Second Chance

Kent Taylor is present when Louise Curry tells the jeweler that the diamond she's looking at isn't the million-dollar stone he thinks. The jeweler calls the cops, and detective sergeant Larry Blake has them strip-searched, and then let go. He then starts to sweat other members of the gang -- because Taylor is part of a jewel-stealing gang, and Miss Curry an independent thief. As they go on their ways, they realize they're in love. Is this a chance to get out and live a decent life?

After 20th Century-Fox shut down its B division, producer Sol Wurzel continued to produce more of the same for distribution by the company. Usually the quality suffered, but not here, with a good script, decent direction by James Tinling, and some fine character actors, including Ann Doran, Paul Guilfoyle, Betty Compson (in her next-to-last movie appearance), and Edwin Maxwell. Although I found the ending a bit off, this is mostly a nicely realized film about two people hoping for a better life.