The Penalty (1941)

Director:

Harold S. Bucquet

Writers:

Martin Berkeley (play)
Harry Ruskin (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 March 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Find the Blonde and Get the Gangster!

Plot:

The son of a murderer is entangled in his father's crimes and is sentenced to a rehabilitive farm, where he learns a new way of life. |

Plot Keywords:

Logger | Trap | Moll | Candy | Farmer

Cast

Edward Arnold	...	Martin 'Stuff' Nelson
Lionel Barrymore	...	'Grandpop' Logan
Marsha Hunt	...	Katherine Logan
Robert Sterling	...	Edward 'Ted' McCormick
Gene Reynolds	...	Russell 'Roosty' Nelson
Emma Dunn	...	'Ma' McCormick
Veda Ann Borg	...	Julie Jackson, Stuff's Moll
Richard Lane	...	FBI Agent Craig
Gloria DeHaven	...	Anne Logan
Grant Mitchell	...	Judge
Phil Silvers	...	'Grapevine' Hobo
Warren Ashe	...	Jay, Stuff's Henchman
William Haade	...	Johnny Van Brook, Stuff's Henchman
Ralph Byrd	...	FBI Agent Brock
Edgar Barrier	...	'Burnsy' Burns

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #7082)

Filming Locations:

Inglewood, California, USA

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

The New York production of the play "Roost" opened 14 February 1938 and closed after 8 performances.

Gene Reynolds shines in crime drama programmer...

But all his acting abilities are given short shrift by a tale that purports to be a crime melodrama with EDWARD ARNOLD as his father, a bank robber who's always one step ahead of the police. RICHARD LANE is the detective on his trail, VEDA ANN BORG is Arnold's moll girlfriend, GENE REYNOLDS is his street smart son, and RALPH BYRD is an unfortunate police officer.

Trouble is, none of the story rings true. It all his a very fabricated MGM look, the kind of programmer they turned out to fill a double feature program without any headliners in starring roles. I never bought jovial EDWARD ARNOLD as the criminal type and this bit of miscasting prevents the story from any real sense of credibility.

It's a good forty minutes before ROBERT STERLING and MARSHA HUNT show up as a farm couple willing to take reform school reject GENE REYNOLDS under their wing. He's a fallen sparrow who needs all the nurturing they can give.

Fifty minutes into the story, LIONEL BARRYMORE and GLORIA DE HAVEN show up, with Barrymore as a Grandpa who smokes a pipe and talks like Dr. Gillespie except that he's full of kindly sentiments instead of bitter complaints about mankind.

Did I say the story was dated? Marsha Hunt talks about a schoolteacher making $85 a month.

Summing up: Unpredictable at the start, the story soon turns into a conventional "crime doesn't pay" drama with Reynolds doing a complete reformation in time for a happy ending. The only saving grace is that it's not as preachy as it might have been.

Summing up: The faults far outweigh the virtues.

Trivia note: Watch for PHIL SILVERS (without specs) in a one minute bit as a hobo.