Back Door to Heaven

A film that was created as a second-feature became a small jewel by means of an honest script and sincere performances by little-known actors. (Van Heflin appears in a very early performance.)

James Lydon appears as Frankie, a small boy living a desperate existence in a slum area, who steals a harmonica in order to fit in with his classmates. Lydon's performance is heartbreaking, and you know that his character is lost forever under the weight of despair. Then we see Frankie grown, in prison. (Wallace Ford) A parole sets the story in motion, and we see how tragic circumstances can indeed forever destroy a life. Aline MacMahon as Frankie's teacher gives her usual sterling performance. Don't miss this one.

But, Stephen Sondheim in "West Side Story" said it better:

Dear kindly Sergeant Krupke Ya gotta understand It's just our bringin' upke That gets us outta hand Our mothers all are junkies Our fathers all are drunks Golly Moses natcherly we're punks

Gee, Officer Krupke, we're very upset; We never had the love that every Child oughta get We ain't no delinquents We're misunderstood Deep down inside us there is good!

My Daddy beats my Mommy My Mommy clobbers me My Grandpa is a Commie My Grandma pushes tea My sister wears a mustache My brother wears a dress Goodness Gracious, that's why I'm a mess!

Officer Krupke, he shouldn't be here This boy don't need a couch, he needs A useful career Society's played him a terrible trick And sociologically he's sick!

This is a very, very sentimental B-movie--one that tries hard to tug at the heart. It begins many years earlier. There is a beloved school teacher (Aline MacMahon) and her class. One of the boys is a nice kid, but also has had numerous run-ins with the law--and as a result, he's sent to reform school. Years pass and the boy gets in trouble again and again. Now an adult with an extensive criminal history (Wallace Ford), he's been released from prison. While a criminal at heart, he still has a soft spot for this teacher and it's hard to see whether he'll go straight or return to a life of evil.

The film features a few other well-known actors in addition to those I already mentioned. Stu Erwin, oddly, is cast as a criminal associate of Ford--and it's odd, as neither seems cast well in the film since they both tended to play nice, easy-going sorts of guy in their other films. Additionally, Van Heflin plays a defense attorney in one of his earliest roles--and boy does he look young! Overall, the film is enjoyable but very high on schmaltz--a little too much if you ask me. It tries very, very hard by laying on a lot of sentiment and this will probably rub some wrong. But, despite this, the actors seem to try their best and the film is a decent time-passer. Not bad, but certainly not great. Dbburroughs certainly seemed to hate it and I can see why, though perhaps I am a tad more charitably disposed to this sort of overt sentimentality.

There is a lot of honesty here. Never boring and explores in depth the life of a kid from leaving school to juvenile delinquency. Circumstances took him to a very unpleasant end. What makes it so compelling is that he was a really good kid. And he does a lot of kind things trying to regain his humanity. There are very fine respected actors. The script understand about realistic and human motivations. In two scenes, songs are used that heighten the moods. Lots of creativity with an unfortunately weak ending. Patricia Ellis is a true beauty and makes a rather strange compliment to Wallace Ford but there is something particularly. Real about how we often find ourselves attached to someone who though is perfect for us, does not look quite right. Thrilling.

A boy from a poor and dysfunctional family is set on the treadmill of reform school and jail despite being a good person and a good friend. The writer/director delivers a powerful critic of the justice system and our part in it. There is no mercy or redemption for the criminal or for us, the jury in the system. Ford delivers a pitch perfect performance as the unlucky Frankie, who gets no breaks. The cinematography is outstanding and this little film shows an auteur doesn't need millions to make a masterpiece.