and track down the real killer.

All things considered this a near vintage Keaton and demonstrates that given some creative freedom, and a compatible (Lamont), Buster could work wonders. 8/10

Almost Vintage

[frankebe · 8/10 · 21 March 2010]

I think this is an excellent Keaton short, equivalent of "The Chemist" and "The Gold Ghost", the other two Educational Keaton films I like the most (I know, I know, everyone thinks "Grand Slam Opera" is the best but me...). What helps enormously is the crisp and clear picture quality afforded us on the KEATON PLUS DVD put out by Kino in 2001. I have read many complaints about this series of Keaton movies being "poverty row" efforts, and that they have a depressed and defeated look to them. Well, if we could get ALL the Educational films restored this way, the comedy could sparkle a bit more and the movies would feel less grungy. This is a great example.

Lesser Keaton

[Michael_Elliott · 12 March 2008]

Jail Bait (1937)

** (out of 4)

Buster Keaton turns himself into the police saying he's a wanted murderer so that his reporter friend can have time to track down the real killer. The only problem is that the friend is killed leaving Keaton on his own. Here's another short made during the low point of Keaton's career and once again we only get a few chuckles without any major laughs. The prison break scene is the only real highlight, although the film remains watchable throughout.

Allez-Oop! (1934)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Buster Keaton falls in love with a girl but she loves a circus performer so Keaton tries to beat him at his own game. This is a very bland, completely unfunny short that Keaton made during his low point. There are a couple cuckles but most of the gags fall flat on their face including a horrid attempt at a silent scene, which was meant to be a throwback to Keaton's glory days. The incredibly mean spirited and somewhat violent ending is rather odd as well. More sad than anything else.