PRISON BREAK
US, 1938, 72 minutes, Black-and-white.
Barton Mac Lane, Glenda Farrell, Paul Hurst, Constance Moore, Edward Pawley, Edmund Mac Donald, Ward Bond, Guy Usher, John Russell, Thomas Loudon.
Directed by Arthur Lubin.
As the title suggests, this is a prison film and the buildup to a breakout. However, there is more to it, quite some humanity in a small budget supporting feature.
The star is Barton Mac Lane, college football player, burly, who played a number of heroes and, especially, villains in his career. Here he is Joaquin, a tuna fisherman with his boat off California, intending to marry Jean, a sympathetic Glenda Farrell, who has a young son (a not very persuasive John Russell). His sister is about to marry one of his crew. Not all is well, however, because Jean’s father is quite hostile to the wedding and persuades his son to attack Joaquin.
The group are celebrating and all is festive, looking forward to the wedding. However, a sinister character in hat and overcoat, Big Red Kincaid, played by a tough and sinister Ward Bond, steals money and is attacked by the drunken prospective of groom. He kills Jean’s brother. Joaquin wanders out, thinks that his brother-in-law has killed the man, nobly takes his place, is arrested, taken to court, condemned to prison for manslaughter.
Joaquin has a tough time in jail, trying to get parole and get out to be married. However, Kincaid is back in jail, Lord it over everyone, keeps Joaquin in the gun. There are some fights, Joaquin getting a bad report, his sentence extended. However, when Kincaid organises an escape, he is thwarted by Joaquin who then is allowed out of jail on parole.
But, no immediate happy ending. Joaquin gets jobs, but is targeted by Jean’s father and loses jobs, is refused work because of his prison record. There is a possibility of his commanding a tuna boat but this is turned down because he would leave California waters. Eventually, he breaks parole, trying to find jobs, but meeting an ex-con from prison who offers him the captaincy of a boat to sail to South America. He meets Jean to tell her. However, the ex-con is working for is Kincaid – which leads to a final confrontation and fight on the boat, Kincaid being taken and life possible for Joaquin when it is revealed that Kincaid had done the initial murder and that Joaquin was innocent.
Of religious interest, there is a character of a priest, Irish, friendly and sharing in celebrations, ceremonies, and, especially, in working with Jean in helping to bring up her son well, especially when he is challenged by fellow students about Joaquin being a prisoner.
