Monday, February 25, 2019

JAIL BAIT 1954 (IMAGE)

Interesting crime drama directed by Ed Wood.

As far as I can tell the title refers to the gun a gangster character carries in the film.

Vic Brady (Timothy Farrell) is a slimy gangster that drags a young man named Don Gregor (Clancy Malone) into a world of crime eventually leading to murder.

Don's father (Herbert Rawlinson) is a famous plastic surgeon who, along with Don's sister Marilyn (Delores Fuller) tries to keep him on the straight and narrow, but Don wants to follow Vic.

During a burglary Don kills a night watchman and decides to turn himself in so Vic kills him. With the heat on from two cops, Lt. Bob Lawrence (Steve Reeves) and Inspector Johns (Lyle Talbot) he comes up with what he thinks is a brilliant plan.

Vic tells Dr. Gregor that he is holding is son until he performs plastic surgery on him and changes his face. Vic and his girlfriend Loretta (Tedi Thurman) force the doc and his daughter to perform the surgery. Dr. Gregor discovers Don's dead body and plots a very unique revenge.

This Wood film isn't as bad as people say and it moves along very well. There is a bizarre scene in a nightclub that features a comedy routine with an actor in blackface and it really doesn't fit, but it makes the running time longer I guess.

I liked this movie and am not ashamed to admit it. Actor Herbert Rawlinson died just days after making this film from cancer. The print from Image is very good and if you haven't seen it and enjoy crime dramas, you might like it.

The rest of the cast includes Mona McKinnon, Bud Osborne and Don Nagel.

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