Prison Nurse

Floods are threatening a prison, typhoid breaks out among the inmates, no doctors are available to assist the regular prison physician, three brave nurses arrive to help administer vaccines, and a group of prisoners is planning an escape! In the midst of all this chaos, the prison doctor falls ill, and a former doctor, now in prison, struggles to overcome his bitterness and put his past behind him.

Well, the first thing i want to say about this movie is that i saw only the EDITED version, 50-some minutes long. The editing is ghastly, and a real shame too, as i am well enough versed with B-movies and plot editing in general to realize that there was a much better film at the heart of this than what was shown on TV and has been preserved for presentation in DVD. This is a movie i liked enough, even in its chopped-up form, that i would seek out an uncut version -- but, given the cut-apart state of what i did see, i can only rank it with a measly "6". I would probably have given it an "8" if it had not been so butchered, because both the acting and the directing are excellent, and the screenplay is well above average.

What is *obviously* missing from the chopped DVD print? Oh, i suspect that old film buffs can fill in the blanks: There's probably the frustrated early courtship scene; the confession / revelation about Doctor Dale's past, with an accompanying declaration of mutual love; the introduction of the parole idea; some "second-couple" comedic affection between the 2nd nurse and Jackpot, which sets the scene for her later knowledge about his diary and his mother's picture; a few more bits leading up to Gaffney's escape plan; a comedic turn with Minerva Urecal as the hatchet-faced 3rd nurse (perhaps her giving a shot to some prisoner in a parody of a love scene?); and a scene introducing Parker and explaining his role.

Its amazing how, when simple little building blocks like these get deleted from a film in order to fit it into a TV time-slot, what you're left with really doesn't hang together -- you keep watching with the sense that you must have missed something, but you know you didn't. It's pretty frustrating.

If a complete print does exist, i'd sure like to see it in order to check my guesses about the cut scenes versus the reality of it.

Henry Wilcoxon is in prison for murder, and girlfriend Marian Marsh, a nurse at the prison, thinks he's been framed like he says wants him out. But will a flood, a plague, a prison break and probably locusts and the slaying of the first born be enough to do the trick?

Director James Cruze was on his last legs as a director, and looks to have been taking just about any script that came along, and the budget that went with it. He then proceeded to do his best with what he had which, considering the script and the budget that Republic was able to give him at this stage, wasn't very much. This leads to some very awkward shots, some odd set decoration, and a level of enthusiasm about the final, convenient clue that wraps up everything neatly that I just don't find particularly worthwhile.

At the State Prison, there is a serious crisis--the place is flooding and the dam might break AND there's an outbreak of typhoid!! There aren't enough doctors to go around and one of the prisoners, Dale (Henry Wilcoxon) is a doctor. At first refuses to help and is a bitter man. However, eventually, after the only doctor takes ill, he agrees--and soon his old attitude returns and he is once again a healer. While this seems like an ideal story, he's in for a surprise when there is a prison break and he is forced as gunpoint to help. Now the authorities think he was part of the breakout and when the escapees are killed, there is no one to corroborate his story. Dale knows this and continues to remain in hiding instead of turning himself in. What's to become of Dr. Dale?!

This film is hard to believe but crosses over to sloppy at times. Occasionally folks in the film behave in ways that make absolutely no sense--such as when the evil killer, just before he dies, tries to inexplicably help Dale prove his innocence!! And, only seconds later, the other guy who could help prove Dale was innocent gets himself killed for absolutely no reason I could think of...other than to make the convoluted plot kind of work! And then there's the ending...oh is it sloppy and stupid!!

Although 15 minutes of the film is missing from this Alpha Video release, I can't see how this would help much since there are too many logical lapses to take the film very seriously. With films like this, I can understand how a once important leading man, Wilcoxon, faded into relative obscurity after starring in "Cleopatra" for Cecil B. DeMille in 1934. He did make many more appearances but his leading man days were over.

Except for some clever dialogue, there is not much new in "Prison Nurse." But the writers have put together a complex story with that clever dialogue, and a talented cast carries it off.

Obviously there was little money spent on this production, but it went to good performers, not many of whom are known these days.

The premise probably would not be usable today, female nurses assigned to the prison to help fight an epidemic of typhoid, apparently brought about by the prison's being flooded by dirty water, and there is also a fear of a dam's threatening to burst.

Most of the prisoners are not innocents wrongly incarcerated, so they are real villains, willing to hurt anyone who gets in the way of their planned break-out.

There is a terrible print at archive dot org, but ,as bad as it is, it's worth fighting your way through -- maybe with several breaks to rest your eyes -- in order to see the outcome.