Name: Convicts at Large
Genre: Drama
Released: 1938-12-13
Duration: 57 min
Rating: 5
Cast: Ralph Forbes, Paula Stone, William Royle

Ralph Forbes is an architect, toiling away as a draftsman while working on his plans for a residential development. He's listening to club singer Paula Stone on the radio. He's sweet on her, though they've never met. When her song is interrupted to inform the public that gangster Charles Brokaw has escaped prison, he leaves his home in annoyance and goes to the club where Miss Stone sings. There, through a mishap, he winds up changing clothes with Brokaw and is mistaken for him by some gangsters who want Brokaw to lead them to where he's hidden the jewels from his last job; of course they drag Miss Stone along.

Forbes offers a decent performance for once, Brokaw is good, and Miss Stone sings and does a lively tap dance as part of her act, but the movie is a barebones Poverty Row B that barely tops 57 minutes. it looks like it's had the heart cut out of it, and Marcel Le Picard's gracefully moving camerawork wouldn't save it.

It's the last screen credit of William Selig, who's listed as the presenter. He went broke about this time; his zoo, intended as a major theme park, was a drain on the little money he had left. He and several other pioneer film company heads would be given an honorary Oscar in 1947, and Selig would die the following year, at the age of 84.

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)

An innocent man is bamboozled into trading places with a dangerous escaped convict.

The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

See which big screen releases you can watch from the comfort of your couch.

Theatrical Releases Coming to Streaming

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Streaming Stars, Then and Now

Ralph Forbes and Paula Stone in Convicts at Large (1938)

Convicts at Large

Photos2

Top Cast13

User reviews6

Related interests

Storyline

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed