User Reviews

Producer: William Jacobs. Copyright 23 July 1942 by Warner Bros Pictures, Inc. A Warner Bros-First National picture. New York opening at the Palace on the bottom half of a double bill with Here We Go Again: 11 October 1942. U.S. release: 25 July 1942. Australian release: 6 December 1945 (sic). 51 minutes. Censored to slightly less than 50 minutes in Australia.

SYNOPSIS: Ex-convict newspaper photographer is persecuted by a suspicious detective.

COMMENT: One of the best "B" thrillers ever made, this one's a re-make of the 1933 James Cagney starrer, Picture Snatcher. Doubtless stock footage is used here but it's not all that easy to detect because James Van Trees has skilfully attuned his camerawork to the lighting, grading and contrast of the original's Sol Polito.

The present script is certainly taut and rapid-paced. With the help of an extremely competent cast, including Jackie Gleason as a convict, D. Ross Lederman has directed in an astonishingly fast and inventive manner. Studded with thrilling action sequences, the picture develops into a thrillingly spectacular climax.

Fast moving, relatively short film (based on Picture Snatcher (1933), but actually quite different) with lots of excitement to keep one engaged in the action.

A guy (Richard Travis), who took prison mug shots, gets out of prison, promising not to come back (or at least get caught again) to his police nemesis (Wade Boteler), who he runs into on his way out the door. The guy is picked up by one of his old gang, and it appears that he'll soon be back in trouble. He is taken to the house of his ex-girl (Julie Bishop), only to find that he's the father of a baby with her. This convinces him he must go straight. After struggling to find a job as a photographer, he's in the right place at the right time to snap pictures of a bank robbery (by his old gang, it turns out) in progress. He is instantly hired by the newspaper which had turned him down previously (they were not willing to hire an ex-con). His old police nemesis is suspicious of how he happened to be at the bank around the time of the robbery to get the pictures and decides to visit him at his house. His best buddy from the old gang, who was hurt in the robbery, shows up at his house about the same time (as the cop) needing help. The ex-con helps him, using his own baby as a decoy to convince the cop he's gone straight. The cop understands, apologizes, but then lets on that he saw blood on the carpet, saying "you should take care of that, else someone's liable to think you were involved in the robbery". The ex-con makes good as a newspaper photographer, earning a raise, but is then asked to take picture of his buddy getting "fried" in the electric chair (for another raise and $1,000).

He agrees, using the cop to gain access to the prison and sneak the illegal picture. When the cop finds out, he is furious and apprehends the ex-con. However, while taking him in, the cop learns that the ex-con's old gang (headed by Paul Fix) is hold up in a building nearby and goes to assist in the "shootout" (which is laughable, at best - windows aren't hit by police bullets, don't fall apart when they are;-). The ex-con assists in capturing his old gang and is pardoned for his help, thanks to the cop he helped credit with the collar.

Got to like a movie with characters named Slim, Red, Buff, Dude, and Screwball. In fact, the dialogue has all the '40s lingo down--with its very apt staccato delivery; "Ya big lug" and "frying the pants off" being particular gems. Red O'Hara (Richard Travis) has to get "wise to himself" to fit back into society after getting out of "stir". The premise is original in that it's a random crime that both gets the protagonist back into his newspaper job and messes him up with hoods again. Photographing his friend's execution is a uniquely macabre 'set-up'.

Travis's range is fairly wide--his Red is a regular guy, mixing with cops, criminals, and his wife and son with appropriate nuance. The little bit where he improvises a bunny puppet to entertain his son is pretty cool. His news photos make a great action-filled montage. Speaking of action--the execution deal itself is straight horror--with shadow-figures on the wall in the tomb-like room. What drives the plot isn't just crime--it's sensationalist journalism. Red was pressured to photograph the execution at the risk of losing his job; his boss just assumes that he can make Red do anything for money.

Until the very last scene, Red is manipulated by all sides, never able to let his guard down. His constant sparring with the cops Biff (Wade Boteler) and Rafferty (John Hamilton) highlights their willingness to believe in him without directly compromising themselves. That things do work out for Red seems almost as much a lucky break as the result of his genuine efforts to rehabilitate himself. That's what gives Escape From Crime a touch of film noir--showing the power of fate; and life as a (sometimes deadly) game. Red puts on that he's gone back to the dark side during the climactic shoot-out scene, but quickly turns the tables again to gain the advantage on Slim and Dude. Even the happy ending begins as a ruse, Red thinking he's still in hot water with the warden over the execution photo.

The pacing is probably the best thing here; it keeps the interest level high and adds to the built-in sense of drama. I really don't find anything much to complain about. Sure, the big shoot-out leaves us many bullet holes short of authenticity, but after the cops seem to miss everything, they start hitting everything. Works out o.k. Very entertaining overall, worth watching for the action alone. 8/10.