A failed actress, Dot Burton ( Faye Emerson), gets in with a gang of hoods and becomes embroiled in a bank robbery scheme. She winds up doing time with an interesting bunch of lady inmates, and then things get really complicated. This fast-paced, lively and very entertaining "B" movie is so unpredictable for the most part that it would be criminal to give away any more of the plot elements. It has the very casual immorality of most of these kind of movies. Emerson gives a vivid and adept performance as Dot, as does Ruth Ford as "stool pigeon" Lucy, Julie Bishop as inmate Myrtle, Dorothy Adams as "Deaf Annie," and Virginia Brissac as the warden Mrs. Stoner. Hedda Hopper's son William, herein billed as "DeWolf Hopper," has a small role, as does "The Great One" -- Jackie Gleason (billed as Jackie C. Gleason). Hopper is as stiff as ever (except when he was on Perry Mason), but Gleason makes a nice impression as a pleasant member of the robbery gang who has a soft touch for Dot. Roland Drew as gang leader Carey looks surprisingly good in drag. Frank Wilcox is only adequate as Kenneth, the old friend of Dot's who turns her in and then tries to help her. Robert Florey also directed The Beast with Five Fingers. Bishop, Ford, Drew, and Wilcox were all in The Hidden Hand.
Verdict: A pleasant surprise. ***.
Will be fun to see Gleason in a pre-superstardom role...have always loved him. And have only read about but never seen Faye Emerson in anything...As for Hopper, was he or was he not gay? His mother, columnist Hedda Hopper, seemed hell bent on outing male stars and destroying their careers - just read how she was smearing Elizabeth Taylor's ex husband Michael Wilding and she had to run to his defense (during the Eddie Fisher years). What do you know, Bill? ;-)
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I know Raymond Burr was gay but I'm not certain about DeWolf! He had two wives, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. He died only four years after his mother did. I've no doubt she contributed to his death!
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