This is a film with a slow start, only in the first few minutes when we see John Beal, as nice guy, done wrong. It picks up after he is kidnapped by a trio of criminals who kill a bank clerk and a small child, causing him to be railroaded onto Death Row. His girlfriend joins with the D. A. to try and get him freed. Once in prison the film is very gritty with great attention to detail. Most big studios highlighted their stars with great stories. This film, with minor stars at the time, shows us what prison and Death Row were like, making all the inmates into standout characters. The acting is very good, but it is the entire ensemble of John Beal, Preston Foster, Ann Dvorak, Paul Hurst, J. Carrol Nash, Frank Jenks as well as the prison staff, the politicians, the district attorney that make this film interesting, intense, and exciting. It was a great surprise to come across this film. A testament to the early great RKO films and their studio as well as the unjustly convicted inmate who wrote this script based on his life.
Review of We Who Are About to Die
