It is a hard pill to swallow when we find out that our parents are not perfect, that there might be something in their past that is haunting them in some way. When you’re confronted with that, sometimes the only thing you can do at first is deny it, trying to make it not so by simply insisting that it isn’t true. That is the reaction George La Main (John Drew Barrymore, credited here as John Barrymore, Jr.), has when he finally catches up to the man who assaulted his father and learns the reasons why.
This is a film about growing up, in more ways than one. The film opens with George returning to his father’s bar after having just gotten a haircut. His father, Andy (Preston Foster), is there, ready to celebrate George’s birthday, complete with having the patrons of the bar sing Happy Birthday to him. But the festivities are interrupted by the arrival of Al Judge (Howard St. John), who insists Andy removes his shirt and get down on all fours. Then Al beats him fiercely with a cane, leaving Andy weak and injured. George cannot believe his father complies, nor that the other patrons of the bar don’t interfere in the beating. Distraught, he takes his father’s gun from their apartment and goes out on the town, looking for Al, intent on getting revenge for the beating.
This is a serviceable film about revenge and how the quest for it can potentially destroy an otherwise good person. We watch George as he allows his anger to consume him, changing him from a good-natured boy into a man who pushes aside those who are there trying to help him. When he finds out the reason behind the beating he refuses to accept the truth, even when his father confirms it. The best scenes, though, happen between him and Marina (Joan Loring), a young woman trying to dissuade him from his destructive path. Only once he believes he has succeeded with his mission does he stop and realize for himself the seriousness of what he has done. His night of revenge is well crafted but this is beaten easily by what happens after his confrontation with Al Judge. His guilt and remorse add just the right capper to an otherwise solid, if not great, film. 1951 - 75 minutes
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