THE OUTER GATE

US, 1937, 62 minutes, Black-and-white.
Ralph Morgan, Kay Linekar, Ben Alexander, Edward Acuff, Charles Brockaw.
Directed by Ray Cannon.

The small supporting feature is something of a moral parable treating themes of revenge, forgiveness and atonement. While it has conventional ingredients, the screenplay is very high-minded.

Ralph Morgan, always reliable, portrays an industrialist, sympathetic to a young man in his employee, played by Ben Alexander (not particularly well or sympathetically, rather stolid even in his manner and walk). The industrialist daughter, Kate Lineker, is attracted to the young man.

The surprise complication comes when the young man is accused of embezzlement, the industrialist being a strict letter-of the-law man is personally sympathetic but very much on the side of strict justice. The young man goes to jail.

In jail, he becomes even more embittered against the industrialist, getting support from a sympathetic- mate. Suddenly, after five years of prison, the culprit commit suicide leaving a note.

When the young man is released, he is bent on revenge, so that the industrialist will know exactly how he felt. The industrialist, meanwhile, is truly repentant and wants to do all it can for the young man, as does his daughter. They even invite him to live in their home. He is turned down from jobs, even though he was innocent, but eventually gets a good job in a fancy restaurant, also enabling his self-mate to get the job as well. The soul-mate has something of a change of heart artery meets the daughter.

However, criminals connected with the restaurant get the key to the safe and steal bonds which the industrialist is keeping before banking having persuaded number of friends to invest in a project.

The industrialist goes to court, does not defend himself, is sentenced to jail. The young man has a certain satisfaction and seems impervious to changing his mind, despite a visit from the daughter. It is only when there is a showdown in the restaurant in the cell-mate is shot, that the young man realises that his vengeance will imprison him for the rest of his life.

The character played by Ralph Morgan is exceedingly edifying, giving at moralising tone to the film.