You Can't Beat the Law (1943) User Reviews

Standard Monogram fare

[ergot29 · 6/10 · 21 January 2005]

Johnny Gray is a socialite with a bad attitude and finds himself in trouble with the law for minor selfish offences before finally getting framed for a robbery. In prison his outlook becomes bitter, and he plots an escape with other inmates while learning lessons of life from a convict on death row and a benevolent guard.

It unfolds like any other Monogram picture with stiff acting from some of the cast along the way. It's not bad if you enjoy straightforward B-movie crime dramas. The cinematography is about as simple as it gets.

It's not for everybody, but if you like Monogram crime movies it's what you are looking for.

DON'T read the summary on IMDB...it's filled with spoilers!!!

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 18 May 2019]

I hope you did not read the summary of this film currently posted on IMDB. This is because there are tons of spoilers listed...plot elements that would be ruined if you see this picture AFTER reading the summary!

As for the movie itself, it's unusual in that I will freely admit that the script is utterly ridiculous...yet I enjoyed this B-movie from Monogram. Why? Because despite having small-time actors and a strange plot, it IS entertaining. Plus, Jack La Rue was very enjoyable as the hard-headed mug!

When the story begins, Johnny (Edward Norris) is a rich playboy type...and his girlfriend insists he grow up and make something of himself. Shortly after this, while on his way home, Johnny is forced at gunpoint to be the getaway driver for a band of crooks. When most of them (including Johnny) are caught, the gang insists that HE is a member of the gang and was their leader. Why? Because their real leader escaped and blaming Johnny meant that the police would assume they caught everyone.

Johnny is soon sent to prison for robbery....and like everyone else in prison he claims to everyone he's innocent. But with at least 10 years ahead of him, he has a terrible attitude and appears ready and willing to head to a real life of crime. However, the new Warden is a decent guy...and he hopes he can somehow get through to Johnny that he should keep his nose clean and work hard to make something of himself. What's next? Well, it's utterly ridiculous....but enjoyable nonetheless.

The acting is generally very good despite small and no-name actors in the film. Not a great movie but better than average for Monogram and well worth seeing for the portion I did NOT tell you about....even though the summary does!

Justice always prevails in the movies.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 5 April 2018]

Framed for a crime he didn't commit, playboy Edward Morris ends up in the slammer and becomes a pawn in an escape attempt after gaining favor with the new warden (Jack La Rue). Made a trustee, Morris goes to work at the home of one of the guards where he meets pretty Joan Woodbury, an old college classmate who had a crush on him in prison and is sure of his innocence. New warden La Rue goes out of his way to make some positive changes in the prison, but some of the more bitter prisoners don't like the changes and plot their escape anyway. After several twists and turns, Morris ends up on the other side of the prison bars, causing more resentment, This B prison drama tries to promote the idea that prisons need much reform in order to work, and while that's a nice idea, it is completely unrealistic in the sense that even though 75 years have gone by, nothing seems to have done, and the prisons are allegedly more overcrowded than ever. Morris and La Rue give sincere performances, and Woodbury is a lovely heroine, while a fine supporting cast gives typical tough and realistic performances. It's an interesting look at a continuing problem that tried to provide a solution that unfortunately has been ignored as the men who end up in lockdown for the rest of their lives.