I Don't Think He Ever Got Old

 

 (imdb)

YOUNG DILLINGER-1965-John Dillinger's (Nick Adams) girlfriend Elaine (Mary Ann Mobley) convinces him to rob her father so they can get married. John beats up the justice of the peace (Gene Roth) and they lam it. He's arrested later on. Elaine's father (Ted Knight) convinces him to plead guilty and not involve Elaine. Despite dad's promises, the judge (Walter Sande) gives John the maximum sentence. In jail, he meets Pretty Boy Floyd (Robert Conrad), Babyface Nelson (John Ashley) and Homer van Meter (Dan Terranova). They help John become a model prisoner so he can help them from the outside. When he's transferred to a state work farm, Elaine helps him escape. Outside, John meets Floyd's friend, mob boss Joe Rocco (Anthony Caruso) and gets beat up. He kills Rocco and his goons, then breaks his pals out of jail. Prof. Hoffman (Victor Buono) gets them an armored car to rob. That's fairly successful though John gets shot. He gets plastic surgery but the sleazy surgeon (John Hoyt) tries to rape Elaine. For some reason the surgery doesn't work so John drowns the doc. When the gang goes to the professor again he's being used by a federal agent (Reed Hadley) to set a trap. Joy Harmon plays Nelson's moll and Art Baker, Emile Meyer and Frank Gerstle are in it. 

Violent, mostly fictional crime drama directed by Terry Morse whose was mostly a film editor but did make some interesting movies like BRITISH INTELLIGENCE (1939) with Boris Karloff, TEAR GAS SQUAD (1940) co-starring George Reeves, 2 Sidney Toler Charlie Chan mysteries and was credited with the US filmed scenes in GODZILLA-KING OF MONSTERS (1956).

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Beaudine

 

GALLANT LADY-1942-Dr. Rosemary Walsh (Rose Hobart) in jail convicted of a mercy killing, is reluctantly involved in a jail break (she was handcuffed to one of the escapees). She decides to give herself up but is side tracked when she sets an old guy's broken leg. She meets Dr. Steve Carey (Sidney Blackmer) who knows she's an escaped con. He takes her under his wing but trouble brews when rumors about their relationship spread through town. After his sister Linda (Lynn Star) gets the lowdown, Steve admits he's in love and proposes marriage. Their plans don't work out so well as Steve punches the hick deputy. After Rosemary runs away, Steve is arrested. 

Rosemary takes refuge with Nick (Richard Clarke) & Nellie (Claire Rochelle) and henchman Baldy (Vince Barnett) the ones who broke her out in the first place. Bad move. They involve her in a bank robbery where a guard is killed and Nick is hit. Rosemary and Nellie rob a doctor at gunpoint for supplies so Rose can operate on Nick. Meanwhile Steve is taken a beating in his trial. Rosemary decides to go back and help but her bus crashes. When tending to the injured she's arrested. Steve is found not guilty and Rosemary is given a pardon. 

This run of the mill morality drama was directed by the super prolific William Beaudine and produced by the ultra cheap PRC. It also features one of the most horrible racist stereotypes of the only two black characters in the cast....

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Jail Busters

JAIL BUSTERS-1955-For some reason in this Bowery Boys entry, Chuck (David Gorcey) has become a newspaper reporter. His paper sends him undercover to the state pen to check out charges of corruption. He gets beaten up pretty badly and Slip (Leo Gorcey) vows revenge! 

He, Sach (Huntz Hall) and Butch (Bennie Bartlett) devise a plot to be put in jail to find out who's responsible. They think they are getting help from another reporter (Lyle Talbott; I've lost count how many of the series he's been in) but he just wants them to rob a jewelry store so he can pay off his gambling debts with the stolen goods. Of course this means "the boys" are sent to prison for real but don't realize it. Anthony Caruso is a jailed mobster, weasel voiced Percy Helton is the warden and Barton McLane is a corrupt prison guard. John Harmon, Fritz Feld, Henry Kulky and Emil Sitka all have un-billed roles. Bernard Gorcey as Louie is in it but only has a few scenes. Written by Edward Bernds and Ellwood Ullman. Directed by William Beaudine.

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Triple Trouble

TRIPLE TROUBLE-1950-For some reason "the boys" are walking around one night in Halloween masks even though it's not October. They witness a warehouse robbery but because of their masks they are all arrested! Their lawyer-friend Gabe (Gabriel Dell) gets them out in bail but when Whitey (Billy Bennedict) picks up some mysterious messages on his short wave radio emanating from the state prison Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) deliberately plead guilty so they can be sent to prison and investigate! 

Once there they are mistaken for real criminals and get involved in an outside robbery and a jail break with Sach acting goofier as it goes along. The other boys (David Gorcey and Buddy Gorman) help out as does Little Louie (Bernard Gorcey) who is always entertaining. Also with Joe Turkel, Paul Dubov, Tom Kennedy and Lyle Tabott in a small un-billed role. 

Once again Jean Yarbrough directed and Charles Marion wrote the screenplay. 

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Late Silent

THE GODLESS GIRL-1929-This interesting social drama is sometimes called director Cecil B. Demile's last silent film and first talkie! However the version I saw didn't have the sound part.

Judy, (Lina Basquette) the leader of "The Godless Society", an atheist group spreading across a local school is partially responsible for a huge riot (an excellent sequence) in which a woman is killed. Judy, would be convert boyfriend Bob (Tom Keene using his real name George Duryea) and comic relief atheist Bozo (Eddie Quillan) all go to jail where the men are at the mercy of The Brute (Noah Beery), the sadistic head guard. Ill fated Marie Prevost plays Mame a fellow inmate who befriends Judy. Eventually Judy and Bob escape for a while, declare their love for each other and then are recaptured.

The incredible climax takes place in the burning prison where Judy is trapped and Bob fights The Brute to save her. In the end faith in God and love win out. Many of the cast and crew were burned during the fire sequence.

Star Lina Basquette (widow of Sam Warner) should have been more famous but her career was marred by 9 marriages, legal troubles and 2 attempted suicides. She retired in 1943 but many years later appeared in one last film, Daniel Boyd's PARADISE PARK. Tom Keene became a low budget western star and also appeared in films (sometimes un-credited) under the name Richard Powers. Of course his last film appearance was in a something called PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE.

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