Escape from Crime (1942)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

D. Ross Lederman

Writers:

Daniel Ahern (story)
Raymond L. Schrock (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 July 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

I loved a guy with a gun --

Plot:

Ex-con Red O'Hara becomes a daring news photographer, but his old ways get him into trouble.

Plot Keywords:

Photographer | Bank Robbery | Prison | Detective | Editor

Cast

Richard Travis	...	Red O'Hara
Julie Bishop	...	Molly O'Hara
Jackie Gleason	...	Evans - Convict Getting Mug Shot (as Jackie C. Gleason)
Frank Wilcox	...	Cornell
Rex Williams	...	Slim Dugan
Wade Boteler	...	Lieutenant 'Biff' Malone
Charles C. Wilson	...	Reardon - Editor (as Charles Wilson)
Paul Fix	...	Dude Merrill
Ruth Ford	...	Myrt - Slim's Moll
John Hamilton	...	Rafferty
Ann Corcoran	...	Belle Mason - Dude's Moll
Ben Taggart	...	Warden Kirby

Runtime:

51 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #8272)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Harry Arras died of a heart attack on set while shooting a scene for this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: Charles Sherlock is seen as the killer of the policeman during the bank robbery, and as Butch Medford is reported to be one of the three to be executed. After the executions, he is still seen as one of the gangsters in the gunfight at the end, then called Charlie.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Picture Snatcher (1933)

Programmer of the Period

No need to recap the already-reviewed plot. The movie is a good example of an assembly line product that studios rushed into production for undemanding wartime audiences at a time when they were crowding theaters in record numbers. The film itself may be unmemorable, but the results still show slick professionalism of the studio system (here, Warner Bros.). It's also a chance for a newcomer like Travis to get needed exposure. He's Hollywood handsome, performs capably enough, but leaves no lasting impression and is a good example of an actor whose real medium turned out to be TV. Ditto comedian Jackie Gleason and William Hopper of old Perry Mason show in a bit part. In fact this is precisely the level of entertainment that would later transition to TV without missing a beat.

In passing—was there any cop during this period who wasn't Irish. My guess is that the stereotype was a safe and popular one because it raised no controversial connotations, unlike, say, a German or French cop. Also, both shootouts are rather conspicuously overdone. Note in the hotel room how the windowpane manages not to shatter despite fusillade after fusillade of police bullets. I suspect this was an effort to generate an appearance of more action in a crime drama that's otherwise somewhat short of the norm. Anyway, the 53 minutes remains a good example of routine bottom-of-the-bill entertainment, circa 1942.