When a young man murders for no apparent reason, it seems human nature to simply say, He's no good. But that's not always justified, and in the case of a reformed delinquent (Tom Brown), he has killed perhaps one of the most despicable men ever to get gunned down in a movie: his own father. Brown shoots the nefarious criminal down after learning the truth about his parentage. It's a shocker to him, and realizing that he is a pawn in a truly horrible plan for revenge, feels he has no choice.
The film starts with the arrival at the state capital of the new governor and his wife, truly decent people who long to do good for the people of their state. But where there is good, evil is usually in hiding, and in the case of governor Sir Guy Standing, it is in the form of the man who later gets his just rewards and hopefully a one way ticket to eternal torture. Janet Beechet is the noble wife of the governor who pleas for a stay of execution, not realizing that she greatly figures in Brown's refusal to speak. Frances Drake sings her heart out, in agony over the situation, playing Brown's devoted girlfriend.
Poignant and often gripping, this is the opposite of the typical mother love story, and taken from the perspective of a child never given the opportunity to get to know his mother, it is truly touching. There are fine performances by Helen Lowell as Standing's aging mother who at first seems a rival to her daughter in law, but is truly understanding all of her cracks, and Robert Gleckler as the despicable mobster who has no redeeming values but for some reason has many dimensions that make him seem real, like a 1930's version of J.R. Ewing. Don't be upset by an unconventional ending, but considering the circumstances, I found it quite appropriate. I started this late in an evening and found that I couldn't turn it off. Now that is what to me makes a great movie, and one I will definitely watch again.
The film starts with the arrival at the state capital of the new governor and his wife, truly decent people who long to do good for the people of their state. But where there is good, evil is usually in hiding, and in the case of governor Sir Guy Standing, it is in the form of the man who later gets his just rewards and hopefully a one way ticket to eternal torture. Janet Beechet is the noble wife of the governor who pleas for a stay of execution, not realizing that she greatly figures in Brown's refusal to speak. Frances Drake sings her heart out, in agony over the situation, playing Brown's devoted girlfriend.
Poignant and often gripping, this is the opposite of the typical mother love story, and taken from the perspective of a child never given the opportunity to get to know his mother, it is truly touching. There are fine performances by Helen Lowell as Standing's aging mother who at first seems a rival to her daughter in law, but is truly understanding all of her cracks, and Robert Gleckler as the despicable mobster who has no redeeming values but for some reason has many dimensions that make him seem real, like a 1930's version of J.R. Ewing. Don't be upset by an unconventional ending, but considering the circumstances, I found it quite appropriate. I started this late in an evening and found that I couldn't turn it off. Now that is what to me makes a great movie, and one I will definitely watch again.