Jail Bait
You would think that an Ed Wood film with a second writer- in this case, Alex Gordon- might be a good thing. Of course, Gordon also collaborated with the legendary filmmaker on “Bride of the Monster,” so yeah, maybe it’s not that good a thing. Wood did seem to have a knack for finding talent that was on his level.
Still, “Jail Bait” feels less like a Wood film than you’d expect, and not just because it isn’t a monster movie. Of course, I typed that before I saw a night club show feature a band and band leader in blackface. Wow. Just…wow. And throw in some stilted line readings, obvious sets (yes, that theater chain looks like a sound stage), and wooden performances, and yeah, we’re definitely in Wood territory here.
“Jail Bait” tells the story of a plastic surgeon’s son (Clancy Malone) who gets mixed up with career criminal Vic Brady (Timothy Farrell), forcing his father (Herbert Rawlinson) and sister (Wood’s girlfriend at the time, Dolores Fuller) into bailing him out. And when he kills a cop, and Brady gets recognized, Don Gregor is forced to make choices that put his family in greater danger when Brady demands to have Gregor’s father change his face so he can’t be identified.
There’s some genuinely hilarious dialogue here. Not that it’s intended to be, but that doesn’t make it any less true (my favorite, when Don’s father- after helping him with the cops- tells him, “The darkness of the night will hide you.”). Wood really wasn’t a good director was he? God knows he tried, and truth of the matter is, he does have a story here that’s better than most he told. But he really didn’t have a good grade of performance (although he did discover Steve Reeves, who would become known for his performances as Hercules later). And what’s with all the constant guitar strumming on the score? (My guess- public domain.)
That said, he did understand the editing process…albeit only in terms of pacing. At 71 minutes, there’s no fat on this film. (Of course, there’s no real meat on this thing either.) And let’s face it, the quicker this film ends the better for all of us. Still, you have to admire Wood for trying, even if he didn’t really succeed. That’s not an easy thing to do when it comes to following ones passions, especially when you have as little talent as Ed Wood did.
