Buried Loot

"Buried Loot" was an MGM one reel feature written and directed by George Seitz that offers a story that could have been written by O'Henry because of the ironic twist in it. Since the whole cast is not credited, one wonders if the studio intended this short film as a showcase, why not have credits that mentioned the same people featured in it.

The story is a simple one about how a bank employee decides to confess to the president of the institution his crime of stealing $200,000.00. What's more, he has squandered all the money. The fact is that cunning Al Douglas figures he will spend time in jail and then after serving a sentence, he will be released ahead of the term by his good behavior to dig out the treasure he has buried. But unfortunately, Al, doesn't count on his cell mate's plan to escape prison.

The film presents a young Robert Taylor before he became one of the best and most admired actors of the period. Mr. Taylor is heavily made up, as it was the custom of the early films, but one could see how the camera loved him and his virile presence that made him a favorite of the movie fans.

"Buried Loot" is one of the best examples of the one reel format.

Buried Loot (1935)

**** (out of 4)

An embezzler steals $200,000 and says he gambled it away. This isn't exactly true because he's buried the money and plans to get it when he's released from prison in five years but a few twists changes things. Here's a terrific MGM short from their "Crime Does Not Pay" film line, which back then was what the TV show Cops is today. Cops would tell true life crimes and then re-enact them. This story is full of wonderful twists and turns and the ending is downright jaw dropping. One of the best of its kind.

...not even in 1935! Thus proves this early entry in the long running series "Crime Does Not Pay" produced by MGM. Robert Taylor had been in films before this, but AFTER this short, MGM gave him a trial at a prominent supporting role in 1935's Society Doctor - and it is a hoot. But I digress.

Taylor plays Al Douglas, a bank employee who just walks into the bank president's office and confesses to stealing 200K. He knows he is going to jail. The bank president asks him what he did with it and he says "I spent it". Now remember in 1935, deep in the Depression, 200K was equal to about four million dollars today. You just don't spend that kind of money on nothing! So Al's plan was to steal the money, bury it, do his time as neatly as possible so he does the minimum sentence, then dig up the money and live like a king.

Al gets five to ten years. So five years is not long to wait for 200K in 1935. He is doing well in prison, and becomes a trustee. It looks like he'll be out in five. And then "stir" starts getting to him, plus his cellmate has an escape plan and makes one ominous statement - "A lot can happen in five years."

This gets Al thinking. What if somebody digs up the loot while he is in jail? What if he did all of this for nothing? And so his first mistake is to agree to escape with his cellmate. And he just keeps making bad mistakes until the tale has been told by law enforcement to the "MGM Crime Reporter" in flashback.

Taylor did a good job in this short. He displays a real grasp of the craft of acting in a 20 minute short that was usually presented in a "Just The Facts Ma'am" Dragnet style, to reference something more recent. The only odd thing has nothing to do with acting - it has to do with art design. For some reason the MGM crime reporter is conducting his interview in an office with a chandelier in it and a stuffed bird that looks just like The Maltese Falcon on a bookcase. Where is ace MGM art designer Cedric Gibbons when you need him??

Just watched this, M-G-M's first of its "Crime Does Not Pay" series of shorts, on TCM just now. Robert Taylor, before his big stardom, plays a guy who turns himself in as the guy who stole lots of money from a bank he works at. He's sent to prison for five years. I'll stop there and say this was quite a thrilling short and when it ends, well, you'll either be very surprised or not so much based on whatever many of these kind of movies or TV shows you may have watched over the years. So on that note, I highly recommend Buried Loot.

An MGM CRIME DOES NOT PAY Short Subject.

An imprisoned embezzler begins to worry about the $200,000 in BURIED LOOT he's secreted in New Jersey.

This two-reeler was the first in a series featuring true crime stories told in a compelling, hard-hitting fashion. It is well plotted & acted, with no dull moments or unnecessary subplots. No cast credits are given, but movie mavens will enjoy the ripe performance of Robert Taylor, only steps away from discovery & stardom, as the bad guy consumed not by conscience but by fears of ultimate failure to enjoy his ill-gotten gains.

Many of the prison shots were lifted right out of MGM's classic feature THE BIG HOUSE (1930).

Often overlooked or neglected today, the one and two-reel short subjects were useful to the Studios as important training grounds for new or burgeoning talents, both in front & behind the camera. The dynamics for creating a successful short subject was completely different from that of a feature length film, something like writing a topnotch short story rather than a novel. Economical to produce in terms of both budget & schedule and capable of portraying a wide range of material, short subjects were the perfect complement to the Studios' feature films.