MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

mark.waltz The "Crime Does Not Pay" series at MGM was a fast-moving collection of shorts, a variety of different situations of the law battling less than law-abiding citizens. Graff, murder, robbery, jail breaks and even an illegal baby racket were amongst the plot lines in this long-running part of MGM's shorts division. What is noticeable about these shorts is the fact that many of them couldn't be expanded past their 20 minute running time, and when MGM did get on the crime racket in their feature films, they weren't as successful as what Warner Brothers had done the decade before with Cagney and Robinson. Even then, Warners was the king of the gangster film, with those two still in the running and Bogart, John Garfield and George Raft more adept than the second stringers at MGM who were given on-screen screen tests in "B" features like this in order to prove their meddle.Here, it is young Robert Sterling playing the lead, and he tries to prove his toughness in prison by kicking his seemingly tired bunkmate out of the lower berth. A violent but comical scene follows, but there's more to Sterling than meets the machine gun. Before you know it, he's on the run after a prison escape with a very young (and non-dancing) Dan Dailey and by some accident encounters Dailey's worried sister (Donna Reed) who has been searching for him. Charles Winninger offers comic relief as a doctor who appears to be bedridden and dying but is most likely recovering from cirrhosis of the liver.Typical plot twists include one of the characters actually a federal investigator in disguise and another character being revealed to be "Mister Big" even though they have been providing comedy all along. "Auntie Em" Clara Blandick shows up briefly as a comic landlady, and there's some amusing dialog exchanges between Sterling and Reed. But a lot of the script features lines of speech which are senseless, as if the whole thing was rushed together. A lot longer than most "B" crime movies which MGM made during this time, and being six times longer than one of the "Crime Doesn't Pay Series" makes this seem stretched out to a needless length, ultimately making this one a major disappointment.

LeonLouisRicci Not Really Their Forte, MGM Tried Out the Gangster Formula, so Successful for WB, and it is an Adequate Attempt. A Remake, this has been Chided for being a Shot for Shot Copy of Public Hero (1935).On its Own there are a Few Things that Make it Worth a Watch. Dan Daley as a Creepy Hood who is a "Brother from Hell" to Donna Reed (in Her debut). Miss Reed Over Emotes Most of the Time that gets on the Nerves as does Robert Sterling's Over the Top Portrayal as an Inmate and a Smarmy Romantic Lead. Another Irritant is Charles Winninger as an Alcoholic Doctor.On the Up Side, it has Typical High Production Standards from the Studio and the Ending Shootout is Bullet Ridden and the Second Ending is done with Suspense and Feels Like it is Dillinger Inspired.Recommended for Fans of Gangster and G-Men Movies and if the Irritating Characters (except for an excellent portrayal by Daley), don't Get-In-Your-Way, it is a Fun and Exciting Film at Times.

Alex da Silva Robert Sterling (Jeff) is a loud-mouthed, brash prisoner who gets the treatment that he deserves whilst staying in prison. He engineers an escape with Dan Dailey (Dinkie) who is part of an organized gang that the police have been trying to smash for a while. However, Sterling isn't who he seems to be and he is put into a difficult situation with the arrival of Donna Reed (Maria). She is looking for her brother - guess who - yep, it's psycho-man Dailey - and she finds out the truth about her brother and Sterling. During all of this, the police have only one mission - to stop Dailey's gang.This is an entertaining fast-paced film with the best performances coming from Dailey and Reed. Sterling is way over-the-top at the beginning of the film and quite annoying. Similarly, Charles Winninger is annoying as he provides needless comedy as a drunk doctor. The film never drags and so must be given credit although the love affair between Reed and Sterling is somewhat unconvincing, especially at the end of the film when she would HATE him. As it is, we get some cuddly stuff.The ending is quite tense as we follow Dailey into a dancehall and we realize that his time is up. It's obviously influenced by Dillinger's last moments as he was staked out and then shot down as he left a cinema. They even give Dailey a dolly-bird escort as he leaves the venue, just as Dillinger left with his dolly-bird, although in Dillinger's case she was implicated in his betrayal. Nothing of that sort here but we do get a shoot-out.

dougandwin Not a bad little film in many ways when you consider when it was made by MGM - clearly as the opener in a Double Feature Bill. The cast is surprisingly good with perhaps Dan Dailey as the standout, and playing the brother of Donna Reed and never able to go straight despite all her efforts. Robert Sterling goes over the top in his early scenes, but settles down as the story progresses. Charles Winninger as the drunken Doctor has some fine and not-so-fine moments in a major role, and it was great to see one of the good old B-players in Veda Ann Borg. The shoot-out near the end was ideal for a programmer and would have left audiences in those days in a good frame of mind for the Main Attraction