With one or two well known exceptions from the pre code era MGM could not make a decent gangster film.The first 10 minutes were great.Montgomery puts the heat on night club owners and then is wounded fleeing the cops.He flees to the country and the film changes tack.It becomes a homily about the virtues of country life and how the beauty tames the beast.The last 10 minutes are a bit livelier.However the hour in between just drags along as the redemptive ways of the country eventually wear away the rough edges of Montgomery's character.I don't know what it is but the majority of Warners films of this era still have the ability to entertain and engage the mind.Films made by MGM seem to be encased in aspic and totally boring.
Review of Hide-Out
