AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

mark.waltz The "Crime Does Not Pay" series at MGM was a fast-moving collection of shorts, a variety of different situations of the law battling less than law-abiding citizens. Graff, murder, robbery, jail breaks and even an illegal baby racket were amongst the plot lines in this long-running part of MGM's shorts division. What is noticeable about these shorts is the fact that many of them couldn't be expanded past their 20 minute running time, and when MGM did get on the crime racket in their feature films, they weren't as successful as what Warner Brothers had done the decade before with Cagney and Robinson. Even then, Warners was the king of the gangster film, with those two still in the running and Bogart, John Garfield and George Raft more adept than the second stringers at MGM who were given on-screen screen tests in "B" features like this in order to prove their meddle.Here, it is young Robert Sterling playing the lead, and he tries to prove his toughness in prison by kicking his seemingly tired bunkmate out of the lower berth. A violent but comical scene follows, but there's more to Sterling than meets the machine gun. Before you know it, he's on the run after a prison escape with a very young (and non-dancing) Dan Dailey and by some accident encounters Dailey's worried sister (Donna Reed) who has been searching for him. Charles Winninger offers comic relief as a doctor who appears to be bedridden and dying but is most likely recovering from cirrhosis of the liver.Typical plot twists include one of the characters actually a federal investigator in disguise and another character being revealed to be "Mister Big" even though they have been providing comedy all along. "Auntie Em" Clara Blandick shows up briefly as a comic landlady, and there's some amusing dialog exchanges between Sterling and Reed. But a lot of the script features lines of speech which are senseless, as if the whole thing was rushed together. A lot longer than most "B" crime movies which MGM made during this time, and being six times longer than one of the "Crime Doesn't Pay Series" makes this seem stretched out to a needless length, ultimately making this one a major disappointment.

howardeisman Wow! A preternaturally cute,just past teenage, Donna Reed in her first movie, emoting with all she had. Dan Daily-of all people-playing the heavy. A real menace. In an uncredited role, the immortal Veda Ann Borg.The story is old. It had been done before and even more afterward, but who cares. It's a b-movie, but with MGM high production values. A dance hall scene seems to have hundreds of extras. So suspend critical judgment (and even basic intelligence) and sit back and have fun.My favorite scene is when Dan Daily, hiding out and in disguise so that he would not be recognized, approaches Veda Ann Borg in a dance hall and asks to dance with her. What better way to deflect any attention to yourself than to dance with the showiest blond in Hollywood history?

edwagreen You know something is up when the usually mild-mannered Robert Sterling comes out as if he is James Cagney. Thrown in jail, unknown to all, the "tough" Sterling is actually an FBI agent who has been placed there to get information on gang leader Dan Dailey.The movie is a very good one due to the excellent plot twists. Donna Reed shows up and Sterling takes a liking to her. Go know that she is the sister of Dailey. Her efforts to reform him have failed throughout their lives.In the scenes that he appears, Charles Winninger is a standout as an alcoholic doctor who treats the gun shot wounds of the crooks.This gangster film of 1941 has it all; an excellent story line with romance blossoming between Sterling and Reed. Sterling must do his duty, no matter what the cost.The ending again proves that love conquers all.

MartinHafer This is a B-movie from MGM and is interesting for several reasons. Most importantly, it's Donna Reed's first film and I liked how she played a rather tough character--a nice departure from her TV mom role of the 50s and 60s. She also was incredibly beautiful and I can see how this film led to better roles. Also, it's interesting to see Dan Daily playing in a non-musical role--and a very gritty role as well. Frankly, I always preferred Daily as the actor versus him as the song and dance man he usually played.As for the star of the film, Robert Serling, he's a guy who kind of fell off the face of the earth--going from some nice films at MGM to obscurity so quickly. Despite making some nice films and appearing in quite a few films and shows over his long life, real stardom eluded this handsome guy. In 1941, you would have undoubtedly predicted more of a starring career--as he'd been in films opposite the likes of Clark Gable! This is an interesting prison film where Sterling plays an incredibly nasty and obnoxious young hood. He is definitely no shrinking violet during his stay in "the big house"! Eventually, he is able to orchestrate a breakout with his cell-mate (Daily) and this leads to some very, very interesting and somewhat unexpected results. The film is somewhat reminiscent of "White Heat" and other noir films from the later 40s, though I am not in any way suggesting it's the same plot or quite as gritty. A very good B movie that kept my interest due to a very good script, good acting and a nice MGM polish that makes this film so much nicer and well made than the typical B. The only sour note is near the end--smart Sterling behaves rather stupidly and his actions seemed pretty inconsistent. But, it didn't ruin the film and can be ignored--though it did make the film a little less edgy.While I have learned from one of the other reviews that this film is a close remake of "Public Hero #1", I still enjoyed it--so much so that I hope to also see the original--especially since I really like Chester Morris, Jean Arthur and Lionel Barrymore and would love to see what they did with this material.UPDATE (10/10): I just saw the original film ("Public Hero #1") and the other reviews were right--it's practically the exact same film throughout. Because of this, "The Getaway" must lose a point for lacking originality and have adjusted my review accordingly.