A fast-paced remake of the 1937 Buster Keaton two-reeler Jail Bait that he made for Educational Pictures. Andy Clyde fits well with the material, as he plays a simpleton who goes undercover in a jailhouse to track down a killer. A few gags seemed to be borrowed from Laurel & Hardy's Pardon Us, but it flows along nicely with supporting roles from Jack Norton as Clyde's nutty reporter friend and Vernon Dent as an uptight judge.
However, this short does have a sad backstory: Clyde's 8-year old son passed away earlier in 1944 from a rare internal disease and Clyde was allowed a long hiatus from work, but fortunately he was surrounded by old friends at the funeral, as well as during filming, but he visibly looks despondent in certain scenes.
However, this short does have a sad backstory: Clyde's 8-year old son passed away earlier in 1944 from a rare internal disease and Clyde was allowed a long hiatus from work, but fortunately he was surrounded by old friends at the funeral, as well as during filming, but he visibly looks despondent in certain scenes.