Over the Wall

DICK FORAN was an amiable Warner player during the '30s and '40s who spent most of his time as a singing cowboy or playing the romantic lead in a number of trifles as the studio's dependable B-budget star.

His real life experience as a band vocalist is used to good effect as a prisoner who gains some respect with a pleasant singing voice, despite an adversarial relationship with chaplain JOHN LITEL (another stock Warner player). Foran does a nice singing and acting job in this otherwise rather ordinary story about a man who has to prove his innocence after being wrongly convicted of murder, thanks to the underhanded work of DICK PURCELL. As the love interest, JUNE TRAVIS has little to do, nor does VEDA ANN BORG as Purcell's scorned girlfriend.

It's not hard to take and moves briskly at one hour and 12 minutes.

Over the Wall is a great example of some of the nonsense that came from the B picture unit of some of our major studios back in the day. Funny thing is that if the part called for a dancer rather than a singer, Jack Warner probably could have gotten James Cagney for the lead as Cagney pined for opportunities to dance that rarely came his way during his entire career.

Instead Dick Foran was cast in the lead that normally would have gone to someone like John Garfield. Foran at this time was Warner Brothers singing cowboy and occasionally was given some non-westerns to do, like Black Legion. This film ain't no Black Legion.

Foran is a truckdriver who's handy with his dukes and doubles as a fighter. His manager Ward Bond gets him a fight, but doublecrosses him and Foran's opponent knocks him out in the first round using some loaded gloves.

Foran settles with Bond by coldcocking him. But gangster Dick Purcell sees an opportunity to get rid of Bond who he doesn't like and kills him and lays the blame on Foran. Of course Foran goes to prison, protesting his innocence all the way.

Just like James Cagney in Each Dawn I Die, Foran is one mean and nasty prisoner until prison chaplain John Litel, doubling for Pat O'Brien takes him in hand. Turns out Foran has a nice singing voice and he starts broadcasting from prison.

So help the Deity, this is the story so far. I think you can carry it the rest of the way if you've seen a lot of B films from the thirties and forties. The miracle is that the cast of fine Warner Brothers stock company players was able to keep a straight face through out.

I'm sure that Over the Wall would be better remembered if Dick Foran had a hit song come out of it. Sadly he didn't.

If you want to see an example of some of the unbelievable nonsense that was inflicted on the public, Over the Wall is the film to see.