Leofwine_draca THE OUTER GATE is a Monogram cheapie with quick-fire plotting but little in the way of depth or realism. The main character is an innocent man accused of petty theft, and imprisoned for the crime. Years later his innocence is finally proved and he gets released, only to plot revenge against his former employer with the help of his new-found criminal friends.What follows is a story heavy on the morality but light on incident. It's fast-moving enough for a programmer but you wish the characters had a little more meat on the bones to give you a reason to care about what's taking place. The actors do the best they can with the roles given but the end result is distinctly ho-hum.

MartinHafer The story idea for "The Outer Gate" is very original and the film is worth seeing just for that. Otherwise, however, it's obviously a B-movie--with less than inspired acting and the script could have benefited from a little "punching up", so to speak.The story begins with a nice young man (Ben Alexander as 'Bob') dating his boss' daughter. The boss (Ralph Morgan), however, is a bit of a hard-nose--a guy who has little patience for others and is very "law & order" oriented. When one employee is caught stealing, he is sure to prosecute to the fullest. Later, when the Bob is soon accused of stealing as well, the boss cuts him no slack--even though he's known Bob for years and should have trusted him. Bob complains bitterly that he's innocent--all for naught. Once again, the boss prosecutes fully and Bob is sentenced to 15 years in prison.After five years of do hard labor, the real thief admits to embezzling the funds that Bob was accused of taking!! By now, Bob is bitter and angry and has determined to spend all his energy upon release destroying the boss--and can you really blame him? However, the boss is heart-sick about this and tries to make good--though he knows he can't--he wronged Bob terribly. In fact, when Bob hatches his plan and makes it appear that the boss is himself an embezzler, the boss makes no effort to defend himself--after all, in his mind if this is what Bob demands he'll accept this! What happens next, you'll just have to see for yourself.This is a fascinating set of circumstances for a film. The idea of the wrongful conviction, the plot for revenge AND the boss willing to accept the conviction as punishment for his prior heartlessness is really unique and compelling. The problem, though, is that the film suffered a tad from some indifferent acting and some slow points in the writing--mostly due to this coming from a so-called "Poverty Row Studio"--a super-small and cheap production company. If the basic story idea were reworked, it would make for a dandy film remake.By the way, Ralph Morgan is the brother of Frank Morgan (of "The Wizard of Oz" fame). While never as famous as Frank, Ralph was an exceptional character actor and did an excellent job in this low-budget film.

Phil Reeder Insipid story about a young construction engineer (Alexander) falsely accused of embezzlement by his boss. The court sentences him to 15 years, but through a deus ex machina he only serves five. All this time Borden, the employer, has suffered a guilty conscience and wants to make amends, but Bob sees this only as an opportunity to satisfy his thirst for revenge. With the help of his cell-mate Acuff (released at the same time on parole) and a crooked nightclub owner, Bob's scheme works like clockwork. But will he go through with allowing the old man wrongly to get sent up for the same crime the old man accused him of?I was left wondering, if Bob and Lois grew up friends together and Borden had known Bob forever, why Borden was so quick in accusing Bob of the crime in the first place. Though this is a forgettable picture, it does leave one with questions of how you would act if you were sent to prison for a crime you didn't commit. The message of this story is clear: just forgive everybody and move on.

Matt Moses A typically thin Monogram production. Good guy Ben Alexander becomes a bad guy when boss Ralph Morgan puts him in prison for years for an embezzlement crime he didn't commit. Released upon the suicide confession of the guilty party, Alexander turns to a life of vengeance. His former boss feels guilty about having had a fine employee put away for so long and lets him live in his spacious house and spend quality time with his (not so) lovely daughter Kay Linaker. The bad guy helps his criminal friends steal a quarter of a million dollars from the house safe and then almost has Morgan put away for the same crime with which he had been wrongly pinned. An eleventh hour prodigal son conclusion leaves the viewer a little confused about the proceedings (but probably ready to start another, more satisfying movie). Overlong at 64 minutes.