"Shockproof" gets off to a solid start as a psychological crime drama. Cornel Wilde and Patricia Knight (then Wilde's real-life wife) are both attractive and convincing as a straight-arrow, somewhat naive, parole officer and a parolee in whom he takes far too personal an interest, portending trouble for both.
Without giving too much plot away, they end up on the lam, at which point both the action and the pair's decisions become increasingly less plausible, but well within the bounds of most viewers' willingness to suspend disbelief.
Ultimately the film makers seem to have painted themselves into a corner. The protagonists reach a point where any logical continuation can only lead to disaster for them. For whatever reason (studio pressure, perhaps) the last minute or so is the most blatantly improbable and unconvincing tacked-on happy ending in Hollywood history, or at least tied for that distinction.
So be forewarned: a gripping drama most of the way but the ending guaranteed to leave you figuratively scratching your head with a bad taste in your mouth. If you can overlook that, give it a whirl. If you can't, best watch something else.
Without giving too much plot away, they end up on the lam, at which point both the action and the pair's decisions become increasingly less plausible, but well within the bounds of most viewers' willingness to suspend disbelief.
Ultimately the film makers seem to have painted themselves into a corner. The protagonists reach a point where any logical continuation can only lead to disaster for them. For whatever reason (studio pressure, perhaps) the last minute or so is the most blatantly improbable and unconvincing tacked-on happy ending in Hollywood history, or at least tied for that distinction.
So be forewarned: a gripping drama most of the way but the ending guaranteed to leave you figuratively scratching your head with a bad taste in your mouth. If you can overlook that, give it a whirl. If you can't, best watch something else.