It is very amusing to see Humphrey Bogart and Spencer Tracy extremely early in their film careers here. They truly were novices at the time of making this now creaky and sadly slightly offensive film. This was the year of "The Big House", MGM's prison drama that was gritty and raw, and then very daring. John Ford had directed over a hundred films by this time, but Fox's sound and photography departments were not all that great in making their early talkies move really fast (with the exception of a few musicals). Bogart and Tracy aren't really a team here; Tracy works more with Warren Hymer, as part of a comedy team, while Bogart is the romantic hero, paired with a female convict (Claire Luce). Like his real life upbringing, Bogart comes from a well-to-do family, and Luce's former boss (Morgan Wallace), who framed her for his crimes, uses that to try and get Bogart involved in his racket. Tracy and Hymer team together to escape from prison and help Bogart escape Collier's clutches. That's basically all there is.
There is a prison talent show in the middle of the film that has one of the most offensive uses of black-face I've ever seen in film. It makes Jolson's "Goin' to Heaven on a Mule" sequence in "Wonder Bar" appear tame by comparison. It's not even the act that is offensive; It is the interspersing of a black inmate laughing at the comedy duo's antics, giving the message that the blacks of the time found black-face acceptable. I think some poor extra got the shaft by being paid to sit in front of a camera and laugh, not knowing how that would end up being used. I shook my head in disgust at the inclusion of such a travesty. It may be 80 years later, and I'm glad these things are shown just to reveal how wrong and ridiculous they were to be considered entertainment in the first place.
This is probably recommended viewing for film students if only because of the two future mega stars and its major director, plus the sociological implications of the film. There is some good dialog with the women prisoners, and a supposedly wealthy do-gooder (Edythe Chapman) who shows kindness to the prisoners by visiting them with gifts, which adds a sudden humanity. The interaction of the warden's very young daughter with male prisoners may seem strange, but has some amusement to it. There are some nice character bits as well. But the print is so choppy with a lot of dialog glitches that general classic movie fans should be warned of this and other faults before viewing. Fortunately, it's part of a double bill on DVD with "When Willie Comes Marching Home", so its not a total loss.
There is a prison talent show in the middle of the film that has one of the most offensive uses of black-face I've ever seen in film. It makes Jolson's "Goin' to Heaven on a Mule" sequence in "Wonder Bar" appear tame by comparison. It's not even the act that is offensive; It is the interspersing of a black inmate laughing at the comedy duo's antics, giving the message that the blacks of the time found black-face acceptable. I think some poor extra got the shaft by being paid to sit in front of a camera and laugh, not knowing how that would end up being used. I shook my head in disgust at the inclusion of such a travesty. It may be 80 years later, and I'm glad these things are shown just to reveal how wrong and ridiculous they were to be considered entertainment in the first place.
This is probably recommended viewing for film students if only because of the two future mega stars and its major director, plus the sociological implications of the film. There is some good dialog with the women prisoners, and a supposedly wealthy do-gooder (Edythe Chapman) who shows kindness to the prisoners by visiting them with gifts, which adds a sudden humanity. The interaction of the warden's very young daughter with male prisoners may seem strange, but has some amusement to it. There are some nice character bits as well. But the print is so choppy with a lot of dialog glitches that general classic movie fans should be warned of this and other faults before viewing. Fortunately, it's part of a double bill on DVD with "When Willie Comes Marching Home", so its not a total loss.