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Parole, Inc.

Released Nov 24, 1948 1h 11m Crime Drama Mystery & Thriller List
Tomatometer 1 Reviews 50% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
A G-man (Michael O'Shea) poses as a convict to trap a parole fixer (Turhan Bey) in the state prison.
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Parole, Inc.

Critics Reviews

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews The only good thing is that it moves along at a fast clip and is over in a flash. Rated: C May 7, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Not bad for old cheapo. (Police sirens at end give bad guys time paint house,.)Marginal thumb up = how many star, wonder Blobbo... Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member From The Mill Creek 100 Movie Mystery Classics. Though low-budget and rather predictable, "Parole, Inc." is a fairly good crime story. It moves reasonably quickly, and keeps the viewer's attention most of the time. Hendricks (Michael O'Shea) is a federal agent investigating widespread abuses of the parole system. Several dangerous criminals have received unjustified paroles, and evidence points to an organized system of bribery. Agent Hendricks has to go undercover and win the confidence of the gang involved. O'Shea does a creditable job in the lead. Turhan Bey plays a suave lawyer who figures in the agent's investigation. The story that follows is generally predictable, without any real twists or surprises. But it is done well enough to be fairly interesting, is moderately fast-paced, and is usually believable. The characters are mostly stereotypes, but are not overdone. Overall, this is a watchable movie that should hold some interest for fans of crime films. 4 Stars 6-22-13 Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review bill t Surprisingly entertaining little potboiler about a cop who goes undercover to get down to the bottom of why crooks are getting off on parole so easily. He chums along with local baddies, while putting his story together. Lots of action, good story buildup and fairly good acting make this more passable than others. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Why this is termed a film noir escapes me. Its a black and white crime drama, plain and simple. Most scenes are in daylight. No shadows, no wet streets, no whispered lines. It is badly acted, badly shot, but still.... it is rather captivating. No doubt though, this IS a B film. See the entire film at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-dGX6pXOEQ Comes off documentary style with our lead actor narrating much of the film. He's undercover on loan from the FBI to discover the underworld's grip on parole boards in general and one state in particular. Of course, money speaks and parole boards walk... to the tune of releasing rather nasty criminals back on the street from prison. The film opens with a scene of FBI agent Richard Hendricks (Michael O'Shea) bedridden in a hospital bed, dictating the results of his investigation for a report to the California Governor. The dictation scenes are interrupted by long flashbacks scenes showing how the investigation proceeded. (((( O'Shea does a good job, but he comes off like some sort of momma's boy, not a veteran FBI operative. )))) Actor Turhan Bey, the lawyer who masterminds all the wrong doing, comes off as some sort of suave English/India speaking character popular with American audiences at the time. NOTE: (((((( David Niven epitimised the suave, British type that held some sort of grip on US moviegoers. Roger Moore did the same as did the Irish Sean Connery as James Bond. Before both of them James Mason had that accent which seemed to mesmerize US audiences. ))))) Other reviewers of the film wrote: 1 70% Solid "B" film noir, great pace, snappy dialogue. Good performances. Very entertaining. The screenplay is interesting and effective. 2 "There's nothing like a movie made in the 40s. There is a simplicity of perspective that is utterly refreshing when compared to the rubbish that passes for entertainment these days. The entire cast is excellent, the plot clean and easy to understand. Well before the half point of the film, I was rooting for the undercover agent to succeed. I like the fact that the crooks were't so smarmy as to be stereotypes. They were rotters but somehow still seemed human. The end of the film has a strong build up. I really enjoyed this forgotten movie. I wonder how many other B movies are so good. Working my way down IMDb list of available films online, I may soon know."-------by William James Harper (Los Angeles) Directed by Alfred Zeisler Produced by Constantin J. David (producer) Anthony Z. Landi (associate producer) Written by Sherman L. Lowe (story) and Royal K. Cole (story) Sherman L. Lowe (screenplay) Cast Michael O'Shea as Richard Hendricks Turhan Bey as Barney Rodescu Evelyn Ankers as Jojo Dumont Virginia Lee as Glenda Palmer Charles Bradstreet as Harry Palmer Lyle Talbot as Police Commissioner Hughes Michael Whalen as Kid Redmond Charles Williams[disambiguation needed] as Titus Jones James Cardwell as Duke Vigili Paul Bryar as Charley Newton Noel Cravat as Blackie Olson Charles Jordan as Monty Cooper Music by Alexander Laszlo Cinematography Gilbert Warrenton Editing by John Faure Distributed by Eagle-Lion films Release date(s) 24 November 1948 Running time 71 minutes / Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Solid "B" film noir, great pace, snappy dialogue. Good performances. Very entertaining. The screenplay is interesting and effective. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member When FBI agent Richard Hendricks (O'Shea) goes under cover to learn who is selling paroles to violent crimonals, and thus corrupting the American justice system, the trail leads to a club owned by beautiful woman racketeer (Ankers), and to her sinister Romanian attorney, Barney (Bey). But just as he is about to close the case, his cover is blown! "Parole, Inc." is a predictable film, carried mostly along by fine performances by its three principle stars and a script that manages to keep its "crime doesn't pay, and the FBI and the government is there to protect us from rich fat-cats and crooks who would undermine and order" message to a nice, quite background hum. (The film starts out with an announcement about how parole system is being turned into a revolving door for career criminals, thanks to corrupt officials--although today we can celebrate the fact that the revolving door is complete!--so I feared I was in for another lecture ala "[URL=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/journal_view.php?journalid=245672&entryid=360758&view=public]Trapped[/URL]', but the film never got that preachy. Although predictable, the script moves fast enough that the viewer never has time to get bored. It falls smack-dab in the middle of average, with perhaps the worst performmance of Lyle Talbot's career threatening to pull it down to the lower end, but Ankers, Bey, and O'Shea manage to keep things alfoat, even if O'Shea's face seems to be permanently frozen in a smile--even when he is being beaten up by thugs, there seems to be a half-smile on his lips. Parole, Inc. Starring: Michael O'Shea, Evelyn Ankers, Turhan Bey, and Lyle Talbot Director: Alfred Zeisler Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Parole, Inc.

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A G-man (Michael O'Shea) poses as a convict to trap a parole fixer (Turhan Bey) in the state prison.
Director
Alfred Zeisler
Production Co
Orbit Productions
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 24, 1948, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 1, 2016
Runtime
1h 11m
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