Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Interesting little quickie from RKO pictures, especially now that Alcatraz has been shut down. A group of convicts from Alcatraz volunteer to be part of a medical experiment that might help find a cure for some disease, involving radiation treatment. Eddie, one of the convicts, (Sam Scar) stabs another during the treatment, leaving the doctors looking for the cause. Made during the post-WW II radiation scare, this one deals with possible medical cures from that same radiation. The search leads to Tahoe, where someone had a hideout. The only actor I recognized was Frank Cady, (Mr. Drucker, from Green Acres!) Directed by Ed Cahn, master of schlock. Written by George George, the son of Rube Goldberg! It's not bad. Worth the watching, if you can catch it.

They made a movie that was about the original experiment. But they could not expose the original experiment. Its too ghastly. Our Govt decided to experiment on prisoners HOW? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> By making the men sit on toilet bowls filled with radioactive water. Then their testicles were lowered into the water. The true story is horrible. of course all the men got testicular cancer, natch! <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< I wish we had the old board were you could discuss movies. What a terrible decision to remove it. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Flipped to TCM by accident & the opening intrigued me so I recorded it to watch later in evening. Starts w/idea in 50's nobody would believe i.e. that U.S. military would offer 6 extreme-risk felons full parole if they'd be part of an experiment that would most likely kill them. (Today of course, most would accept the idea of a US agency not only risking peoples' lives to achieve some goal & letting five extremely dangerous prisoners go free to cover up some terrible error in the program.As an RN with 30+ yrs. experience I absolutely believed the Where the nurse had to take the fall for the experiment's deadly outcome. (That still happens all the time in even modern times.) I also chuckled when that poor little nurse & hero doctor go to beg the administrator & when they arrive the nurse cheerfully goes off to make coffee while the two doctors confer about how to gave the program. There were some interesting editing oopsies i.e. fights & stunts were filmed from bad angles so one could see how obviously punches were pulled & actors sort of 'fell on command'. The end of the movie's a full page of a magazine or paper proclaiming the main character a hero. If you stop the movie on the frame showing this page you find the same paragraphs repeat throughout the article. Whoever wrote that page didn't read the script, because the first paragraph reads "…following the dramatic turn of events culminating in the murder of a scientist and inventor of a sensational new therapy."The next paragraph readers "Convicts of the state prison had volunteered to take the tests which might mean death to them." That portion of the article alternates repeatedly (starting on top of the next column) with "...was so intent on the success of his experiments that he volunteered to take the tests himself. Death will no doubt delay the progress of the experiments."Of course, in 1950 other than the editors no one had the ability to stop & view a single Frame at a time nor watch a scene in slow- motion to critique it, but that doesn't let them off the hook for failure to catch errors.Despite these minor glitches, this still remains a watchable movie Which starts with an implausible idea & manages to convert it into some rather good plot twists and (in 1950 at least), a surprising ending where the hero's killed (I found myself expecting the hero- doctor had expected to find the bad guy/convict there & prevented being killed) a (fairly) minor character comes to the (experiment's) rescue & risks his own life to save the day.

At one hour running time, this couldn't even be considered a "B" movie. I suppose it defines the term programmer. Whatever it is, and however much it cost to produce, I think it's a winner. The legendary director, Eddie Cahn, manages to take an unknown cast and a dime store plot and turn it into a tight little mystery. Cahn, like Bill "One Shot" Beaudine and others were masters at using pocket change to turn out two reelers that are somehow able to capture the viewers attention. The plot, such as it is, involves the Army using radioactive isotopes on convicts from Alcatraz to help find a cure for a mysterious blood disease. (I wonder what the ACLU would have to say about that today). The experiment backfires and the hero begins to smell a rat. With the help of his nurse, his investigation leads to a criminal conspiracy involving the head rat - or the head guinea pig. But enough about that. Ignore the story and the unknown and mostly untalented cast. Enjoy the mystery, the pace, and the trip back to the land of double breasted pinstripe suits, Studebakers, and cliches. I voted 8/10