The Penalty (1941)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

When this film begins, the audience is taken for a real ride. The usually nice Edward Arnold turns out to be playing an amazingly cold and heartless guy. Surprisingly, this evil crook turns out to have a son (Gene Reynolds)--a teenager who idolizes him. So, even when Dad robs banks and kills people, the boy STILL thinks his father is great. When the boy is captured by the police, the kid naturally turns out to be incorrigible and gets himself thrown out of reform school. In an odd twist, however, instead of sending him to a worse facility, they parole him to a farmer (Robert Sterling). What the kid doesn't know is that the authorities expect the father to try to come back for him eventually--and then they'll spring the trap. But in the meantime, the boy is stuck on the place for some time--weeks or months. And in the process, for the first time, the boy ends up making connections with folks other than his Dad. What's next? See the film.While the plot is a bit moralistic and predictable at times, this still is a dandy movie mostly because of the great dialog and acting. Arnold is great as a Dillinger-type crook but the supporting actors and the writing really make the picture. Reynolds is great--mostly because he has some of the snappiest and most sarcastic comments I've ever heard from a kid! And, Lionel Barrymore, though he's only in the movie a bit, is terrific. The bottom line is that this film, though pretty much a B-movie, has the full MGM treatment--and is a fine and enjoyable picture throughout.

"The Penalty" is really about the character played by Gene Reynolds. It's a role similar to the one he had in "The Get-Away," another excellent film. He was a fascinating, intense young actor. He was sort of a teen-aged John Garfield. (I understand that the actor went on to win numerous Emmys producing for television. That's fine. Who knows how he would have matured and what sort of roles, if any, he would have got had he remained with acting.) The movie begins with the fine Edward Arnold in his usual genial manner. He is hiring men for a job, assuring them in a fatherly manner that they'll be paid well. But quickly we see that they are being hired as his stooges for a bank robbery. And that he yes, is fatherly: He is the father of the Reynolds character, who worships him.Arnold plays one bitter, nasty guy. And he's teaching his son to be as cold and cynical as he is. His girl friend, played by the entertaining Veda Ann Borg, may not worship him. But she worships the furs and other finery his ill-gotten money buys her.The bulk of "The Penalty" takes place on a farm where Reynolds is sent while dad is on the lam. No more about the plot other than to mention the people in this new home: Robert Sterling is excellent as the farmer. Marsha Hunt is appealing as his lady friend, the local schoolteacher. Lionel Barrymore is her father. As he often did, he plays variations on his standard persona: When he's talking about young Reynolds or young Sterling, he could as easily be speaking of young Dr. Kildaire.The movie has a little of everything: It's exciting and suspenseful. It's funny at times. And it's sad. I recommend it very highly.

I'm a big fan of old movies (keep my TV tuned to TCM mostly) and I've been noticing Gene Reynolds a lot more lately. I'm sure I've been aware of him in the past because looking at his credits I've seen several of his films as a child star. Why he's not better known for this is a wonder to me.Slightly Spoilerish Plot Points below.I watched The Penalty this morning and he was just great in this film. It's a slight little film (less than 90 minutes) but it was long enough for him to make a transition from a tough gangster's kid to a responsible ward of a good farmer. He conveys emotions well. He's just as good as Freddy Bartholomew or Mickey Rooney, who I supposed were the biggest male child stars of the late 30's and early 40's. In fact he's more subtle than Rooney, whom I admire.The rest of cast is good too including Edward Arnold as the father, Robert Sterling as his guardian, and Marsha Hunt & Lionel Barrymore as neighbors who help Sterling turn the boy around.

A very good film, with actors ranging from Lionel Barrymore to Edward Arnold, but this film really hinges on the acting ability of Gene Reynolds. Mr. Reynolds dominates this film and for a teen actor, he carries the film very well. I found this film to be very good and really kept this viewer's attention from beginning to end. Be sure and catch this film the next time it is on television--another "small" film that is worth seeing!!