The Get-Away (1941)

Jeff Crane (Robert Sterling) is a tough guy who leads with his mouth and bluster. For committing a crime, he's shown being processed into a prison run by Warden Alcott (Henry O'Neill), and given a cell with another hard case Sonny Black (Dan Dailey). There are then several typical prison flick scenes (could be from The Big House (1930), also looks similar to the sets used in Brute Force (1947)) including a food complaint riot, started by Crane, who's then put in the "hole" for 3 weeks. When he's returned to his cell, he's earned a modicum of respect from his cell mate.With help from the outside, Crane helps Black breakout of prison. The two escaped cons travel to Chicago where they stay with Moose Jones (Ernest Whitman), a con they knew in prison that was just released. However, when he gets "big eyes" over the reward being offered, Black kills him. Crane and Black then travel to Wisconsin, where Black has a home in a respectable neighborhood, with a servant Sam (Chester Gan).It is learned that Crane is really an FBI agent undercover, working for Jim Duff (Donald Douglas), assigned to freeing Black in order to bag the leader of his gang. Black was wounded in the escape, and Crane must retrieve a doctor Black knows to help. Dr. Glass (Charles Winninger) is a stereotypical physician who helps criminals, he's got a drinking problem.En route to getting Glass, Crane meets Maria Theresa 'Terry' O'Reilly (Donna Reed, in her film debut!), who he reluctantly (what, is he crazy?) helps. Crane, Glass, and O'Reilly are unavoidably delayed on their return and have to spend the night at Mrs. Higgins (Clara Blandick). Crane then learns that Terry is Black's sister, though she hasn't seen him for 3 years, and wasn't aware of his criminal activities. Her nickname for her brother is Dinky.After Black sends Crane to get Glass, he summons his gang from their hideout at Rufe Parker's (Grant Withers) and gives them instructions which distract the police for a while, so that he can recover.Meanwhile, Crane and Terry get closer to one another, even though Duff warns Crane to keep his mind on the task at hand. When Crane returns from a meeting with Duff, he witnesses Black striking his sister causing him to lose control and punch Black, who ejects him from the house and his association. Crane and Terry end up riding on a bus back to town (with noted character actor George Guhl), while Black and the gang pull their next job. She returns home and Crane is fired. But Crane has an inspiration, he uses Glass to help him find the hideout and alerts the FBI to its whereabouts. A shootout ensues and everyone in the gang is captured or killed except its leader Black, who escapes.Will the recognized hero, Crane, and the FBI figure out how to catch Black again? Will Crane be able to romantically pursue Terry, now that she knows he's with the FBI and is working against her brother? I'd expect a Hollywood ending if I were you;-)Directed by Edward Buzzell and Richard Rosson, uncredited. A remake of Public Hero #1 (1935) with a better known cast including Lionel Barrymore, Jean Arthur, Chester Morris, Joseph Calleia, and Lewis Stone. Also in this version though, Roy Gordon plays a prison board member that figures in the escape, Harry Hayden plays a train conductor, Veda Ann Borg plays a girl Black dances with later in the film; all three appear uncredited.

Pretty much a shot-for-shot remake of Public Hero #1. Because of this and the fact that it's more polished than the earlier film, this one's not as good. It's watchable but ultimately forgettable. The only thing noteworthy about it is that it's the film debut of Donna Reed. She's beautiful and the best part of the movie. Dan Dailey and Robert Sterling are bland. Charles Winninger and Henry O'Neill are enjoyable in supporting roles. If you haven't seen the original, you're likely to enjoy this one far more. I would caution you against reading too much about either film because there's a twist in the plot that is best left unspoiled. Chances are you've already been spoiled since all plot summaries, including TCM's, give it away. Still, I've left the plot out of my review just in case.

****SPOILERS**** Re-make of the 1935 gangster movie "Public Hero" this new and updated version has a 20 year old Donna Reed in her film debut as Terry O'Reilly-a fine Irish lass-who's brother Johnny "Dinkie" Black played by future song & dance man Dan Dailey had crashed out of prison. With a bullet in his chest and fellow convict Jeff Crane, Robert Sterling,the two head out to Chicago to lay low until the heat, law, cools off. Its then that we learn that convict Crane is really an undercover FBI Agent who got into prison and close to Dinkie so he can lead him to the notorious "River Gang" that he's the leader of. Hold out at a flophouse run by fellow but now released convict Moose Jones, Ernie Whitman, Dinkie makes more trouble for himself when in a spur of the moment he guns Moose down when he shows some interest in the $5,000.00 reward he can earn for himself in turning Dinkie in.It's when Dinkie together with Crane get back to his home, a mansion with a Chinese butler, in Scottsford Wisconsin that Crane runs into Terry who at first he didn't know was Dinkie's kid sister, small world isn't it, and falls in love with her. With Dinkie on the mend due to him being treated by part time mob doctor and full time drunk Josiah Glass, Charles Winninger, he now plans to reunite with his gang and get back into business of payrolls robberies which the gang specializes in. That's unless Crane get the word out to his boss in the FBI Jim Duff, Donald Douglas, the gangs future plans and where their hideout is located!Not all the believable in that Doc. Glass who's drunk every minute he's on the screen being able to preform a delicate and dangerous as well as successful, without anesthetic, operation on the near dead Dinkie and bring him back to health better then he ever was before he got shot. What also wasn't at all convincing is Terry who loved her gangster brother would fall and still be in love with Crane even after she find out that he's out to get Dinkie and put him behind bars or, in Dinkie knocking off Moose, even strapped into the state of Illinois electric chair!***SPOILERS*** In the end it was Terry who lead the Feds, or FBI, straight to Dinkie by having him,in disguise, meet her at her job as as a cashier at the Place Ballroom to get some hard needed cash. With the place staked out by some 30 G-Men and Dinkie taking time to have a last dance with a hot looking blond, Vanda, Ann Borg that he met there it didn't take that long for the Boys in the FBI to get the drop on him.***MAJOR SPOILER*** The ultra surgery Hollywood type ending spoiled the entire movie with Terry smooching with Crane after him breaking into her passenger train compartment just moments before she, outraged at him for setting up and having Dinkie gunned down, was going to have him thrown out of it!

Robert Sterling (Jeff) is a loud-mouthed, brash prisoner who gets the treatment that he deserves whilst staying in prison. He engineers an escape with Dan Dailey (Dinkie) who is part of an organized gang that the police have been trying to smash for a while. However, Sterling isn't who he seems to be and he is put into a difficult situation with the arrival of Donna Reed (Maria). She is looking for her brother - guess who - yep, it's psycho-man Dailey - and she finds out the truth about her brother and Sterling. During all of this, the police have only one mission - to stop Dailey's gang.This is an entertaining fast-paced film with the best performances coming from Dailey and Reed. Sterling is way over-the-top at the beginning of the film and quite annoying. Similarly, Charles Winninger is annoying as he provides needless comedy as a drunk doctor. The film never drags and so must be given credit although the love affair between Reed and Sterling is somewhat unconvincing, especially at the end of the film when she would HATE him. As it is, we get some cuddly stuff.The ending is quite tense as we follow Dailey into a dancehall and we realize that his time is up. It's obviously influenced by Dillinger's last moments as he was staked out and then shot down as he left a cinema. They even give Dailey a dolly-bird escort as he leaves the venue, just as Dillinger left with his dolly-bird, although in Dillinger's case she was implicated in his betrayal. Nothing of that sort here but we do get a shoot-out.