Escape from Crime

Richard Travis is an ex-con who gets a job as a newspaper photographer, and rises to the top of his profession until his past comes back to put him in a predicament that could endanger his parole. Director D. Ross Lederman turns out another one of his patented fast-paced actioners, with vicious gangsters, tough cops, hard dialogue, sassy gun molls, blasting guns, car chases and everything else that made these Warners "B"s so great. Travis, who was groomed to be a star, had the looks and the talent to do it but never managed to break out of the "B" niche. The rest of the cast is populated with the great faces and voices of some of the Warners "stock company"--Frank Wilcox, Wade Boteler, John Hamilton, John Harmon, Paul Fix and Jackie Gleason early in his career in a small role. The terrific Julie Bishop plays Travis' devoted wife. The film is a remake of James Cagney's 1933 "Picture Snatcher" and uses some footage from it, but while this picture may be low-budget, it's definitely not low-quality. It moves like lightning and is an enjoyable example of the kinds of films that "they just don't make anymore".