7/10
On the lam
11 March 2024
John Garfield (Joe) is released from prison after being found innocent and now has a chip on his shoulder thanks to the penal system finding him guilty in the first place. He goes looking for work but gets caught jumping trains and his insolent manner does not help with his sentencing. He's back inside a corrective institution, this time a jail/work farm where he comes across Priscilla Lane (Mabel). Together, they make a break and try to live under the radar whilst being hunted for murder.

This film is a series of episodes which keep you watching until we get to a court case at the film's end which descends into sentimental claptrap and shoves Moroni Olson into the picture as a defense lawyer who is atrocious in his part. His monotone delivery is so off that his name becomes a true description (just drop the "i" from his first name) of his acting ability. It's a shame they had to change the original ending which would have left us with a better film. As it is, smiles all round.

There is a segment in which Garfield and Lane get fed up with each other along a road and decide to split up, even though they are newly married. The way the scene is filmed is tense and fraught with the realism of a relationship that will hook you into the sequence and have you rooting for them to stay together. Then a hitch-hiker stops to give Lane a lift. The behaviours and emotions during this sequence are spot on for anyone who has ever had a row and doesn't really want things to go the way they are going.

A few soppy moments (why does Ferike Boros always turn up as a sickeningly kind older lady - aaarrggh!) but an engaging film to watch.
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