The Crooked Road

Back in the early to mid 1930s, Edmund Lowe and Henry Wilcoxen were both big stars in Hollywood. However, by 1940 both were in the latter part of their careers...with their best and most productive years behind them. So, it's not surprising that the pair were reduced to playing in B-movies by 1940. What is a surprise is that it's a particularly good B-movie...an intelligent one well worth seeing.

John Vincent (Lowe) is a very successful man. So successful that he is a prime target for a blackmailer. It seems that long ago, Vincent was known as Danny Driscoll...and he escaped from a prison in England. Now the blackmailer gladly admits that although Driscoll isn't really guilty of the crime that sent him to prison, he's still more than willing to bleed Vincent/Driscoll financially...or else.

As for Vincent, he's not going to accept this....and in a similar situation, most wouldn't either. So he concocts a complicated but brilliant plan to murder the blackmailer and pin in on someone else. Now the man who was wrongly blamed and convicted is no saint...and Vincent relies on this leading to a quick arrest, conviction and execution. Is it really going to be THIS easy and will he get away with it?

Although the film is under an hour in length, it's very well written and works very well. It doesn't hurt that the acting was also very good. Too bad this film didn't restart Lowe's and Wilcoxen's careers...they were both excellent. It also didn't hurt that there was a neat twist ending!