One Way Out

Just saw this one-reeler on TCM. For 1930, this had to be a fairly unusual premise, even for a short. The lead guy has an annoying vocal mannerism that I suppose was thought to be funny. He decides to end it all in the fictional town of Elyria near Spain, but finds he must first wade through a lot of red tape at the Department of Suicides. All of his paperwork finally in order, he's finally taken to the suicide park, where the assembled multitude disappear instantly with no warning (pretty slick special effect for so early on). Just as he's found the girl of his dreams and decided that life may be worth living after all, she meets her fate. A crude throwaway, and yet so off-the-wall you can't help but give it some credit.

Strange little short from Warner Bros. that has an early appearance of Ray Collins, 27 years before he was on Perry Mason. His voice gives him away.

One Way Out (1931)

*** (out of 4)

If you watch enough of these early shorts from the sound era you're bound to run into some really crazy ones and this here is exactly that. Charles Lawrence shows up in the country of Elyria where he plans on killing himself but a cop stops him and informs the man that suicide is against the law. Before killing himself the man must get a permit and then go to the National Suicide Park and wait his turn to die. This Vitaphone-Warner short has an insane plot that could only be found in a pre-code like this and it's this weird plot that makes the film worth viewing. Lawrence plays the character with a speech issues, which makes him sound rather dumb but this is a nice added touch and it certainly gets several laughs throughout the running time. I thought Lawrence made for a very likable guy and one that you can't help but hope doesn't really "end" it. Thelma White is also very good in her supporting role as the woman Lawrence falls in love with but it might be too late for him to change his mind about death. The subplot of the film deals with several members inside the Suicide Park dying off. I won't spoil how they die but it's a pretty simple but effective way and one that gets plenty of laughs. ONE WAY OUT is certainly a must see for fans of the weird.

A man in the mythical Elyria tries to kill himself but a cop stops him from doing so. In Elyria, one needs a permit to commit suicide so off the man goes to the Department of Suicides for a suicide permit, which he is granted. He's taken to Suicide Park where "The end will come unexpectedly and you'll never know when it's your turn." While there the young man falls in love, but it's a very short lived romance indeed. It's a good spoof of bureaucracy and certainly has an offbeat and memorable premise, but is otherwise not that amusing in large part because the young man is just plain irritating and not engaging at all. The best reason to watch this is to see Ray Collins in one of his very early film appearances.