A Man Betrayed

Perhaps I'm being a bit unfair to this film. I did get the DVD expecting to be getting the John Wayne film of this title. But even if the Duke had never made a film with that title this A Man Betrayed would have to rank as mediocre.

Eddie Nugent stars in this film as a businessman who is working for an oil company that his uncle John Hamilton owns with two other partners. When it proves to be a swindle Nugent quits and decides to investigate for himself. Hamilton kills himself rather face the disgrace.

But his two clever partners fake a murder frame for Nugent to get the partner's insurance they had on Hamilton so that their soon to be creditors are paid off.

Nugent spends most of this film in a jackpot as an escaped prisoner who broke custody and is on the lam from the electric chair. How he escaped and what he and his brother, missionary Lloyd Hughes do to clear him are the whole story.

And it's a ridiculous one with both of them getting themselves involved with a pair of rival gangsters.

I will say this though, the ending was a good one insofar as finding the evidence that clears Nugent. Too bad the rest of the film wasn't as good.

Honest stock promoter Eddie Nugent is happy to see his brother, missionary Lloyd Hughes back from the wilds. He is getting ready for an evening with Hughes and his fiancee when in comes an investor in the oil company he is promoting. She has a letter from a relative who says they aren't drilling. He confronts the partners, and they deny it. He's going to fly down and look at the olflield before he sells another share.

When he is gone, the partners confer. They have used the funds raised for private speculation and lost heavily. One of them, John Hamilton, dictates a confession and kills himself. The other two decide to claim it is a murder, frame Nugent and use Hamilton's insurance to pay back the investors. Nugent is convicted, escapes and then the plot takes a turn straight into Damon Runyon land.

This early Republic mystery-comedy is cheaply produced and the direction by John Auer is pedestrian. The plot, however, goes off in such bizarre directions as boxing clergy and crooks investigating a crime --"When the police investigate, where do they get their ideas? From us!" -- that the movie redeems itself like Lloyd Hughes among the cannibals. The first half is involved in getting the set-up accomplished, with many a trite musical sting. If you can get through that, however, you'll find that Dorrell and Stuart MacGowan's script is delightful nonsense.

Even though A Man Betrayed was a mere 56 minutes, for me it seemed kind of long. It starts off fine but just doesn;t really develop much as it progresses. Sure, we are introduced to a lot of new characters along the, but it was still only minimally engaging. In the last half of the film some attempts at humor were added and some of them are kind of cute, or fun, but not quite enough of either to help elevate the film above its its very basic self. The performances, while not memorable, are still satisfactory. The performances and bits of humor were appreciated but A Man Betrayed is still very average at best.

Frank Powell (Edward Nugent) is a stock salesman for an oil company. He has faith in the company and has sold a lot of stock. So, imagine his surprise when he learns that the company might just be phony and the stock, totally worthless. Before he can go to the police about his suspicions, he foolishly confronts his three bosses about his suspicions. I say foolish because it gave them time to plan. One kills himself....and the other two, sensing an opportunity, decide to frame Frank for murder...thus discrediting him and providing a scapegoat.

The plan works perfectly and Frank is arrested, tried and convicted of murder. He is now being sent to prison to await execution. But on the way, the train is attacked and the mobsters are there to free one of the prisoners...a guy handcuffed to Frank! Frank is taken with them and he now decides to devote himself to looking to prove his innocence.

The film actually surprised me, as Frank soon gathers some friends who want to prove he's innocent. The friends? The mobsters! And, they do a bang-up job of investigating...as well as providing some nice comic relief.

This is a very good B movie. Sure, it's not exactly probable...but the journey is so much fun that it's easy to suspend disbelief and just go along with the plot. Much more deftly handled and better written than most B-movies...it actually holds up well and is quite entertaining.

Another contributor commented that once this gets going it's fun and he's right. All kinds of stuff is going on here, crime, love, setups, religion, fatalism and more with a little comedy thrown in. One thing's for sure: it's not dull. It starts out with the basic premise that an honest guy discovers his partners are crooked and tries to set things straight but ends up being framed. And then it keeps adding in more and more tangents that frankly, make it a fun romp. In the hands of a better crew and a little more focus this could actually have been really good. But anyway you look at it if you ever get a chance to watch it (and that's not easy) don't miss it.