Sunday, December 24, 2023

DON'T TURN EM LOOSE 1936 (TCM)

Very interesting film and one I had never heard of before.

Bruce Cabot stars as Robert Webster, a notorious gangster who uses many other names as well. In the opening scene we see him as he stands before the parole board as his crying wife holds their infant daughter and pleads for mercy.

He is granted parole, and then we find out that the woman really isn't his wife and that the woman rented the infant as a prop!! No sooner than he is released does Webster plan other robberies.

He and his gang make a major theft from a bank and everyone goes on the lamb. Webster has his entire familty fooled into believing that he is an upstanding person who has been overseas doing business work. He is highly respected and admired.

His father, John Webster (Lewis Stone), sister Mildred (Berry Grable) and mother Helen (Nella Walker) all believe the lie and everything seems to be going ok until Robert decides to pull another job and he is caught and sent to jail. His partners in crime Pete (Frank Jenks) and Vic (Harry Jans) make it appear that Robert has left for a location overseas on business.

While Robert is in prison, his father is appointed to the parole board and when Robert once again appears in front of them John is shocked and then he's blackmailed into granting parole to Robert.

As you can see the plot is very intricate, and there are plenty more twists and turns before the climax. I enjoyed this a lot and it did help entertain me thru this very difficult time in my life.

Cabot is in top notch form and if you get a chance you might want to catch this unsung gem.

No comments:

Post a Comment