You won't be disappointed!

one of my absolute favorites!

Good concept, poorly executed.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

BANK ALARM is another low gauge thriller from the USA, made in 1937 and about a detective searching for the mastermind behind a string of successful bank robberies that have left the locality reeling. Little does he realise that he has a personal connection to the ringleader as it turns out his own sister is dating him.It's not really much of a hook on which to hang a movie but BANK ALARM tries very hard throughout. The problem is that the whole thing feels quite low brow with barely efficient plotting and a predominance of comic relief which feels very dated. In addition the pacing isn't quite right so this is a bit of a slog in places. The cast members do their best but the overall result is more than disappointing.

In 1930 Conrad Nagel was the most wanted man in Hollywood - wanted for his romantic good looks but especially for his clear speaking voice - 9 films in 1929, 10 in 1930, 8 in 1931. Even Nagel joked he couldn't find a film to go to in which he wasn't featured but it didn't last and 1932 found him playing a villain in a William Haines feature - not a good sign and by the time he got a solid role in "Bank Alarm" his film days were numbered. He was paired with Eleanor Hunt, a chorus girl in the original Ziegfeld production of "Whoopee" who was catapulted to the female lead when Ruth Etting proved unavailable for the movie. Unfortunately her career was a series of shorts and uncredited bits, in fact "Bank Alarm" is apparently the movie she is known for.At Grand National they proved a popular team but the little studio didn't last very long. Initially it scored a bullseye by being the company that was able to release James Cagney's two independent releases and even though they weren't up to the standard of his Warner films they were still a feather in Grand National's cap. The problem was the rest of the releases were just standard stuff. Conrad Nagel hardly had the dynamics of Cagney.This is a nifty little crime yarn with Nagel and Hunt reprising characters they had played in a previous movie. Dept. of Justice's Alan O'Connor is already involved in trying to get to the bottom of the murder of crime king pin O'Hearn when his sister calls in for a visit. "That sister of mine is a sweet kid" he says to Bobbie (Hunt) in a nightclub - just to let you know there is going to be trouble. She has met Jerry Turner on the plane who is passing himself off as a movie producer, in reality he has been bought to Hollywood by racketeer Karlotti (Wheeler Oakman being his usual slimy self) to do a "job". He is to go to Nevada, posing as a vagrant where he will be picked up and taken to jail where the city's safe is located - a piece of cake!! Suddenly a rash of bank robberies break out and O'Conner and Bobbie trace the crook's stolen car to a desolate farm where the unwilling owner gives conflicting descriptions of the robbers.Meanwhile Bobbie (who has more to do than Alan) ingratiates herself into a job as Karlotti's publicity agent - but Vince Barnett as the "comic" relief is around just often enough to see she needs a last minute rescue from Alan. Grand National ceased as a studio in 1939 but it did give Conrad Nagel a chance to direct his first film "Love Takes Flight" - although in later years he was dismissive of it.

This is a B-movie from Grand National—a relatively small-time studio by Hollywood standards. The film stars Conrad Nagel and Eleanor Hunt as a G-man and his girlfriend. Nagel has been frustrated with his attempts to get information about a clever gang that has been involved with some daring robberies and forgeries. The local police have been no help so Hunt and an idiot photographer offer to help (they see much like Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson—dumb and always in the way). One thing that no one knows is that Nagel's sister is dating a member of the gang! This is a reasonably well acted and entertaining B-movie. When I say B-movie, this is a term used to describe the second and lesser film from a double-feature. Unlike the A-picture, the B is very quickly and cheaply made---often by tiny independent studios like Grand National. While Bs often have a poor reputation, they are often fun to watch and sometimes are more entertaining than the A-film.Strengths of the film are good acting by Nagel and a plot that offers a few nice twists. The biggest negative is the limp comic relief—it didn't improve the film at all and the viewer was left wondering if anyone in real life is as big a cretin as the numb-skull photographer, Bulb. The answer is no.

Bank Alarm is a pretty straightforward, pull no punches actioner that pits a married (nice!) couple of a G-Man and (yes) G-Woman, against a counterfeit money ring. The bad guys you see, popped the counterfeiter of the money they are planning to distribute. (thanks to the descriptions of 5! Count em! 5! Newspaper headlines we get to see), The G-People, as I like to call them, methodically step by step, follow the pieces of the puzzle until the end until it's somewhat predictably conclusion. Actually, this is so straightforward, there's hardly any suspense happening, But still, it does have it's moments, but I could have done away with the lame comedy bits provided by Vince Barnett.