You Can't Beat the Law (1943)
A wild playboy is framed by crooks for a robbery he didn't commit and eventually lands in prison. There he becomes pals with the prison's most hardened criminal, who plans a daring escape.
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Good concept, poorly executed.
A Masterpiece!
It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Framed for a crime he didn't commit, playboy Edward Morris ends up in the slammer and becomes a pawn in an escape attempt after gaining favor with the new warden (Jack La Rue). Made a trustee, Morris goes to work at the home of one of the guards where he meets pretty Joan Woodbury, an old college classmate who had a crush on him in prison and is sure of his innocence. New warden La Rue goes out of his way to make some positive changes in the prison, but some of the more bitter prisoners don't like the changes and plot their escape anyway. After several twists and turns, Morris ends up on the other side of the prison bars, causing more resentment, This B prison drama tries to promote the idea that prisons need much reform in order to work, and while that's a nice idea, it is completely unrealistic in the sense that even though 75 years have gone by, nothing seems to have done, and the prisons are allegedly more overcrowded than ever. Morris and La Rue give sincere performances, and Woodbury is a lovely heroine, while a fine supporting cast gives typical tough and realistic performances. It's an interesting look at a continuing problem that tried to provide a solution that unfortunately has been ignored as the men who end up in lockdown for the rest of their lives.
Johnny Gray is a socialite with a bad attitude and finds himself in trouble with the law for minor selfish offences before finally getting framed for a robbery. In prison his outlook becomes bitter, and he plots an escape with other inmates while learning lessons of life from a convict on death row and a benevolent guard.It unfolds like any other Monogram picture with stiff acting from some of the cast along the way. It's not bad if you enjoy straightforward B-movie crime dramas. The cinematography is about as simple as it gets.It's not for everybody, but if you like Monogram crime movies it's what you are looking for.