This film is very entertaining but simply never makes any sense--like the studio hired monkeys to write much of the film. The story begins with Mae Clark and her accomplice conning some department stores out of money. However, when Clark is eventually caught (and rightfully so--she is after all a thief), she vows to destroy a man who worked for a department store that insisted she be prosecuted (Ralph Bellamy). So, as she sits in jail she spends all her energy thinking about how to hurt this one particular man--which makes no sense since they never even met in the film. Why she should hate this particular man and not the judge or prosecuting attorney or her accomplice (who pushed her into a life of crime)? And, what makes even less sense is that her plot is then so complicated! This just didn't make sense and made me a bit annoyed. After all, there were some good story elements and good actors but the plot just seemed 100% contrived.
Here is the crazy plot. Once Clark gets out of jail, she meets Bellamy and gets him drunk. Then, she produces a fake marriage certificate the next morning--which complicates his life, as he already is married--to a lady that Clark met while in prison!!! Wow, the odds of this are 68 bazillion to one! So, to avoid being arrested for bigamy, he agrees to let her lead him around by the nose and make him 100% miserable. Why didn't he immediately go to the police and report the blackmail? This is especially true since being drunk is a legitimate reason to nullify the wedding--at which point they would have found out that the new wedding was a hoax. I just hate films where people do things that no logical or reasonable person would have done. Again and again, both Clark and Bellamy react in the least logical manner imaginable. The worst is a bit later when Clark is caught committing another crime and Bellamy could have just let the police take her away--yet he vouches for her and prevents her arrest!! And, sadly, although she is evil, you KNOW that by the end of the film everything will work out perfectly--making it predictable and very formulaic. How such a cretin like Clark could become a good and decent lady by the end of the film makes no sense--especially since she worked so long and so hard to destroy Bellamy!! This all is a shame. As I said, the actors were good and with a Pre-Code title like "Parole Girl" you'd expect a lot more pizazz and fireworks--not a contrived and limp story like this one.
Despite disliking much of the film, I did like the character played by Bellamy's boss. He was a great character--well acted and fascinatingly different. He was a wonderful addition to the film and perhaps this represents a portion of the film NOT written by the monkeys!!
Here is the crazy plot. Once Clark gets out of jail, she meets Bellamy and gets him drunk. Then, she produces a fake marriage certificate the next morning--which complicates his life, as he already is married--to a lady that Clark met while in prison!!! Wow, the odds of this are 68 bazillion to one! So, to avoid being arrested for bigamy, he agrees to let her lead him around by the nose and make him 100% miserable. Why didn't he immediately go to the police and report the blackmail? This is especially true since being drunk is a legitimate reason to nullify the wedding--at which point they would have found out that the new wedding was a hoax. I just hate films where people do things that no logical or reasonable person would have done. Again and again, both Clark and Bellamy react in the least logical manner imaginable. The worst is a bit later when Clark is caught committing another crime and Bellamy could have just let the police take her away--yet he vouches for her and prevents her arrest!! And, sadly, although she is evil, you KNOW that by the end of the film everything will work out perfectly--making it predictable and very formulaic. How such a cretin like Clark could become a good and decent lady by the end of the film makes no sense--especially since she worked so long and so hard to destroy Bellamy!! This all is a shame. As I said, the actors were good and with a Pre-Code title like "Parole Girl" you'd expect a lot more pizazz and fireworks--not a contrived and limp story like this one.
Despite disliking much of the film, I did like the character played by Bellamy's boss. He was a great character--well acted and fascinatingly different. He was a wonderful addition to the film and perhaps this represents a portion of the film NOT written by the monkeys!!