St. Benny the Dip

St. Benny the Dip
Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer
Produced by Edward J. Danziger (producer)
Harry Lee Danziger (producer)
Written by George Auerbach (story)
John Roeburt (writer)
Starring See below
Music by Robert W. Stringer
Cinematography Don Malkames
Production
company
Benny Productions
Distributed by United Artists
Release dates
  • August 24, 1951 (1951-08-24) (United States)
Running time
 80 minutes
Country United States
Language English

St. Benny the Dip is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Edgar G. Ulmer. The film is also known as Escape If You Can in the United Kingdom.

The film opens with one of the few depictions of the East River maritime area of New York City many years before it became the South Street Seaport tourist attraction.

Plot summary

Benny (Dick Haymes), Monk (Lionel Stander) and Matthew (Roland Young) are three small-time crooks trying to escape a police dragnet in New York City. After hiding in a church and taking minister's suits and dog collars, they emerge, dressed as priests, and find shelter in an abandoned Bowery mission. When beat cops mistake them for real ministers sent to restore the soup kitchen, they are forced to go along with repairs, holding services and feeding the poor. They have to decide whether to stay, steal the mission money and run, or... change their lives. As with Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, when the bishop he has robbed lets him go, it is the first time they have been treated with respect and had a chance to do good work. The question is whether the police detectives or junior priests will turn them in before they even have a chance.

Cast

Soundtrack

I Believe
Words and Music by Robert W. Stringer


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