The Get-Away (1941)

To me, this movie is perfection.

i must have seen a different film!!

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Not Really Their Forte, MGM Tried Out the Gangster Formula, so Successful for WB, and it is an Adequate Attempt. A Remake, this has been Chided for being a Shot for Shot Copy of Public Hero (1935).On its Own there are a Few Things that Make it Worth a Watch. Dan Daley as a Creepy Hood who is a "Brother from Hell" to Donna Reed (in Her debut). Miss Reed Over Emotes Most of the Time that gets on the Nerves as does Robert Sterling's Over the Top Portrayal as an Inmate and a Smarmy Romantic Lead. Another Irritant is Charles Winninger as an Alcoholic Doctor.On the Up Side, it has Typical High Production Standards from the Studio and the Ending Shootout is Bullet Ridden and the Second Ending is done with Suspense and Feels Like it is Dillinger Inspired.Recommended for Fans of Gangster and G-Men Movies and if the Irritating Characters (except for an excellent portrayal by Daley), don't Get-In-Your-Way, it is a Fun and Exciting Film at Times.

Viewers will recognize The Getaway as a remake of another MGM B picture, Public Hero #1. But another film along similar lines was so much better, that being White Heat.Still there's no shame in being associated with being with this solid B action film. Robert Sterling plays a youthful FBI agent who goes undercover in prison to arrange an escape for mobster Dan Dailey who heads the infamous River Gang the FBI wants to nail. Sterling is to infiltrate and find the gang's hideout.Dailey has the Cody Jarrett role here and while he's not nuts with a mother complex like James Cagney was, he's got some issues. But he's also shrewd and paranoid which is always a deadly combination. Dailey steals this film.The Getaway was also the film debut of Donna Reed who plays Dan Dailey's sister who unlike Cody Jarrett's mother is seriously trying to reform him. Sterling takes a liking to here. There's also Charles Winninger a doctor with a thirst problem who I wouldn't let near me with a scalpel. Winninger has an interesting way of collecting his fees.Good action film with a nice climactic shootout.

You know something is up when the usually mild-mannered Robert Sterling comes out as if he is James Cagney. Thrown in jail, unknown to all, the "tough" Sterling is actually an FBI agent who has been placed there to get information on gang leader Dan Dailey.The movie is a very good one due to the excellent plot twists. Donna Reed shows up and Sterling takes a liking to her. Go know that she is the sister of Dailey. Her efforts to reform him have failed throughout their lives.In the scenes that he appears, Charles Winninger is a standout as an alcoholic doctor who treats the gun shot wounds of the crooks.This gangster film of 1941 has it all; an excellent story line with romance blossoming between Sterling and Reed. Sterling must do his duty, no matter what the cost.The ending again proves that love conquers all.

Robert Sterling (Jeff) is a loud-mouthed, brash prisoner who gets the treatment that he deserves whilst staying in prison. He engineers an escape with Dan Dailey (Dinkie) who is part of an organized gang that the police have been trying to smash for a while. However, Sterling isn't who he seems to be and he is put into a difficult situation with the arrival of Donna Reed (Maria). She is looking for her brother - guess who - yep, it's psycho-man Dailey - and she finds out the truth about her brother and Sterling. During all of this, the police have only one mission - to stop Dailey's gang.This is an entertaining fast-paced film with the best performances coming from Dailey and Reed. Sterling is way over-the-top at the beginning of the film and quite annoying. Similarly, Charles Winninger is annoying as he provides needless comedy as a drunk doctor. The film never drags and so must be given credit although the love affair between Reed and Sterling is somewhat unconvincing, especially at the end of the film when she would HATE him. As it is, we get some cuddly stuff.The ending is quite tense as we follow Dailey into a dancehall and we realize that his time is up. It's obviously influenced by Dillinger's last moments as he was staked out and then shot down as he left a cinema. They even give Dailey a dolly-bird escort as he leaves the venue, just as Dillinger left with his dolly-bird, although in Dillinger's case she was implicated in his betrayal. Nothing of that sort here but we do get a shoot-out.