This is a frustrating film because so much of it is so good and with a simple re-write it could have been an exceptional film. Too bad...as Richard Dix is quite good with the material he's given.
When the film begins, you see a Phillip (Dix) on the run with his daughter, Alice. It seems that he and Alice's mom recently divorced and he took Alice despite a court order. Why is this? Is it because Phillip is a jerk-face? Well, not exactly...and this is one of the problems with the film. Although Alice's mother is god- awful, Phillip is hardly father of the year material--he's a dreamer and gambling addict and hardly would provide a stable home for the kid.
During the course of their wanderings, the pair are discovered by a woman who knows Phillip and what he's done. Impulsively, Phillip ties her up and leaves her...not realizing that in the process he'd accidentally kill the woman. Soon he's captured and imprisoned for murder and Alice is forced to be raised by her wretched mother.
Many years pass and Alice has lost touch with her father and doesn't realize he was sent to prison. But, when the housekeeper comes to prison to tell him how miserable Alice is doing, he is determined to save her and soon escapes (if it was THAT easy you'd think he'd have done it long before!). And, soon he sees Alice is being kept like an invalid...all because her mother is determined to crush her spirit and keep her that way. What's next? See the film.
The best thing going for the film is Dix and his magnificent performance. With just a little smoothing out of the plot, it would have been a terrific picture. As is, it's still worth seeing but difficult to truly love.
