Invisible Stripes (1939)

• Year: 1939
• Released: 30 Dec 1939
• Country: United States
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032636/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/invisible_stripes
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: Passed
• Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
• Runtime: 81 min
• Writer: Warren Duff, Jonathan Finn, Lewis E. Lawes
• Director: Lloyd Bacon
• Cast: George Raft, Jane Bryan, William Holden
• Keywords: prison, gangster, wedding, motorcycle, ex-con,

	6.7/10
	55% – Audience

Invisible Stripes Storyline

Although Sing Sing inmates and friends Cliff Taylor (George Raft) and Chuck Martin (Humphrey Bogart) are paroled on the same day, they head in opposite directions upon leaving prison. Chuck returns to his life of crime, while Cliff is determined to go straight, but encounters difficulties trying to reintegrate into society. His girlfriend breaks off their relationship, he has difficulty keeping a job, and his younger brother Tim (William Holden) seems to be headed in the wrong direction. Cliff briefly returns to a life of crime with Chuck just long enough to earn enough to buy Tim a garage, which will provide him with an honest living. Unfortunately, Chuck’s gang uses the garage to hide out from the Police after a botched armored car robbery, and Tim becomes involved.

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Invisible Stripes Movie Reviews

“I’m one of them there realists.”

George Raft and Humphrey Bogart play two parolees who take different paths when they leave prison. Bogie immediately goes back to a life of crime while Raft tries to go straight. But fearing that his younger brother (a baby-faced William Holden) might follow in his footsteps if he can’t get a break, Raft turns back to a life of crime.

Solid gangster picture from WB with a good cast. George Raft doesn’t always get respect but he shows in this and other films that he was a decent actor. Young William Holden is a little melodramatic here. He still had room to improve. Lovely Jane Bryan is his girlfriend. This was the penultimate movie in her all-too-brief career. Humphrey Bogart plays yet another of his many gangster roles. He may not have been enjoying playing these parts much at this point of his career but he really was perfectly suited for them. He really steals the film from his co-stars. Flora Robson, Paul Kelly, and Henry O’Neill are among the other fine actors in the cast. Leo Gorcey has a small but amusing part. WB had such a strong stable of talent in their crime dramas of the ’30s and ’40s.

This is in many ways a predictable movie for WB that follows a formula I’ve seen in many gangster movies. The actors play roles they’re very comfortable with, most of them having played similar parts before. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t entertaining. It’s very enjoyable for someone like me, who likes not only the genre but the specific way Warner produced these films at the time. They were the go-to studio for urban dramas then and they made many classics that defined these types of stories to this day. This is a good one most fans of Bogart, Raft, and old gangster flicks will like.

Up until about 60% of the way through the film it was exceptional,…then it lost some of its steam..

The main theme through most of the film was excellent. George Raft is being released from prison on parole. He honestly wants to succeed and does his best to stay clean, but has a hard time getting a fair shake on the outside. He’s got a devil of a time getting a job and the system seems out to put a lot of roadblocks in his way. This social justice theme is good and provokes a lot of thought,…then it all gets lost as the plot takes a crazy turn that tends to undo so much of the original message. In so ways, it looked like two different films melded together!

At about one hour into the film, Raft is taken in by the police for questioning about a robbery. He was innocent and ultimately is exonerated and at the same time he’s just completed his one year of parole. However, now that his life is falling into place, he goes back to a life of crime!!! Yes, the film tried to show that he was doing this to help his struggling brother, but it still made no sense. After all, throughout the film, he stood up for what was right and was a decent guy you couldn’t help but like,…and then THAT?!?! It just wasn’t at all convincing and helped to hopelessly muddle the message.

This is a real good example of the actors being better than the material–and it’s just too bad. While still a decent gangster film, it could have been a better gangster film with a real message–something that is just tossed aside for some inexplicable reason.

compelling character work turns into less interesting gangster work

Cliff Taylor (George Raft) and Chuck Martin (Humphrey Bogart) are both released from prison. Cliff is trying to go straight but finds parole life difficult. His younger brother Tim grows frustrated at not having enough money to marry his sweetheart Peggy. Meanwhile, Chuck is back living the high life of crime.

I like Cliff’s tribulation as an ex-con trying to go straight. That’s a compelling character study. The best section is when he gets pulled in for a random unrelated crime. I actually like the brother growing angry. I hoped that Cliff would be facing off against Chuck for his brother’s fate. It loses a bit of steam when it turns into a more conventional gangster crime drama. It actually becomes less compelling despite having more Bogie.