Invisible Stripes (1939)

An ex-con who wants to go straight has difficulties trying to reintegrate into society while on parole.

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Warren Duff (screen play), Jonathan Finn (from a story by)

Stars:

George Raft, Jane Bryan, William Holden

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Raft	...	Cliff Taylor
Jane Bryan	...	Peggy
William Holden	...	Tim Taylor
Humphrey Bogart	...	Chuck Martin
Flora Robson	...	Mrs. Taylor
Paul Kelly	...	Ed Kruger
Lee Patrick	...	Molly
Henry O'Neill	...	Parole Officer Masters
Frankie Thomas	...	Tommy
Moroni Olsen	...	The Warden
Margot Stevenson	...	Sue
Marc Lawrence	...	Lefty
Joe Downing	...	Johnny (as Joseph Downing)
Leo Gorcey	...	Jimmy
William Haade	...	Shrank

Storyline

Cliff Taylor (George Raft) and Chuck Martin (Humphrey Bogart) leave prison together. Cliff tries the straight life but falls back into crime with Chuck and his gang. When he makes enough to enable his brother Tim (William Holden) to buy a garage and marry his sweetheart, Cliff quits crime again. But when he tries to help Chuck later on, he's implicated again.

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Plot Keywords:

garage | prison | parole | police | toolbox | 

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Taglines:

Three Men and a Girl... Bound by Invisible Ties - Branded by Invisible Stripes

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tim say he earns $20.00 a week in 1939 dollars which is equalivant to $370.14 in July 2020 dollars. He specuates that in twenty years he could be earning $30.00 a week. In 1959 that $30.00 per week would be equal to $268.04 in July 2020 dollars.

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Goofs

Cliff arrives home from prison and unwraps a parcel and puts the contents on the dining room table. Later, when Peggy and Tim arrive, Mrs. Taylor is seen holding a beaded purse, which appears to be what Cliff brought home. Nothing is mentioned about the item, so there must have been a deleted scene.

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Quotes

Shorty - Mug at Party: What's the matter with you, Chuck? I don't fool with no other guy's dames.
Molly: [Sarcastically] I can believe that.

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Connections

Featured in TCM Guest Programmer: Robert Redford & David Lowery (2018)

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Soundtracks

It Had to Be You
(1924) (uncredited)
Music by Isham Jones
Played at the cafe after the bank robbery

User Reviews

Fun & Entertaining

"Invisible Stripes" is by no means a great film but I enjoy the heck out of it. Any crime picture that has George Raft and Humphrey Bogart is going to be worth a look. Here they play two cons: Raft planning to go straight and provide for his Mom and kid brother while Bogey returns to his criminal ways. There are so many interesting angles to this picture for true film buffs. First, Raft's younger brother is played by 21 year old William Holden in his second film. Watching him in this it is amazing he made many more; he is pretty whiny and forgettable as the hotheaded sibling. The great British actress Flora Robson plays their mother in a colossal bit of miscasting but since her role is minimal she retains her dignity (although some of the lovey-dovey exchanges with her movie son Raft are borderline incestuous). Bogey is his typical brilliant self and easily walks off with the picture. While he is continuing his cycle of bad-guy supporting roles his character is not without some redeeming features. Cast as his moll is Lee Patrick; the two would combine again in a couple of years as Sam Spade & Effie Perrine in "The Maltese Falcon." Another interesting footnote in the film is the brief appearance of Leo Gorcey as a department store clerk.

And finally I come to the star, George Raft. He has gained a reputation as a mercilessly wooden performer and some of it is deserved. I have always liked him and find this performance relatively solid; he is acted off the screen by Bogart in their scenes together and his one shot at emoting over his plight as an ex-con is comical but in the overall he is very likable. This is the kind of role Raft wanted to play: the tough guy who is good to his Ma, loyal to his friends, and possessing a strict code of ethics. Despite turning down nearly every role that made Bogart a star, Raft's brief career at Warners represents his best work.

If you are a fan of old Warners crime pictures you will have a good time with "Invisible Stripes."

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 December 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Invisible Stripes

Filming Locations:

Sing Sing Penitentiary - 354 Hunter Street, Ossining, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1