Jail Bait (1954).

Review #1761: Jail Bait.

Cast: 

Lyle Talbot (Inspector Johns), Steve Reeves (Lt. Bob Lawrence), Herbert Rawlinson (Dr. Boris Gregor), Clancy Malone (Don Gregor), Dolores Fuller (Marilyn Gregor), Timothy Farrell (Vic Brady), Theodora Thurman (Loretta), Bud Osborne (Paul McKenna), and Mona McKinnon (Miss Willis) Directed by Ed Wood (#183 - Plan 9 from Outer Space, #536 - Glen or Glenda, and #537 - Bride of the Monster)

Review: 

Sure, there are a handful of films to associate with Ed Wood that can be seen by anyone that stick in the cult consciousness, even though he did not direct as many films as one would think. His first feature film as director as Glen or Glenda (1953), if you remember; it was the first of ten features, although he ventured into decidely more racy intent with the last four (with the last one coming in 1972, six years before his death), and this isn't even counting his ventures in television (aired or not) and his screenplay contributions. It probalby makes sense that the films he was best known for involved sci-fi horror, but Jail Bait (1954) is in fact the first of two crime films that he would end up doing in his line of work. As such, Wood wrote the film with Alex Gordon, who actually would work again with Wood in Bride of the Monster (1955) while being more known for producing several films for American Interational Pictures in the span of a decade (such as The Lawless Rider). It may interest you to note that this was the first feature film for bodybuilder-turned-actor Steve Reeves, who later became popular in the decade for his work within Italian-made sword-and-sandal films (as such, this is actually one of only two American movies he ever did). This was the second of three appearances for Lyle Talbot, who actually was known for never saying no to any film offer. Herbert Rawlinson is here for his final film appearance in a lengthy career (since Bela Lugosi was not avaiable), and he actually died the day after he filmed his scenes of lung cancer.

One has to remember that Ed Wood really wanted to make serious movies. At the very least, he is certainly not the worst filmmaker of all-time (not in a world where Coleman Francis exists), and he probably isn't even the worst of his era. But he surely was not quite lucky with actually developing a fully competent feature if you look at stuff like this film, which believe it or not is probably less watchable than what would come from Wood. There is a reason folks remember Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) moreso than this one. The title is obviously trying to bait you on, but it actually refers to one of the characters saying a gun is "jail bait". Of course, the true indicator comes with its attempt at a music score, a mixture of flamenco guitar and piano, which plays through the whole movie at if the whole film needed a jazzy score. Instead, it might drive one bonkers, because it doesn't exactly go with the attempt at film noir at any point in time, particularly since one will probably be making fun of the fact that all the action happens to take place at night. In short: the movie seems made of cardboard even at 71 minutes, but at least you can see the attempts at legitmacy within a stock attempt at hostage/troubled youth noir. Somehow, this seems like the kind of film that could have been cut in half and not really lose that much detail (in fact, there are prints that include a scene added in entirely to pad the length, and all it involves is a routine involving blackface minstrel); the face-swapping hostage stuff doesn't even happen until quite late in the feature (which might make one chuckle a reminder from another certain movie involving swapping faces), and a movie with little cast-mates won't exactly generate great tension. In short: it might not have as many dubious qualities to make light of like Wood's other features (trust me, if you look hard enough, you'll find them), but it doesn't exactly mean it is better than being a middling experience. Talbot and Rawlinson are probably the most professional of the attempts in acting, in that their rote nature is far more suited than one-time grocery-men or burly builders. Farrell barely even qualifies as a surly adversary, while Fuller and Thurman might as well be broomsticks. What you get here is a movie that would have been entirely forgettable without Wood as director, pure and simple. It drones and plods like a generic time, albeit one that isn't exactly as watchable as some of his other works, if you can understand that. As a whole, folks who want to look on Ed Wood and the six theatrical movies he made as director won't struggle with this film, whether they think it is a big turkey or not. 

Overall, I give it 4 out of 10 stars.

Next Time: Myra Breckinridge.