The Wrong Road

Richard Cromwell and Helen Mack star in a short programmer, "The Wrong Road," from 1937. The film also stars Lionel Atwill.

A man and woman, Jimmy and Ruth (Richard Cromwell/Helen Mack) who apparently don't want to work for a living decide to steal $100,000 from a bank, hide the loot, confess, and when they are released from prison, get the money and lead a happy life.

They don't plan on several things. One is a long sentence - ten years. They manage to get out in two with the insurance man (Atwill) convincing a judge that the two will lead him to the money if they are released. They also hadn't planned on the rules of their parole, one of which is that they can't get married for 8 years.

And, alas, they running into the detective every time they turn around - or a prison mate of Jimmy's who wants to know where the money is.

Then there's the location of the money - another problem.

I have to say I'm not sure what made Richard Cromwell such a big acting find - I thought he was pretty terrible, although cute. I was surprised when I read his biography that listed all the accolades he received.

Okay movie.

Everybody in this movie is "nice". The cops are nice, the criminals are nice, heck, even Lionel Atwill is nice! How can you describe this one, it's in a class by itself. The film is basically a "crime does not pay" lesson, typical of the era, with a twist. The twist is that the authorities inexplicably go out of their way to give the perpetrators of a one hundred thousand dollar bank robbery every opportunity to get off with a slap on the wrist.

But to analyze the plot of this one is really a waste of time, since there is very little sense to it. Really, the main premise has to rank among the most preposterous of all time, in a class with 'Reefer Madness' and Ed Wood's 'Jail Bait'.

But if you don't take it seriously (how could you?) you might get some enjoyment out of this one, at least a few laughs. The acting is actually not all that bad, and includes an intriguing early performance by Horace McMahon as a hardened criminal (actually, the one character in the whole movie who is not really "nice"). Lionel Atwill is interesting to see in an uncharacteristic role as a merciful investigator. And Marjorie Main, too, as a pleasant middle-aged lady.

For all the criticism I am throwing at it, I must admit it entertained me, and I definitely recommend it to those who enjoy unintended humor.

Wrong Road, The (1937)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A man and woman (Richard Cromwell/Helen Mack) who plan on being married are having a hard time with life so they find a get rich quick scheme. The two plan on stealing $100,000 from a bank, hide the money, turn themselves in, stay their prison term and when released, they'll have the money to live on for the rest of their lives but things never work out how you have them planned. This is a half way decent film that remains interesting throughout it's short 52-minute running time. The performances by the two leads are good and Lionel Atwill adds great support as a detective. This seems like a feature version of Buried Loot, which I watched earlier in the year. This was directed by famous silent actor James Cruze who played Jekyll & Hyde in the 1912 version.

This is a mildly entertaining crime drama about two rich spoil young 20-somethings who learn they won't inherit their parents money and they decide they can't rough it in life, they want to take a short cut by stealing money from the bank the boy worked at. They turn themselves in and figured after a few years in prison they would get the hidden money and live happily ever after. But they didn't figure for the police to like them and want to teach the two a lesson about how "crime doesn't pay". Oh they did their prison time where the boy met a guy (a cell mate) and he would get out of prison first and follow the two young adults to get his cut of the money. The insurance agent and the police follow the two as well to uncover the hidden money.

Well it's funny in the beginning where the young couple are at dinner and she say that she "can't do her own laundry because she wasn't raised up that way"... I almost turned the film off then but I had to watch this one until the end to find out how this one played out. It's funny to see the two in prison doing labor when they wanted the easy but wrong road - she had to scrub floors and he worked in a factory during their prison time.

It turned out to be an okay film - nothing outstanding by any means but it's alright, nothing to brag about. It held my interest until the very end so it wasn't all that bad. The film does have a few intense moments that kept it enjoyable.

5/10

The picture during the cast and credits tells the whole story: look out ,kids, don't take the wrong way, follow the straight and narrow ,the shortcuts lead to ruin; in a nutshell ,it's an edifying preachy movie probably made to be shown in Sunday schools .

Both heroes are immature ,naive and gullible :how could they believe that they would retrieve their money (which they earned ,insists the boy),that they would not be followed ?

The heroes' naiveté has something endearing ;they are like big children still believing in Santa Claus ;the girl seems more sensible but the boy hangs up to his dream;Richard Cromwell 's boyish look in a tailor made part: he who called Mary Dressler 'Beauty " in "Emma "(1932) and was the rookie who was doublecrossed by a temptress and "so satisfyingly tortured in "Lives of a Bengal Lancer".(Gore Vidal). He epitomizes the impulsive mindless young man and he does it with panache.

The scene of the auction sale where the lovers try to get back the music box is certainly the best.