Escapade

Convict Philip Whitney is released from prison pledging to go straight. He visits the home of his older brother John, a crusading attorney who Phillip looks up to. Since John never knew about his incarceration, Philip lies and says he has just returned from Japan. Despite being happy to see his brother, John is often busy with work, so Phillip starts spending time with his beautiful new sister-in-law, Kay, instead. This soon leads into a full-blown affair, which both parties suffer guilt over. They decide to break off their liaison and promise to never tell John, with Philip planning to leave the country for real this time. However, a former cellmate of his has been spotted lurking around the Whitney home. Learning that the man wants revenge on John for sending him to jail, Phillip vows to make up for his indiscretion and save his brother's life...even if it costs him his own.

A pre-Code delight complete with adulterous affairs and Vera West gowns, Escapade stars Jameson Thomas, a London stage veteran who moved to Hollywood at the dawn of the sound era. He is best known for his performances in It Happened One Night and Jane Eyre, both in 1934. The gorgeous Sally Blane was the older sister of screen legend Loretta Young and appeared in classics like I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) and The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939). Walter Long was in The Birth of a Nation (1915), notoriously in blackface, but he is better remembered as the villain in several Laurel & Hardy shorts, including Going Bye-Bye! and The Live Ghost (both 1934). Director Richard Thorpe had an over 40-year career, mostly spent at MGM. His filmography includes entries in the popular Tarzan and Thin Man series, the historical dramas Ivanhoe and The Prisoner of Zenda (both 1952), and the Elvis Presley vehicle Jailhouse Rock (1957). Screenwriter Edmund T. Lowe wrote the "House" monster pictures for Universal, House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945).