It is a performances centric movie

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

***SPOILERS*** Far fetched movie about violations in the state parole board that has convicts, in many cases convicted of first degree murder, sprung after a few years behind bars by them or their associates paying off the members of the board up to $2,000.00 in under the table cash. It's that fine and splendid red headed Irish lad Michael O'Shea, who incidentally was actually born on Saint Patrick Day, who stars in the film playing three different roles as Government Agent Richard Hendricks as well as on the lamb hoodlum Richard Murdock who at the same time is using the fake name Rick Carson. We first see Hendricks/Carson/Murdock in traction at a local hospital after being worked over by the Barney Rodescu, Turhan Bey, gang who caught him red handed trying to record their conversions with a hidden wire, tape wasn't available then to the public, recorder. This spoiled the entire suspense in the film by knowing that Hendricks was to survive whatever deadly obstacles he was to confront in the movie.Were then subjected to a long and boring flashback from Hendricks, who looks like Boris Karloff in "The Mummy", about how he got that way in trying to uncover the state parole system and the criminals that run it. It turns out that the two top members of the board are accepting bribe money to let dangerous convicts off on their promises that they go straight which in reality is straight back to their life in crime. Hendricks at first wins the confidence of the corrupt board members and their #1 shyster or mouthpiece Barney Rodescu until the partner of Murduck whom Hendricks is impersonating shows up at their hideout, known as "The Farm", and exposes him as a fraud.***SPOILERS*** Beaten up and shot as well as slated to be whacked Hendricks is saved by the bell by a squad of leather jacketed state police lead by Police Commissioner Hughes, Lyle Talbot, just in the nick of time to put an end to their plans to murder him and thus keep from releasing, for under the table cash of course, dozens of dangerous criminals into the public. There's also the beautiful Evelyn Anker as JoJo Dumont who runs the notorious Past-time café that's a front for shyster Rodescu's gang. It's JoJo who later gets second thoughts, when Rodesco & Co. plan to murder Hendricks, and switches sides, from the bad to the good guys, just before the action or police raid begins.

It's a talkie movie that is watchable.Not a great film.One of these low budget moral films made in the 40s and 50s.Some familiar character actors in it.Don't expect any suspense.When several notorious criminals are unjustifiably released on parole, the Federal Government smells a rat and sends ace agent Richard Hendricks to investigate. Hendricks infiltrates the gang, responsible for the parole racket by posing as a much-wanted convict Rick Carson. However, the wily Barney Rodescu, who is the brain behind the racket, soon finds out Carson's true identity. Carson's life is now in grave danger.

Michael O'Shea becomes an undercover agent in an attempt to discover who's behind the self-evident corruption of the parole board. The printed prologue informs us that this is a serious social problem, that the streets are filled with "repeaters", and that there is one peeking through your window right now, waiting for his chance to strangle you and pillage your household.O'Shea finds out that the friends of a recently sprung parolee hang out in the Pastime Club, "a combination night club and cheap café." Whatever happened to cheap night clubs anyway? The old movies are full of them but the only ones left seem to be Birdland and the Las Vegas lounge acts. It's a terrible loss to the community.The plot is a little too complicated to spell out. Some of the mob behind the corruption are not as bad as some of the others, although at the end, O'Shea's identity is discovered and they give him a real working over. No problem though. We see him swathed in bandages, dictating the story from a hospital bed, his recovery assured by the ministrations of the ever-popular Bess Flowers as Nurse Mary.The movie is one hundred percent routine. It wouldn't really be helpful to describe more of the contorted plot. Besides, I haven't the time. There's a recidivist pervert at the door and it sounds as if he's urgent.

Though low-budget and rather predictable, "Parole, Inc." is a fairly good crime story. It moves reasonably quickly, and keeps the viewer's attention most of the time.Hendricks (Michael O'Shea) is a federal agent investigating widespread abuses of the parole system. Several dangerous criminals have received unjustified paroles, and evidence points to an organized system of bribery. Agent Hendricks has to go undercover and win the confidence of the gang involved. O'Shea does a creditable job in the lead. Turhan Bey plays a suave lawyer who figures in the agent's investigation.The story that follows is generally predictable, without any real twists or surprises. But it is done well enough to be fairly interesting, is moderately fast-paced, and is usually believable. The characters are mostly stereotypes, but are not overdone.Overall, this is a watchable movie that should hold some interest for fans of crime films.