No Escape

Proof once again that a "B" picture needn't be "B" quality. But that was true of quite a few second features at MGM which gave even their lesser films a patina of quality. Lew Ayres stars as a drunk piano player cum songwriter who stumbles on a corpse and could be targeted by the police as the killer unless he can solve the crime. Sonny Tufts co-stars, wearing a suit that makes him look like a 300 pound wrestler walking around incognito. Ayres took a bad rap when he refused to serve as a soldier during World War 2 but distinguished himself as a medic. If nothing else, this film is a reminder of what a blithely ingratiating actor he was. Well worth watching

This very Low-Budget Movie seems to have been Produced by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the San Francisco Police Department.

By 1953 just about every Crime Film had these kinds of sappy, self-important, openings about how the United States, the post WWII Land of Milk and Honey, was "Protected" by the World's best Military and Police Force. The Conservative 1950's, if these "Propagandized" Pictures were to be believed, was Paradise Personified and the "Big Brother" Overseers were dedicated to keep it that way.

Pure Film-Noir suffered during this period and started to morph into Police Procedurals and Governmental Agency Puff Pieces. This is an example of one of those with an Opening and "Authoritarian" Voice Over comforting Audiences that everything was under control and there was "No Escape" for Criminals and Illegal Activity was futile.

This Film is almost inept and amateurish at times with its bad Acting, weak scripting, and horrendous editing. Add to that the bland and brightly lit interiors and flat and uninspired travelogue shots of the City, it ultimately is a failure on most levels.

Lew Ayres is miscast as a down on His luck Singer-Songwriter, Sonny Tufts is a cartoonish, buffoonish, brutish, behemoth of an Actor who might have had a more successful career as a Pro Wrestler where His Acting Chops and huge physical presence could be put to better use.

Marjorie Steele is a pretty, full-lipped natural blonde that is easy on the eyes and does nothing to embarrass Herself in one of the only four Films She appeared. Marrying a Multi-Millionaire at Age 19, set Her on a course to abandon Stage and Screen.

Overall, the Movie is a huge disappointment, especially for Film-Noir Fans and Crime and Mystery Film Buffs. The on location San Fran Street Photography can't save the thing and it remains for B-Movie and Bad Movie Completists only.

Look... what did you expect? It's a "B" movie, even if Lou Ayers is in it. As a Native San Franciscan, this movie warmed the cockles of my heart. There is no feeling that can match the scenery of San Francisco back in the day! It is absolutely magical to see the Golden Gate Bridge with NO CARS ON IT, and the City looking so pristine! This is a MUST SEE for any person with an interest in what the " good old days" looked like in San Francisco. The plot was decent, acting wasn't bad.....very few movies are close to documentaries of what San Francisco looked like back in the day. This is worth a look for the nostalgic value and scenery alone. For that I give it a 7...

Lew Ayres, a decent actor, tries to save this turkey from execution, but not even a decent looking and acting Marjorie Steele can help him do that. That is because the story, dialogue and editing are so bad, that no one could have saved this film. Sonny Tufts was as wooden as Pinnochio in this film. There was absolutely no chemistry or believability about his supposed relationship with Steele. I kept thinking this role would have been perfect for Jack Lemmon (whom with little imagination, you can imagine that Ayres is acting just like). But the character is so corny (as is the leaden dialogue), that not even Jack Lemmon could have saved the film.

What a tepid little thriller this is, with LEW AYRES as a lounge lizard who sings for his supper, finds romance with a girl (MARJORIE STEELE) when both of them have to go on the lam for a crime they didn't commit. SONNY TUFTS is the detective on the case in what can only be described as a sketchily written role with almost no real substance. Miss Steele remains a nonentity throughout.

As a result, this is a poorly motivated crime tale using authentic San Francisco backgrounds for some local color but the B&W photography is notably ineffective in bringing the film to life.

Ayres seems to know he's coasting along in inferior material and only occasionally shows a flash of his talent that gives the tale a momentary lift from the ordinary. Tufts is solemn and humorless in a poorly written role as the detective who seems obsessed with keeping his girlfriend out of the case when it's discovered that she paid a visit to a murdered man.

The revelation of the murderer comes as no big surprise.

Summing up: Strictly a low-budget affair that never becomes the taut tale it strives to be, judging from the opening credits and music.