Todeszelle 2455

This is for me the best movie from director Fred S sears, besides EARTH VS FLYING SAUCERS, which was famous more for Ray Harryhausen special effects than for Sears' skills as a director. This ambitious but so simple story is a terrific story, which was produced five years before Caryl Chessman's execution. It is riveting, gripping, so well made that I would have never bet a dime on Fred S sears as the maker of this one. It is not a crime film but a true, authentic drama. Gritty, engrossing, and also a true good performance - probably the best - from William Campbell, mostly known as villains in supporting characters. Please notice that it was not produced by Sam Katzman but Wallace mac Donald. Under the infamous Katzman's supervision, I am sure it would have been different...And not in better but rather in worse, and not worth !!!!

I finished the book today and the movie is an extremely accurate adaptation of it. Caryl Chessman was a career criminal caught up in a world of hatred. He admitted to many crimes, even those he was never charged with. Witness id's are notoriously inaccurate and the initial description of the suspect was 5-5 to 5-9 and 150-170 pounds and Chessman was six feet and 195 pounds. The rapist was also said to have a foreign accent and have a scar on his face. He very well may have been executed as the wrong man. The film noir style is typical of a 1955 release. At under 90 minutes, it moves quickly with no wasted moments. The lead actor looks nothing like Chessman but he is believable as the self assured inmate and writer. I recommend reading the riveting book before watching the movie. It is a film worth seeing.

Fred F. Sears directed this adaptation of Death Row inmate Caryl Chessman's memoirs of being the first criminal ever to be sentenced to death without actually murdering anyone (he fell under the Little Lindbergh Law, kidnapping with bodily harm to the victim). For unexplained reasons, screenwriter Jack DeWitt has changed Chessman's name here to Whit Whittier (!), but the film pulls no punches in detailing his crimes, from boyhood to hard-bitten adult. These episodes, in and out of the slammer, are like a textbook for pulpy B-movies, yet Sears never gets glossy (this is no film-noir). Still, the hammering we get is exhausting (even at 75 minutes, the picture feels lengthy). Crime-buffs will be impressed; others not enamored of the genre might get restless. Vince Edwards has a small part as one of Whittier's later cohorts, six years before his TV fame as "Ben Casey" (and he never gets a close-up!). ** from ****

Lurid account of Caryl Chessman's criminal career at a time when his book was big on newstands. One thing for sure—there's no attempt in the film to glamorize or soft-peddle what appears to be a thoroughly nasty personality. Rarely, in fact, has any movie of the period made its leading man so dislikable. Campbell is quite good as the cocky young punk who goes from thievery to penny-ante stick-ups to ripping off organized crime to lover's lane rapist.

The movie itself is so uncompromisingly grim as to be off-putting. There's no effort at relieving the cheap criminality with character development or snatches of humor. The screenplay does have more fast car chases and shenanigans than a NASCAR rally, while some are darn near hair-raising. Look early on for a young Kathryn Grant and before she started up the Hollywood ladder. All in all, the movie's little more than a cheap exploitation flick with few redeeming features outside of being fast-paced.

(In passing-- Chessman's appeals luck finally ran out in May, 1960, but not before attracting support from a number of celebrities ,e.g. Steve Allen, impressed by Chessman's literary talents. Then too as incorrigible as he was, he hadn't killed anyone. Nonetheless, I don't recall much public concern when he finally got a whiff of San Quentin's lethal fumes.)

True story of Caryl Chessman, here under the name "Whit" Whittier (Whittier being Chessman's real middle name), played by William Campbell, a juvenile delinquent who got worse and worse and worse... He eventually ends up in death row, where we are introduced to him, and his life up to that point is recounted.

Campbell does a nice job here, if not a little hammy at times. (but that's just the way he is naturally, it seems) There are other familiar faces and everyone does well, but this is really Campbell's time to shine. Knowing the events were real, the movie being based on Chessman's book of the same name, it was interesting to follow, especially knowing his became his own lawyer and basically added years to his life by studying law books.

Interestingly, this movie came out while he was on death row and is based on the first of four books he'd write, so things were still very much up in the air in the end! His wiki article is worth a look if you want to know how things turned out for him. Overall, this was pretty good. Definitely engaging. Certainly not one of those movies where you kinda secretly cheer for the fictional bad guy inside (know what I mean?), though, as he was a real, really bad guy.