PAROLE GIRL is a classic precode from the folks at Columbia Pictures. It stars Ralph Bellamy who appeared in many films at the studio, as well as Mae Clarke who should have been in more. Bellamy and Clarke have excellent chemistry in this film. Even when she's angry at him and wanting revenge for putting her in prison, she is still drawn to him. And you almost feel sorry for Bellamy, because he is not going to be able to get away from her, no matter how hard he might try.
What really puts this production on the map is its ability to take a theme like revenge and make a routine prison film into something more. Here, it becomes a somewhat unlikely romance...because after Clarke is released, she goes to work to get even on Bellamy but ultimately realizes she loves him more than she despises him. Probably this tale had been told before, either in other films or in radio dramas. But because Bellamy and Clarke take a formulaic plot with a predictable ending, and go deep with the characters, we get to watch something substantial on screen.
The plot mostly hinges on their characters' actions and reactions to each other. In fact, it's almost a two-character study since there is barely a scene without them included. Yet a few notable supporting turns do occur in the movie. And these extra roles help to enliven the proceedings.
For example, there's a friend of Clarke's (Marie Prevost) who throws an apple out the window on the train. And Bellamy has a boss (Ferdinand Gottschalk) who comes to dinner but doesn't want to sit in the dining room. He enjoys staying in the kitchen, since he's not allowed to go into the kitchen inside his own home.
These interesting performances aside, the most memorable bit in PAROLE GIRL occurs earlier in the picture. It's a dramatic prison fire scene, and it is one of the best-staged action sequences this writer has viewed in a long time.
What really puts this production on the map is its ability to take a theme like revenge and make a routine prison film into something more. Here, it becomes a somewhat unlikely romance...because after Clarke is released, she goes to work to get even on Bellamy but ultimately realizes she loves him more than she despises him. Probably this tale had been told before, either in other films or in radio dramas. But because Bellamy and Clarke take a formulaic plot with a predictable ending, and go deep with the characters, we get to watch something substantial on screen.
The plot mostly hinges on their characters' actions and reactions to each other. In fact, it's almost a two-character study since there is barely a scene without them included. Yet a few notable supporting turns do occur in the movie. And these extra roles help to enliven the proceedings.
For example, there's a friend of Clarke's (Marie Prevost) who throws an apple out the window on the train. And Bellamy has a boss (Ferdinand Gottschalk) who comes to dinner but doesn't want to sit in the dining room. He enjoys staying in the kitchen, since he's not allowed to go into the kitchen inside his own home.
These interesting performances aside, the most memorable bit in PAROLE GIRL occurs earlier in the picture. It's a dramatic prison fire scene, and it is one of the best-staged action sequences this writer has viewed in a long time.