59 minutes of prison reform chaos that accidentally invented reality TV.
Sheriff Holt is determined to prove that prisoners can be rehabilitated and released into society in this prison drama. In charge of a new kind of program, the sheriff places inmates in a clean environment and makes them build a road. Despite the improved conditions, the criminals continue to pull off a few shady shenanigans as an innocent man who is sent there soon discovers.
Acting
Jack Holt's mustache does 80% of the emotional lifting.
Production
They actually built a road for this. Method filmmaking 1940.
Writing
Shenanigans-to-runtime ratio impressively efficient.
Director
Lewis D. Collins
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was one of five films Jack Holt made for Columbia in 1940 alone—Hollywood's hardest-working mustache.
Released during the real-life prison reform debates of the late 1930s, this B-picture accidentally captures New Deal optimism about rehabilitation programs that mostly failed in practice.
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