Civilian Mary Dane and falsely imprisoned Bud Leonard love each other. Lou Rinaldo, who framed Bud to get Mary, and escape-minded King Callahan want to keep him in stir, but convict Bertie and the others, even including the Warden, set events in motion to prove that love and justice will prevail. NB: Prisoner numbers given in lieu of character names in many cast lists for this film do not match the numbers shown on the characters' uniforms, when these can be seen at all, and are not used in dialogue at all.
Production
Early Mervyn LeRoy before his Warner Bros. golden era.
Writing
Pre-Code moral complexity: criminals more ethical than the law.
Director
Mervyn LeRoy
Conrad Nagel
Bertie 'Duke' Gray, #50607
Bernice Claire
Mary Dane
Raymond Hackett
Bud 'The Kid' Leonard
George Cooper
'Happy'
Ralph Ince
'King' Callahan, #12254
Maurice Black
Lou Rinaldo
William Holden
Warden Lansing
Ivan Linow
'Baby Face'
Blanche Friderici
Mrs. Miller
Tully Marshall
Lemuel Barnes
Ernie Adams
Trustee with List (bit)
Chuck Hamilton
Convict (extra)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The mismatched prisoner numbers in cast lists versus uniforms suggest either sloppy production or studio-mandated re-editing after censors objected to specific convict identities.
This was Mervyn LeRoy's second feature at First National before his legendary run at Warner Bros; you can already see his gift for making moral outlaws sympathetic.
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