This film starts off poorly---betraying its poor writing. Instead of learning about the characters and their back story gradually like you would do in a normal film, this starts off with the two leads sitting around talking about their lives and past. This is sloppy, as no one really talks this way and you assume they do this to speed up this B-movie and keep it well under one hour.
The plot doesn't appear to make much sense. The young man and woman at the beginning of the film have a bizarre scheme. They plan on stealing $100,000 from the bank and hide it. When they are later caught, the don't bother denying their actions. They admit they took it and won't say where it is. Their plan is to do the prison time and spend the money when they are released! Now why did BOTH of them have to admit to the crime?! Why not just one? Regardless, they plan on holding tight for 10 years—they spending the cash.
At the same time, a private detective (Lionel Atwill) representing the bank wants to try something—push the parole board to release them early and follow them to the loot. However, the money isn't where they expected it—as the guy's uncle has died and his belongings are being auctioned—including the music box in which the money is hidden (though isn't the box way too small to be holding that much money?!). And, in addition, the guy's old prison cell-mate shows up and demands a cut or else—a cut of something they don't have.
As for Atwill, his character is very unusual. Instead of the usual tough-as-nails cop type, he plays a rather avuncular guy who tries to appeal to the couple's consciences. He also tells the parole board that he doesn't think they are bad people—but what part of 'they stole $100,000' doesn't he seem to understand? So is the film worth seeing? Well, despite a weird plot and very low production values, the film is somehow interesting and tolerable if you like old B-movies. Otherwise, it's probably not a film that would appeal to the average viewer--mostly because it has absolutely no sense of realism about it.
By the way, if you see this film, don't you think it would have been great if in the end Atwill took the money for himself?!
The plot doesn't appear to make much sense. The young man and woman at the beginning of the film have a bizarre scheme. They plan on stealing $100,000 from the bank and hide it. When they are later caught, the don't bother denying their actions. They admit they took it and won't say where it is. Their plan is to do the prison time and spend the money when they are released! Now why did BOTH of them have to admit to the crime?! Why not just one? Regardless, they plan on holding tight for 10 years—they spending the cash.
At the same time, a private detective (Lionel Atwill) representing the bank wants to try something—push the parole board to release them early and follow them to the loot. However, the money isn't where they expected it—as the guy's uncle has died and his belongings are being auctioned—including the music box in which the money is hidden (though isn't the box way too small to be holding that much money?!). And, in addition, the guy's old prison cell-mate shows up and demands a cut or else—a cut of something they don't have.
As for Atwill, his character is very unusual. Instead of the usual tough-as-nails cop type, he plays a rather avuncular guy who tries to appeal to the couple's consciences. He also tells the parole board that he doesn't think they are bad people—but what part of 'they stole $100,000' doesn't he seem to understand? So is the film worth seeing? Well, despite a weird plot and very low production values, the film is somehow interesting and tolerable if you like old B-movies. Otherwise, it's probably not a film that would appeal to the average viewer--mostly because it has absolutely no sense of realism about it.
By the way, if you see this film, don't you think it would have been great if in the end Atwill took the money for himself?!