

15/04/1950
Overview
Joe McDoakes pleads "not guilty" to a traffic violation but is convicted anyway. Handling this setback in his usual manner, the two-dollar fine quickly pyramids to a 10-year jail sentence.
Richard L. Bare Productions

The Vitaphone Corporation

Warner Bros. Pictures

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041892
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22336692
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Review by: CinemaSerf
Written by: CinemaSerf on 2025-06-01T14:01:01.449Z
Talk about turning a drama into a crisis! “McDoakes” (George O’Hanlon) and his wife “Alice” (Phyllis Coates) are accused of running a temperamental stop-sign but instead of just paying the $2 fine, he elects for his day in court. That is just the start of the domino effect that sees his misdemeanour end up with him sharing a prison yard with some hardened criminals. Oh if only he had just kept his trap shut and avoided this cumulation of calamities! It’s ok, this, even if O’Hanlon over-eggs the cake a bit but I wonder if it might have worked more entertainingly had it been a cartoon? The break neck pace of his bad to worse scenario colourfully and mischievously hand-drawn rather than drawn out? Just goes to show, though - the system always wins.