OFF THE RECORD is a newspaper yarn with elements of social realism, gangster drama and screwball romance. It almost has it all. Warner Brothers contract players Pat O'Brien and Joan Blondell are cast in the lead roles, and they work well together. Mr. O'Brien had previously starred in THE FRONT PAGE so this is familiar territory for him.
The leads do not appear in the film's first ten minutes. Instead the opening sequence is devoted to Bobby Jordan as a streetwise youth on the verge of delinquency. He has no father, his mother is about to take her last breath on a sick bed, and the local priest has been called to give last rites. You get the idea. At 15, the kid has a sad rough life.
After his mother dies, Jordan is about to be hauled off to an orphans' asylum when his prodigal older brother (Alan Baxter) shows up. The brother is an adult, supposedly has a good paying job and agrees to look after the boy.
We learn the brother is part of a gangster's gambling racket. He encourages the kid to forget studying and monitor a lucrative pinball trade. If anyone is caught putting slugs into the machines, Jordan will give them a thrashing and make them pay up. It's much more fun than school!
This is where Blondell comes into the story. She is a reporter who learns that neighborhood kids are involved in a gambling racket. She does some investigating and writes about it in her column. The story becomes a big deal. Even her coworker (O'Brien) is impressed. The newspaper expose leads to the gangster's arrest, the older brother's subsequent incarceration and the kid being sent to reform school.
Meanwhile, O'Brien & Blondell get engaged. But as a condition to her agreeing to marry him, she wants them to foster young Jordan and save him from reform school. This is probably one of Blondell's more kind-hearted roles, and she's wonderful. O'Brien is also very good here, balancing his needs with his bride's demands. Of course things don't go smoothly at first.
Their new domestic arrangement requires some adjusting. Having a teen under the same roof won't be easy for the newlyweds. They soon get Jordan a job as a paper boy and then as a photographer (no mention is made about his returning to school). Jordan experiences several mishaps, some comical, while learning the ropes at the Evening Star.
Jordan's past comes back to haunt him in the last sequence. His older brother escapes prison, while Jordan himself is accused of robbery. As O'Brien and Blondell find evidence to clear Jordan of the robbery, he has a final encounter with his brother and the gangster which turns deadly.
This is a highly engrossing programmer that rarely has a dull moment. It works because of the stars' rapport. And also because we want the teenaged character to overcome his difficult background, so he can live a good and honest life.
The leads do not appear in the film's first ten minutes. Instead the opening sequence is devoted to Bobby Jordan as a streetwise youth on the verge of delinquency. He has no father, his mother is about to take her last breath on a sick bed, and the local priest has been called to give last rites. You get the idea. At 15, the kid has a sad rough life.
After his mother dies, Jordan is about to be hauled off to an orphans' asylum when his prodigal older brother (Alan Baxter) shows up. The brother is an adult, supposedly has a good paying job and agrees to look after the boy.
We learn the brother is part of a gangster's gambling racket. He encourages the kid to forget studying and monitor a lucrative pinball trade. If anyone is caught putting slugs into the machines, Jordan will give them a thrashing and make them pay up. It's much more fun than school!
This is where Blondell comes into the story. She is a reporter who learns that neighborhood kids are involved in a gambling racket. She does some investigating and writes about it in her column. The story becomes a big deal. Even her coworker (O'Brien) is impressed. The newspaper expose leads to the gangster's arrest, the older brother's subsequent incarceration and the kid being sent to reform school.
Meanwhile, O'Brien & Blondell get engaged. But as a condition to her agreeing to marry him, she wants them to foster young Jordan and save him from reform school. This is probably one of Blondell's more kind-hearted roles, and she's wonderful. O'Brien is also very good here, balancing his needs with his bride's demands. Of course things don't go smoothly at first.
Their new domestic arrangement requires some adjusting. Having a teen under the same roof won't be easy for the newlyweds. They soon get Jordan a job as a paper boy and then as a photographer (no mention is made about his returning to school). Jordan experiences several mishaps, some comical, while learning the ropes at the Evening Star.
Jordan's past comes back to haunt him in the last sequence. His older brother escapes prison, while Jordan himself is accused of robbery. As O'Brien and Blondell find evidence to clear Jordan of the robbery, he has a final encounter with his brother and the gangster which turns deadly.
This is a highly engrossing programmer that rarely has a dull moment. It works because of the stars' rapport. And also because we want the teenaged character to overcome his difficult background, so he can live a good and honest life.