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Ultra-Prolific Director Lederman was Known for His Kinetic Pace and Under Budget Productions. This is a Remake of the James Cagney's Pre-Code Exploitation Movie, Picture Snatcher (1932).

Things Develop at a Frenzied and Breath Taking Pace as Our Hero is Framed. Paroled from Prison and Unable to Find Work because he is an Ex-Con (in typical WB social commentary), His Fate Determined by being at the Right Place All the Time as He Snaps Photos of a Bank Robbery and becomes an Award Winning Professional Shutterbug Always being on the Scene to Shoot a Scene of Incredible Drama.

As Fate, Yes Again, would have it, the Old Gang that Set Him Up are the Criminals and this Creates a Problem for the Trying to Go Straight Husband and Daddy. Trying to be a Family Man is Not as Easy as it Seems and He is Thrust into a Bad Situation. He Makes the Best of It by Agreeing to Film His Pal being Executed in the Electric Chair.

This One is Filled to the Brim with this and that and the Final Shootout is a Frenzied, also Fate Filled Finale, that is a Kinetic Gun Battle Free for All that is B-Movie Making at its Best. There is No Time to Think in the Running Time of Just Over Fifty Minutes. Yes, thats 50 Minutes.

This is not a film noir. It has a dark side and many of the components of film noir. But it's a standard crime story, exceptionally well executed. (Oh, no pun intended, as it involves prisons!) Apart from Jackie Gleason in a relatively minor role, the only recognizable player is Julie Bishop. She's very appealing as the devoted wife of a man we see being paroled as the picture begins.

He doesn't have things easy. Old friends he'd prefer to have left behind keep turning up. A cop is keeping a partially benevolent but steady eye on him.

This stars and is generally populated with minor Warner brothers performers. There is no really big name, though handsome Richard Travis was possibly being groomed as one. Or observed to see if he could become one.

He didn't make it but the movie hangs together very well. It's short and tightly written, filmed, and edited.

Richard Travis and Julie Bishop star in a short B, "Escape from Crime," a Warners film from 1942.

Travis plays a parolee who gets photos of a bank robbery and parlays it into a job on a newspaper. He later gets into trouble when his boss wants him to worm his way into the prison and photograph the execution of one of his old crime buddies.

It's very hard to judge these films - they were probably made in an afternoon. You'll see lots of familiar faces, as most if not all of these actors later went on to work in television.

Jackie Gleason has a tiny role. Needless to say, he made it bigger than all of them.

"Escape from Crime" moves fast and has a convoluted plot.

Half way through this movie, we kept thinking about a similarity with another one we had seen recently. Later on, checking upon it, we realized this was a remake of "Picture Snatcher", a James Cagney vehicle. Further checking revealed both films are based on Danny Ahern's story.

"Escape from Crime" doesn't work as well as the previous movie, but for a 51 minutes feature, it gets to the basics right away. As directed by D Ron Ledermann, this B movie packs a lot in such a small format.

Best of all was the cast. Richard Travis, Julie Bishop, Jackie Gleason, Frank Wilcox, Charles Wilson, Anne Corcoran and Ruth Ford, as the molls of the gang members.

Freshly paroled from prison, photographer Richard Travis (as "Red" O'Hara) immediately goes to see his estranged wife Julie Bishop (as Molly). Hearing a man in the house, Mr. Travis believes Ms. Bishop is a "two-timing little twit" and plans to shoot the lovers. Travis changes his mind when Bishop surprises him with a red-haired baby son. Hoping to support his new family, Travis tries to get a job at "The Illustrated News" with news editor Frank Wilcox (as Cornell). They won't hire an ex-con, but "go-getter" Travis delivers exclusive photos of a bank robbery to the paper and is hired as staff photographer...

Going straight is difficult due to Travis' friendships with underworld types, like Rex Williams (as "Slim" Dugan). Even worse, Travis is assigned to enter his old prison and illegally photograph an electric chair execution. Arched acting and brisk direction, by D. Ross Lederman, make this revision of "Picture Snatcher" (1933) play nicely. The original story suggested sex between two of its stars and an independent, female co-worker; obviously, this was abandoned. Don't miss the opening minutes, or you won't see future "Honeymooners" TV comedy legend Jackie Gleason (as "Screwball" Evans).

****** Escape from Crime (7/25/42) D. Ross Lederman ~ Richard Travis, Julie Bishop, Frank Wilcox, Rex Williams