Prison Nurse (DVD)

Raging floodwaters and violent prisoners greet young nurse Judy when she and two co-workers pull up to the prison gate. The flood has caused a deadly typhoid outbreak that is overwhelming the elderly prison physician. He had called in the nurses after trying and failing earlier to enlist help from a prisoner named Dale, an ex-doctor with a troubled past. After the old doctor collapses from exhaustion, Dale's innate decency and his growing attraction to Judy cause a change of heart. His duties in the prison hospital work right into the desperate escape plans of boss con "Jackpot" and soon Dale is an unwilling pawn in a bloody prison break.

Prison Nurse is one of three B movies that director James Cruze made for Republic Pictures before retiring from film. One of the most popular and well-paid directors in the late twenties, his career faltered with the advent of sound. With the notable exception of I Covered the Waterfront (1933), his later efforts never quite matched his superior silent works. However, with its flood-drenched opening sequences and competent performances, Prison Nurse still has its share of satisfyingly gritty, gun-blazing moments.

• drama