Inside the Law (1942)

Simply Perfect

How sad is this?

Good movie but grossly overrated

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

It certainly is a mad, mad, mad, mad world in this comedy of greed and unloyalty. It's all about a group of con artists who move to a small town near L.A. when they get a introduction letter that has gang leader Wallace Ford posing as a new bank manager in charge of the vault. Their plans are to stick around long enough to make a proper to get away, but when they get there they find that all that is there is chump change. Through Ford's crazy antics, the bank as soon filled with customers but individual greed amongst the group and Ford's decision to go straight has been at odds, with one of the gang members fighting to run off with the loot and Ford's girl, played by Luana Walters.Pretty innocuous and unbelievable, this has its amusements but it's a light lunch amongst the great cinema being produced during war time America. The poverty row studios didn't produce many comedies, but their expertise in crime films aided them in adding a comical twist to the plot line. There's a sly twinkle in Ford's eye, giving the viewer a knowing glance before the opening credits which is then repeated when he looks on at his gang of misfits in the very beginning. The auction scene opening is actually very funny. Even though they really don't have a major part in the plot, it's the three adorable elderly members of the group (particularly the little old lady who reminds me of both Ida Moore and the fruit of the loom lady who also jumped in glee in commercials for the Subaru years later.

The print I saw was 54 minutes, not the 61 minutes listed. What a bummer. As to be expected, the plot is so improbable as to be fun. Some small time crooks, including two who are quite elderly, end up – through a series of improbabilities, as employees in a small town bank. The crooks, led by Wally Ford have a turn - of – heart after attending a church service. All but one of them decides they would like to give up a life of crime and settle in this friendly (except for the Sheriff) little town. The crook who thinks this is a batty idea tries to get away with all the bank's deposits but fails. The "bad" guys are now the "good" guys and return all the loot they got from the auction house. This is not as good as many of the Wally Fords I have seen (could be because of the missing seven minutes) but is fast-paced, humorous and an amusing way to spend an hour.

On May 2, 1942, Warner Brothers released a wonderful comedy, "Larceny, Inc.". It had a very creative story--one that was astoundingly original and fun. Yet, oddly, only about a week later, the utterly craptastic studio, PRC, released "Inside the Law"--a film with a very similar plot. However, I must admit that the quality of the two films is VERY different--"Larceny, Inc." is a true classic, whereas "Inside the Law" is enjoyable despite its many deficiencies.The film begins with Wallace Ford orchestrating an amazing robbery during an auction. While this was pretty neat, the writing here really irritated me as they didn't do their homework. First, the auctioneer talked about a '2500 year-old Ming vase'--even though the oldest items from the Ming Dynasty are less than 700 years old. Second, he then repeated a common myth that Ben Franklin invented the rocking chair. Get your facts straight! Looking for their next caper, an opportunity falls right in their lap in the form of a drunk guy. It seems that the boozer has a letter of introduction to a bank--a letter recommending the bearer as the new bank manager. Ford decides to take the letter and the job--then hire his crooked gang members so they can pull a bank heist. In the meantime, the bank owner wants Ford to come up with some ideas to drum up business and Ford's bizarre ideas actually work--and he becomes very successful. On top of that, his friends like the stability of real jobs and they decide to go straight. The problem is, one of the gang members is a jerk and STILL wants to rob the bank. And, when he does, it's up to his old partners to track him down and return what he stole. The ending is pretty funny and the film is surprisingly good considering most of the films I've seen from PRC were just awful. Now I will admit that "Inside the Law" had some spotty writing and was far from a work of genius, but it was original ("Larceny, Inc." not withstanding) and entertaining. A minor film but a clever one.

This C picture was directed by Hamilton MacFadden, who directed some Charlie Chan pictures, but this was done on an even lower budget, say five dollars. Wallace Ford, known for years as a supporting character actor, actually achieved top billing in this, though there was little for him to do, certainly no acting. The film manages to be consistently amusing, despite being so low-grade. A group of seven con men and women start the picture by staging a fake fight at a Manhattan auction, and after the melee has ended they have vanished and so have the wallets and watches of everyone present. After this, they decide to head west, which is portrayed by an extraordinary montage sequence of changing scenery, with them ending up beside a road sign saying Los Angeles City Limits. They stop and scratch their heads and say: 'But where is Los Angeles?' because there is nothing there but bush and scrub. This was evidently meant to be a joke. Then a drunk driver turns up, is arrested and put away for thirty days, and they naturally pick his pockets, thereby gleaning a letter of introduction to take over a bank in the area. They all move in as the 'staff', only to find that the bank vault is empty, having been robbed. So instead of robbing it themselves, they have to fill it first, by soliciting deposits, which they successfully do. Then they decide why steal it when they can go straight, settle down, and go on running 'their' bank. Then one of them double-crosses them and waves various guns around, but ends up stealing an empty suitcase, and of course there is a suspicious sheriff who wants to arrest them all, and it gets more and more complicated. The script could have done very well with a good cast and director, but it holds up with a bad cast and bad director nonetheless. Well, not every film is brilliant, sometimes they are merely like this. It's short, funny, and corny, what more do you want?