When Joe Green (Dermot Walsh) is jailed for a crime he didn’t commit, he vows to clear his name. This he attempts to do by escaping multiple times, although on each occasion he’s caught and returned to prison. His story reaches Brady who decides that anyone who goes to such lengths might just be innocent. So Brady breaks into prison to find out more ….
The first thing to note is that security at the prison must be terribly lax if Joe’s been able to make a break for it on five separate occasions. Good grief, presumably there’s a constant stream of criminals making bids for freedom!
Dermot Walsh impresses as Joe. Walsh had a pretty lengthy career with a starring role in the 1962/63 series Richard the Lionheart. Clearly “inspired” by a string of similar 1950’s series (most notably The Adventures of Robin Hood) it’s good clean fun and comes complete with a theme-song that’s even more jaunty than the Robin Hood effort.
Joe might have been a bad ‘un in the past but he’s attempting to go straight now. Unfortunately for him, his reputation makes him the ideal choice to take the fall for other people’s crimes. Joe’s dogged determination (most notable during the scenes when he’s making his escape attempts – pursued by warders and dogs) makes you root for him. You know that everything’s going to come right in the end, but Walsh is skilled enough to take the material he’s given and play it for all it’s worth.
Lurking in the prison is Sharp (Ronald Fraser), a vicious inmate who is paid to dispose of Joe (although you get the feeling he would have been equally happy to do it for free). Fraser’s always an actor worth watching and whilst Sharp is only a small role he makes the most of it. The violence is kept to a minimum, but it’s plain that given the opportunity Sharp could be very unfriendly indeed.
Denny Dayviss also makes a brief, but memorable appearance. She plays Doris, a pickpocket who pinched Joe’s wallet on the night of the crime and therefore could prove his innocence. Dayviss only had three credits to her name, with one of the others being the wonderfully named Cynthia Smallpiece in the Hancock’s Half Hour episode Sid in Love.
Jailbreak is another routine crime story in which Brady’s invisible skills are pretty much surplus to requirements. But as so often, the guest cast makes it a joy to watch (also of interest are Ralph Michael as the prison governor and Michael Brennan as Brenner, a somewhat unfriendly warder. At one point Brenner moves to strike Joe, so Brady – in his invisible state – picks up an iron and knocks him unconscious!).
Archive Television Musings 