(1954)
Jail Bait - VHS, DVD, DVD-R, Beta
a.k.a. Hidden Face
a.k.a. La Cara del Culpable
a.k.a. O Rosto Escondido
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Directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Written by Edward D. Wood, Jr. and Alex Gordon
Wood regulars
Henry Bederski
Conrad Brooks
Ted Brooks
Timothy Farrel
Dolores Fuller
Mona McKinnon
Don Nagel
Bud Osborne
Lyle Talbot
Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Additional cast
Clancy Malone
Herbert Rawlinson
Steve Reeves
Plot
Vic Brady (Farrel), a shady character, leads Don Gregor (Malone), son of the great plastic surgeon Dr. Boris Gregor (Rawlinson), into a life of crime. When an ex-cop (Osborne) is killed during an ill-advised robbery, Don comes to see the folly in a life of crime. With Don ready to turn himself in, Vic tries a wild scheme to rid himself of Don and go free at the same time...
'Wood'-ness
Ed's only try at directing film noir, Jail Bait isn't all that bad. The title is massively misleading (the "jail bait" is Don's gun, not an underage girl) so it scores 'Ed' points there. The dialogue is (for the most part) a little less convoluted than usual, but there are still some doozies from good Dr. Gregor. The film concludes with a favorite device of Ed's: the twist ending.
Interestingly, the scene that could be seen as the most offensive today, the blackface vaudville performers, was not shot by Ed. It is from a film called Yes Sir, Mr. Bones! and was inserted by the producers in place of Ed's intended entertainment: a stripper.
Best Line
"Do you know I had to completely remodel that man's face? It was strenuous and very, very complicated. Plastic surgery at times seems to me to be very, very complicated." - Dr. Gregor
File Under
Crime, Ed Acting
VIDEO RELEASES
JAIL BAIT
This film comes in two flavors: original and "Director's Cut". The "Director's Cut" places a burlesque stripper in the place where the original film had blackface performers. The blackface scene was lifted straight from another movie by the film's producers and Ed had nothing to do with it.VHS
| This is the release from Something Weird Video. It has been replaced by a more recent version. |
| This is a later release from Something Weird Video. It should still be available. |
| This is the Rhino release of Jail Bait. It is where the "Director's Cut" originates. The opening has been altered to reflect current copyright ownership: i.e. "The Wade Williams Collection". There is a noticeable jump cut (including countdown to the next reel) about 40 minutes into the movie. This is unnecessary and should have been fixed. PROS: Clear transfer of the "Director's Cut". Inexpensive. CONS: Altered version. Bad jump cut. |
| This is the edition from Englewood Entertainment. It is the original version. PROS: Contains the movie as it was originally released. CONS: Usually more expensice than the Rhino version. |
| This is a release from Admit One. |
Manufacturer: Hypnotic Video Video Format: NTSC Comments: |
| This is a UK release in PAL format. |
| This is the German PAL release of Jail Bait. It appears to be the same "Director's Cut" version as the Rhino release. |
DVD
| This is the DVD release from Image Entertainment and should contain the same original version as the VHS release from Englewood. |
| DVD from Alpha Video. |
| DVD from Desert Island Films. |
| No-frills release from Reel Classic Films. |
| Manufacturer: Passport Video Format: Region 1 - NTSC Comments: This is a 2 disc DVD set that features six Ed films: Glen or Glenda, Jail Bait, Bride of the Monster, The Violent Years, Night of the Ghouls and Plan 9 From Outer Space. It also features the same "Ed Wood Story" found on the previous Passport DVD of Plan 9.  
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| This is a "Double Feature" DVD release from Dollar Entertainment. It features Jail Bait and The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery. |
| This is another "Double Feature" DVD release featuring Jail Bait and The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery. |
| This is a "Double Feature" DVD release from Catcom Entertainment. It features Jail Bait and Glen or Glenda in a Drive-In style presentation, including cartoons, The Monster Known as VD and classic TV commercials. |
| This is an DVD set with 50 films, including Jail Bait. |
| Another collection that includes Jail Bait, this time with 20 films total. |
| Yet another collection that includes Jail Bait, also with 20 films total. |
| This is an Australian DVD release from Avenue One. |
| This is an Australian DVD set that features 50 films, including Jail Bait. |
| This is a laserdisc collection released in the 1980s. Along with Jail Bait, it contains Plan 9 From Outer Space and Night of the Ghouls. PROS: Three films in one package. CONS: Laserdisc releases difficult to find. |
DVD-R
| This is the release from Something Weird Video on DVD-R. It should still be available. |
Beta
| This is the release from Admit One on Betamax tape. |
HIDDEN FACE
I am not aware of any mass market release under this title.| N/A |
LA CARA DEL CULPABLE
i.e.: (unknown)This is the title Jail Bait was released under in Argentina. I have found no mass market release under this title.
| Here is a poster from the Argentinian release. |
O ROSTO ESCONDIDO
i.e.: "The Face Under Cover"This is the title Jail Bait was released under in Portugal. I have found no mass market release under this title.
| NIA |
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