# Gaol Break > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gaol_Break > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gaol_Break.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaol_Break > Source revision: 1347610560 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox film | name = Gaol Break | image = Gaol_Break_film_frame_(1936).jpg | caption = [Elliot Mason](/source/Elliot_Mason) and [Ralph Ince](/source/Ralph_Ince) in the film{{Cite book |title=Missing Believed Lost: The Great British Film Search |publisher=[British Film Institute](/source/British_Film_Institute) |year=1992 |isbn=0851703062 |editor-last=Eyles |editor-first=Allen |pages=64–65 |chapter=Gaol Break |editor-last2=Meeker |editor-first2=David}} | director = [Ralph Ince](/source/Ralph_Ince) | producer = [Irving Asher](/source/Irving_Asher) | writer = [Michael Barringer](/source/Michael_Barringer) | narrator = | starring = {{ubl|Ralph Ince|[Basil Gill](/source/Basil_Gill)|[Raymond Lovell](/source/Raymond_Lovell)}} | music = | cinematography = [Basil Emmott](/source/Basil_Emmott) | editing = | studio = [Warner Brothers](/source/Warner_Brothers) | distributor = Warner Brothers | released = {{Film date|1936|03|}} | runtime = 64 minutes | country = United Kingdom | language = [English](/source/English_language) | budget = | gross = }} '''''Gaol Break''''' (also known as '''''Gaolbreak''''' and '''''Bill and Son''''' {{Cite web |title=Gaol Break |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150053637 |access-date=19 March 2026 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}) is a lost 1936 British [crime film](/source/crime_film) directed by [Ralph Ince](/source/Ralph_Ince) and starring Ince, [Basil Gill](/source/Basil_Gill) and [Raymond Lovell](/source/Raymond_Lovell). It was written by [Michael Barringer](/source/Michael_Barringer) and made as a [quota quickie](/source/quota_quickie) at [Teddington Studios](/source/Teddington_Studios) by the British subsidiary of [Warner Brothers](/source/Warner_Brothers).{{Cite book |last=Wood |first=Linda |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-british-films-1927-1939.pdf |title=British Films, 1927–1939 |publisher=[British Film Institute](/source/British_Film_Institute) |year=1986 |pages=86 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016015016/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/bfi-british-films-1927-1939.pdf |archive-date=16 October 2022}} == Preservation status == The [British Film Institute](/source/British_Film_Institute) has classed ''Gaol Break'' as a [lost film](/source/lost_film). Its [National Archive](/source/BFI_National_Archive) holds a collection of stills but no film or video materials. == Plot == Jim Oakley breaks out of prison to visit his small son Mickie, who is in the care of a trio of crooks. He discovers that the crooks are planning to convince a wealthy American couple, the Kendalls, that Mickie is their kidnapped child. Following the villains to the Kendalls' luxury yacht, he sees that Mr Kendall has become attached to Mickie and has accepted him as his own child. Jim realises that the Americans can give Mickie a far better life than he ever can, and lets them take him. ==Cast== * [Ralph Ince](/source/Ralph_Ince) as Jim Oakley * Pat Fitzpatrick as Mickie Oakley * [Basil Gill](/source/Basil_Gill) as Dr. Walter Merkin * [Raymond Lovell](/source/Raymond_Lovell) as Duke * [Lorna Hubbard](/source/Lorna_Hubbard) as Daisy Oakley * [Roy Findlay](/source/Roy_Findlay) as Louie * [Elliott Mason](/source/Elliott_Mason) as Euphie * [Desmond Roberts](/source/Desmond_Roberts) as Paul Kendall == Reception == ''[The Monthly Film Bulletin](/source/The_Monthly_Film_Bulletin)'' wrote: "Ralph Ince as Jim is a rough diamond with an understandable urge to risk anything for Mickie's sake and Elliot Mason, as Euphy, the barge owner, is a joy every time she opens her mouth. The settings are realistic. A film out of the usual run."{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1936 |title=Gaol Break |volume=3 |issue=25 |pages=41 |id={{ProQuest|1305798564}} |magazine=[The Monthly Film Bulletin](/source/The_Monthly_Film_Bulletin)}} ''[Kine Weekly](/source/Kine_Weekly)'' wrote: "Popular sentiment is likely to be gripped by an unusual story of child kidnapping, the underworld, and a father's self-sacrifice for his boy. Production values vary, but some imaginative and gripping sequences, the performance of Ralph Ince in one of his virile roles, and that of a very natural youngster combine to make a worth-while offer. ... Ralph Ince, in the full-blooded role of gaol-bird, puts up a natural and convincing performance. ... Sequences dealing in turn with the action of the crooks, the parents of a kidnapped child, the police adi the child's father are apt to result in a jerky continuity. Nevertheless each scene reveals economy of dialogue, combined with action and good local colour."{{Cite journal |date=5 March 1936 |title=Gaol Break |volume=229 |issue=1507 |pages=28 |id={{ProQuest|2338395426}} |magazine=[Kine Weekly](/source/Kine_Weekly)}} ''[The Daily Film Renter](/source/The_Daily_Film_Renter)'' wrote: "Ably directed, contains fair supply of action, interesting performance by child actor and outstanding portrayal by Elliot Mason as sharp-tongued but warm-hearted barge owner. Thames-side and prison settings back subject, which should make acceptable booking of popular calibre."{{Cite journal |date=4 March 1936 |title=Gaol Break |volume= |issue=2798 |pages=6 |id={{ProQuest|3127108576}} |magazine=[The Daily Film Renter](/source/The_Daily_Film_Renter)}} ''[Picturegoer](/source/Picturegoer)'' wrote: "Ralph Ince gives a spirited and sympathetic performance as Jim, Basil Gill is polished as a doctor and little Pat Fitzpatrick proves that clever child actors are by no means an American monopoly."{{Cite journal |date=5 August 1936 |title=Gaol Break |volume=6 |issue= |pages=24 |id={{ProQuest|1771205719}} |magazine=[Picturegoer](/source/Picturegoer)}} ''[Picture Show](/source/Picture_Show_(magazine))'' wrote: "Sincerely told and acted drama ... The sympathetic handling of the story never descends to mawkishness, and there is no lack of action. Entertaining."{{Cite journal |date=5 September 1936 |title=Gaol Break |volume=35 |issue=905 |pages=25 |id={{ProQuest|1880319590}} |magazine=[Picture Show](/source/Picture_Show_(magazine))}} == References == ==External links== *{{IMDb title|0027655}} {{Ralph Ince}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaol Break}} Category:1936 films Category:1936 British films Category:1936 crime drama films Category:1936 English-language films Category:1936 lost films Category:British black-and-white films Category:British crime drama films Category:English-language crime drama films Category:Films directed by Ralph Ince Category:Films shot at Teddington Studios Category:Lost British crime films Category:Lost British drama films Category:Lost crime drama films Category:Quota quickies Category:Warner Bros. films --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gaol Break](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaol_Break) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaol_Break?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.