Jacktown (1962)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Frankie (Richard Meade) is a small town punk who refuses to work and usually lies to his mother about what he does at night. What he's out doing is hanging with other wannabe tough guys and pulling off small crimes. His luck runs out when he's caught making out with a young girl who turns out she lied about her age. Frankie is sent to prison where the warden takes pity on him and gets him a job in the yard where the prisoner then meets his attractive daughter (Patty McCormack) who wants him to go straight.
JACKTOWN was shot in Michigan and is your typical juvenile delinquent movie, although being released in 1962 put it pretty far behind in the game. The film has some pretty campy moments that makes it worth sitting through and there's also a subplot dealing with the history of the prison. The state prison was the location for one of the most violent prison riots in history and stock footage from it is thrown into the film.
With that said, if you're looking for an Oscar-winning type of movie this here certainly isn't that. The film does work as a cheap "C" movie that has some pretty campy moments including all of the scenes dealing with Frankie getting picked on by the older men in the prison who don't like his type. These scenes are actually pretty funny as is another dealing with a woman's scream after she runs into a body on the street. These scenes certainly help carry the picture and make it entertaining.
The film's third act because a preachy morality tale and it brings the film down a little. The performances are decent for the most part as we also get real people thrown into the mix including a real prosecutor. JACKTOWN isn't the greatest film ever made but it's slightly entertaining if you enjoy these types of low-budget movies.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Frankie (Richard Meade) is a small town punk who refuses to work and usually lies to his mother about what he does at night. What he's out doing is hanging with other wannabe tough guys and pulling off small crimes. His luck runs out when he's caught making out with a young girl who turns out she lied about her age. Frankie is sent to prison where the warden takes pity on him and gets him a job in the yard where the prisoner then meets his attractive daughter (Patty McCormack) who wants him to go straight.
JACKTOWN was shot in Michigan and is your typical juvenile delinquent movie, although being released in 1962 put it pretty far behind in the game. The film has some pretty campy moments that makes it worth sitting through and there's also a subplot dealing with the history of the prison. The state prison was the location for one of the most violent prison riots in history and stock footage from it is thrown into the film.
With that said, if you're looking for an Oscar-winning type of movie this here certainly isn't that. The film does work as a cheap "C" movie that has some pretty campy moments including all of the scenes dealing with Frankie getting picked on by the older men in the prison who don't like his type. These scenes are actually pretty funny as is another dealing with a woman's scream after she runs into a body on the street. These scenes certainly help carry the picture and make it entertaining.
The film's third act because a preachy morality tale and it brings the film down a little. The performances are decent for the most part as we also get real people thrown into the mix including a real prosecutor. JACKTOWN isn't the greatest film ever made but it's slightly entertaining if you enjoy these types of low-budget movies.