Within the Law

This is another of the Joan Crawford wronged woman roles, this time as a someone out for revenge on those who helped send her to prison for a crime she did not commit. Predictably, she falls in love with the son on her main protagonist. The first hour of this film is quite good. It might have been better if the film ended with the aborted heist of the picture, the murder of the police infiltrator, and the escape of the rest of Mary's Gang. The last half hour, with the police inspector playing cat and mouse with the various suspects was a drag and much less interesting. Douglass Montgomery, otherwise little known, does a good job as the son. But obviously, this was Crawford's film from start to finish.

Addmittedly, I'm a big Crawford fan. That's why I was thrilled to see her in PAID. Her role in this film is one of the most diverse of her entire career. She begins as a downtrodden, simple girl, wrongly accused of a crime, and she depicts this very believably. Then prison life hardens her, and she learns more than just street smarts, resulting in a sassy, savvy woman on a mission. Crawford shines above all the other actors in this film. Her character is complex and interesting. The film overall may seem too "quaint" for anyone who is not already a fan of early talkies, but those who love this genre will love this film, and will love Crawford's performance. It's unfortunate that it is so difficult to find PAID on video, or more classic film fans would be able to see one of Crawford greatest early performances.

This was a find. Good acting, a good plot and dialog way ahead of its time. I know of no other 1930 movie with its sophistication of dialog. Great directing by Sam Wood making sure that all of the intricacies of plot were brought out. Joan Crawford was a wrongfully convicted convict out to exact revenge upon the store owner/magnate who sent her up the river who teams with Robert Armstrong to become rich shadily but by means "Within the Law". The final confrontation in the DA's office requires that you pay attention. This movie is ripe for a remake. I see George Clooney as Robert Armstrong's character and Leonardo De Caprio as the son. Robert Armstrong was very strong in this role. It's TCM keeper.

Joan Crawford plays a woman wrongfully convicted of theft and sentenced to prison. She vows revenge on her former boss who accused her and the prosecutor who was so harsh. Total misfire that could have been a great film. The first few scenes, where Crawford is sentenced and enters prison, are powerful. But instead of spending any time with the prison, the movie skips ahead to after she's released. Worse yet, she seems exactly the same as when she went in. Devoting more time to Joan in prison and showing her become hardened would have worked better. As it is, she gets out of prison, hangs out with some disreputable characters for a short while and suddenly she's Ma Barker. It made no sense and the only thing I can figure is that the studio was afraid of having her character be too hardened. After all, they tacked on a terrible love story to "redeem" her character. Absolutely terrible ending. Too bad, this could have been a classic.