User reviews

This is a mildly entertaining crime drama about two rich spoil young 20-somethings who learn they won't inherit their parents money and they decide they can't rough it in life, they want to take a short cut by stealing money from the bank the boy worked at. They turn themselves in and figured after a few years in prison they would get the hidden money and live happily ever after. But they didn't figure for the police to like them and want to teach the two a lesson about how "crime doesn't pay". Oh they did their prison time where the boy met a guy (a cell mate) and he would get out of prison first and follow the two young adults to get his cut of the money. The insurance agent and the police follow the two as well to uncover the hidden money.

Well it's funny in the beginning where the young couple are at dinner and she say that she "can't do her own laundry because she wasn't raised up that way"... I almost turned the film off then but I had to watch this one until the end to find out how this one played out. It's funny to see the two in prison doing labor when they wanted the easy but wrong road - she had to scrub floors and he worked in a factory during their prison time.

It turned out to be an okay film - nothing outstanding by any means but it's alright, nothing to brag about. It held my interest until the very end so it wasn't all that bad. The film does have a few intense moments that kept it enjoyable.

5/10

Wrong Road, The (1937)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A man and woman (Richard Cromwell/Helen Mack) who plan on being married are having a hard time with life so they find a get rich quick scheme. The two plan on stealing $100,000 from a bank, hide the money, turn themselves in, stay their prison term and when released, they'll have the money to live on for the rest of their lives but things never work out how you have them planned. This is a half way decent film that remains interesting throughout it's short 52-minute running time. The performances by the two leads are good and Lionel Atwill adds great support as a detective. This seems like a feature version of Buried Loot, which I watched earlier in the year. This was directed by famous silent actor James Cruze who played Jekyll & Hyde in the 1912 version.

The picture during the cast and credits tells the whole story: look out ,kids, don't take the wrong way, follow the straight and narrow ,the shortcuts lead to ruin; in a nutshell ,it's an edifying preachy movie probably made to be shown in Sunday schools .

Both heroes are immature ,naive and gullible :how could they believe that they would retrieve their money (which they earned ,insists the boy),that they would not be followed ?

The heroes' naiveté has something endearing ;they are like big children still believing in Santa Claus ;the girl seems more sensible but the boy hangs up to his dream;Richard Cromwell 's boyish look in a tailor made part: he who called Mary Dressler 'Beauty " in "Emma "(1932) and was the rookie who was doublecrossed by a temptress and "so satisfyingly tortured in "Lives of a Bengal Lancer".(Gore Vidal). He epitomizes the impulsive mindless young man and he does it with panache.

The scene of the auction sale where the lovers try to get back the music box is certainly the best.

I believe a film ought to have at least a modicum of credibility. This is preposterous. It has a pair of spoiled, previously rich kids, stealing a hundred thousand dollars from a bank where the young man works. First of all, how could people running such a business be so stupid. Secondly, they pull the whole thing off and then turn themselves in. You see, they are going to do their time and then return for the money at a later time. Of course, they put the money in a music box which is shipped to Chicago. Why didn't they just hide it somewhere nearby. Since they weren't going to turn themselves in for a while, why not find a good hiding place. It couldn't be that hard. They do a couple of quick years in the joint, then are paroled because of the intervention of a police detective who is chasing the money. He is willing to pardon them if they return the money (more stupidity) because they seem like nice kids. I wonder what he would have done for some poor sap on the street. Anyway, it gets hokier and hokier. An acquaintance of the young man from prison gets into the act. Despite repeated offers to get off the hook, the young man flights to the bloody end to keep the money. It's too much to even respond to. It's like a training film for idiots.

When jimmy and ruth are scraping by, they agree to rob the bank where jimmy worked, until he got laid off. They are ready to go to jail, knowing they will have plenty of cash when they get out. As robert burns told us, "the best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley." finding the money when they get out turns out to be harder than they planned. Keep an eye out for chester clute, as the auctioneer. Clute and lionel atwill (the insurance man) were supporting actors in so many films. And of course, the awesome marjorie main is in here... one of her seven films, released in 1937! This was ten years before main was ma kettle. My favorite role of hers is in "the women", the 1939 version. Wrong road's story itself is no big deal... even gets kind of preachy by the end. But it's fun to see all these actors just getting started in h-wood. Directed by james cruze. He only directed a couple more after this, and died young at 58. Richard cromwell and helen mack had both been around for a few years when they made this. Mack had done mostly uncredited silent roles, but their careers took off in the talkies.

Everybody in this movie is "nice". The cops are nice, the criminals are nice, heck, even Lionel Atwill is nice! How can you describe this one, it's in a class by itself. The film is basically a "crime does not pay" lesson, typical of the era, with a twist. The twist is that the authorities inexplicably go out of their way to give the perpetrators of a one hundred thousand dollar bank robbery every opportunity to get off with a slap on the wrist.

But to analyze the plot of this one is really a waste of time, since there is very little sense to it. Really, the main premise has to rank among the most preposterous of all time, in a class with 'Reefer Madness' and Ed Wood's 'Jail Bait'.

But if you don't take it seriously (how could you?) you might get some enjoyment out of this one, at least a few laughs. The acting is actually not all that bad, and includes an intriguing early performance by Horace McMahon as a hardened criminal (actually, the one character in the whole movie who is not really "nice"). Lionel Atwill is interesting to see in an uncharacteristic role as a merciful investigator. And Marjorie Main, too, as a pleasant middle-aged lady.

For all the criticism I am throwing at it, I must admit it entertained me, and I definitely recommend it to those who enjoy unintended humor.

When they graduated from college, they had high hopes, but now Richard Cromwell and Helen Mack are disillusioned. He's just been fired from his teller's position, so he stole $100,000. The two of them figure they'll spend some time in jail, then collect the money. Kindly insurance investigator Lionel Atwill tries to talk them into returning the money, but they're stubborn. Two years later, at the urging of Atwill, they're granted parole and go for the money.... with Atwill and bad man Horace MacMahon after them.

It's a well-meaning story with a strong moral component, and Atwill is excellent, as is Miss Mack. Cromwell's line readings are a bit droning. Director James Cruze does a competent job here, with some fine performances in the supporting cast. He was near the end of his rope, though. He had been a leading director in the 1910s and 1920s, but had stumbled at the coming of sound. His brief renaissance of a few years earlier had dribbled away. The following year, he would direct three more movies, all of them Bs verging on exploitation, then nothing. He would die in 1942.

Okay, we've seen flicks where the poor prove their ultimate moral worth by overcoming a period of poverty abating crime. This sort of redemption has long proved popular. Here, in a neat twist, a dreamy young couple must prove their moral worth by overcoming a lifetime of privilege that has eventually turned to crime. Disinherited from family fortunes, the couple steals big bucks they hope to luxuriate on after serving time for the theft. But, after serving their time, all kinds of complications ensue threatening to break up their love match.

It's not hard to pick apart the many stretches as the plot develops. Other reviewers have done that job, so no need to repeat it. Nonetheless, Cromwell and Mack make a winning couple whose basic innocence holds the leaky narrative together. And catch Lionel Atwill in a rare good guy role-- I kept expecting crackling arcs of light and infernal laboratories to show up. Also, I kept hoping The Wrong Road would achieve real impact by going down the same road as You Only Live Once (1937), arguably the best of the doomed young couple movies. But this is Republic Pictures and James Cruze, not Walter Wanger and Fritz Lang. Anyway, the 50-some minutes manages a few good moments but fails as a whole to rise above programmer status.

Richard Cromwell and Helen Mack star in a short programmer, "The Wrong Road," from 1937. The film also stars Lionel Atwill.

A man and woman, Jimmy and Ruth (Richard Cromwell/Helen Mack) who apparently don't want to work for a living decide to steal $100,000 from a bank, hide the loot, confess, and when they are released from prison, get the money and lead a happy life.

They don't plan on several things. One is a long sentence - ten years. They manage to get out in two with the insurance man (Atwill) convincing a judge that the two will lead him to the money if they are released. They also hadn't planned on the rules of their parole, one of which is that they can't get married for 8 years.

And, alas, they running into the detective every time they turn around - or a prison mate of Jimmy's who wants to know where the money is.

Then there's the location of the money - another problem.

I have to say I'm not sure what made Richard Cromwell such a big acting find - I thought he was pretty terrible, although cute. I was surprised when I read his biography that listed all the accolades he received.

Okay movie.

The Wrong Road is an outlandish film which lacks a shred of realism. The leads are attractive and do their best - Helen Mack is appealing and Richard Cromwell does his stalwart best (even though those of us who saw "Lives of a Bengal Lancer" remember him as the jerk who got Gary Cooper killed). And, playing against type, Lionel Atwill's character is cheerful and avuncular, which is a jolt.

But the plot itself is chock-full of holes and non-sequiturs and takes turns that rail against logic. Try as you might to give it a chance it defies you to suspend your disbelief. For instance, they get sent away to ADJOINING PRISONS and meet each other? After a while, another question arises; did they hire 10 year old screenwriters in Hollywood during the 30's?