Gallant Lady (1942) Poster

(1942)

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5/10
Not as bad as you might expect from PRC.
planktonrules27 March 2020
The story begins with a break from a ladies' chain gang. Dr. Rosemary Walsh is one of the prisoners and she's handcuffed to a lady who is about to escape. Once the guard (the dumbest guard in film history) is overwhelmed, Rosemary is forced to go along with the other escaping prisoners...though she has no interest in escaping since her sentence is almost complete. Her intention is to turn herself in to the authorities as soon as possible, but because she's a doctor, she ends up sticking around and treating some needy country folk. In the process, she ends up meeting Dr. Steve Carey...and she tells him her true identity. He decides to help her and soon the pair fall in love. What's next? See the film.

One part of the film that might shock you is the film's handling of race. If you are the sort who cannot watch an old film if there's politically incorrect content, then try some other movie! I see it as a sad product of the times...and looked past it.

So, despite the film's handling of race, is it any good? Well, compared to most PRC movies, this one is pretty good...though this isn't saying much since nearly 90% of PRC's films were awfully bad! This one isn't great, as so much of the plot seems far-fetched...especially at the end. But it is enjoyable and makes for a decent time-passer despite its very humble origins.
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5/10
She shouldn't have been on a chain gang in the first place.
mark.waltz25 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
It's obvious to me that the writer of this enjoyable but unbelievable drama really took liberties in having doctor Rose Hobart work in a field for her alleged crime of what is now known as mercy killing. She is handcuffed to another inmate who grabs the guard's rifle just as her gangster boyfriend comes up. Hobart ends up in a small town where she falls in love with one of the more respected townsfolk (Sidney Blackmer) but pictures of her floating around eventually have her exposed even though Blackmer knows and doesn't care. Hobart's old cellmates come back into her life while she's on the run and Blackmer's on trial, giving the possibility that this time around, she will be guilty of an actual crime.

Rose Hobart had possibilities in the early 1930's of becoming a great star, but her own political background prevented the that from occurring. She gets to play a truly believable character here, but is defeated by an odd story and mixed up script. It seems that every time the scene changes, she's gone from one crisis directly into another, and eventually, within the confines of this rather short drama, it just becomes way too absurd to believe. Blackmer's black housekeeper is either supposed to be really smart pretending to be an idiot, or really is an idiot in the courtroom sequence. Of the remainder of the cast, only Vince Barnett deserves mention as one of the gang members who provides comic relief while showing a sadomasochistic violent streak. A truly odd film to put it mildly.
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