Wow does this Buster Keaton film have a contrived plot--and one that is hardly reminiscent of his better days in film. It begins with a murder-kidnapping (now THAT'S funny!). A reporter has a lead but comes up with an insane plan--to have his roommate (Buster) confess to the crime while he searches for the real culprits. This makes no sense at all and you sure wish they had spent more than 40 seconds working on the script! Not surprisingly, Buster is sentenced to death and he hears nothing from his 'friend'--as the guy was killed in a plane crash (ho-ho, death in a plane crash--now THAT'S also hilarious!). Just who thought that this was a funny setup for a comedy?! Well, it does get better fortunately, as some of the gags in the prison are pretty cute. Buster's jailbreak is pretty well done and soon he hooks up with the real gang. However, by then it's just a little too late--the last portion of the film can't make up for the first portion. Plus, a very abrupt ending seemed almost tacked on--and came from out of nowhere. This is certainly one of Keaton's worst efforts for Educational--mostly because the entire plot just makes no sense at all.
Review of Jail Bait
