Jimmy idolatra al contrabandista Matt, y cuando se niega a implicar a su amigo, lo envían a un reformatorio. Se hace amigo de Shorty, un niño con una afección cardíaca, y escapa para informa... Leer todoJimmy idolatra al contrabandista Matt, y cuando se niega a implicar a su amigo, lo envían a un reformatorio. Se hace amigo de Shorty, un niño con una afección cardíaca, y escapa para informar al mundo sobre las brutales condiciones.Jimmy idolatra al contrabandista Matt, y cuando se niega a implicar a su amigo, lo envían a un reformatorio. Se hace amigo de Shorty, un niño con una afección cardíaca, y escapa para informar al mundo sobre las brutales condiciones.
- Dirección
- Guión
- Reparto principal
- Premios
- 2 premios en total
- Jimmy Mason
- (as Junior Dirkin)
- Shorty
- (as Junior Coughlin)
- Henry Clark
- (as Charles Grapewin)
- Judge Robinson
- (as Wallace Clark)
- Superintendant Charles Thompson
- (as James Marcus)
- Lucy Mason
- (sin acreditar)
- Boy at Trial
- (sin acreditar)
- Detective
- (sin acreditar)
- Cop on the Beat
- (sin acreditar)
- Joe - Street Cop
- (sin acreditar)
- Detective
- (sin acreditar)
- Doctor
- (sin acreditar)
Reseñas destacadas
Junior Durkin plays a young man who in all innocence becomes involved with a charismatic bootlegger during the days of prohibition. Jimmy (Durkin's character) is arrested for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is sent to reform school, where things get worse. Some of the plot developments are not all that logical or plausible, but the story works in calling attention to the way that the young offenders are often treated simply as annoyances to be minimized, with insufficient attention given to constructive development.
Pat O'Brien is effective as the bootlegger, and Davis, though cast as a stock character, has a few good moments as his tough-minded girlfriend. The rest of the supporting cast, which features Charley Grapewin and Junior Coghlan, is solid, and the story moves at a good pace. Overall, it's a little above average for its time and genre, and it contains some ideas worth thinking about.
The most compelling part of the movie is Jimmy waiting for Matt while he's in court. The rest is a functional story for the boy although he's a little too clueless even at the end. His character needs to get smarter. Bette Davis is a supporting actress in this one. It's very early in her career. I would like Matt to be younger and his turn is a little too happy ending.
That reformatory brickyard is stacked to the skies and unlike anything I've seen. Should the mountainous stacks tumble, I doubt the boy stackers would ever be found. The movie's an interesting antique (1932) where O'Brien gets to show his fast-talking specialty as a pretentious bootlegger. But the real focus is Durkin, a likable kid, maybe too much so for the toughened last part. Sorry to say Davis's role looks like an add-on as O'Brien's conscionable girlfriend, and one that also gets a woman into a mainly male cast. It's still early in her career, but already Davis has that hard-eyed stare. And catch that toe-the-line stare-at-the-wall punishment misbehaving boys have to go through. That too is unlike anything I've seen.
Anyway, most of the runtime occurs inside the reformatory, minus the two top-billed players. Apparently, Durkin didn't have that same name recognition even though he gets the screen time. Too bad he died at such a young age and with so much to live for. His scenes with Junior Coughlin are unusually tender and moving, and dare-I-say, almost homo-erotic. All in all, the movie's in the prison-reform wave that occupied much of Hollywood at the time- e.g. Hell's Highway (1932); I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932). Despite the many passing decades, the hour still holds interest, so shouldn't be passed up
After arguing over who gets top, Durkin befriends bunkmate Frank "Junior" Coghlan (as "Shorty"), who has a heart ailment. Conditions in the reformatory are terrible. The boys have a plan to spring Durkin, but young Coghlan is caught. While his pal lies close to death, in solitary confinement, Durkin breaks out to enlist O'Brien's help in finding suitable doctors for Coghlan. But, O'Brien doesn't want to get involved, or he'll have to leave pretty Bette Davis (as Peggy Gardner) for prison...
Howard Higgin's "Hell House" was relatively ahead of the juvenile reformatory curve, and boasts several points of interest.
First off, you have the two "Juniors" Durkin and Coghlan in the same picture, comparable to the 1980s "Coreys" Haim and Feldman. Durkin even looks a little like Feldman. Unfortunately, Durkin died in a car accident. Coghlan's supporting performance upstages even Ms. Davis - and, you will see Davis get her hair messed up as O'Brien tell her, "I just washed my hands and I can't do a thing with 'em!" Note, this was before Davis uttered her famous trademark response, "I'd like to kiss ya, but I just washed my hair" (see "The Cabin in the Cotton"). Finally, you have a delirious Coghlan "talking" to his dead mother quite credibly in one scene - and, in the end, Durkin's deathly "conversation" gives the story startling emotional closure.
******* Hell's House (1/30/32) Howard Higgin ~ Junior Durkin, Frank Coghlan Jr., Pat O'Brien, Bette Davis
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Low-budget crime/melodrama is best remembered for the early views of Pat O'Brien and Bette Davis. In the film, a young boy (Junior Durkin) moves to New York after the death of his mother where he quickly looks up to Matt (O'Brien). What the boy doesn't know is that Matt is a bootlegger and he ends up taking the rap for a crime and sent to an abusive reform school. The boy is trapped there unless Matt can grow some guts and admit that he is the one who should be behind bars. This film beat the Warner/James Cagney drama THE MAYOR OF HELL into theaters by nearly a year so I'm curious if this is one of those small studios hearing about a major studios work and then trying to race a finished product into theaters. The film certainly comes off that way because it has the structure of a decent drama but everything seems so rushed that they forgot to add any heart or soul. The movie is pretty flat, especially compared to the Cagney film and its several remakes, because we really don't see too much here. This reform school is suppose to be "hell's house" yet we hardly ever see any of the abuse or torments that the boys are going through. O'Brien's character is underwritten pretty badly as is his girlfriend played by Davis. The two actors are the main reason to see the film because they both come off very likable. O'Brien gets to shine in the role of the bad guy with a heart and it's easy to see why Warner signed him up. Davis doesn't come off as good but it's fun seeing a legend pay her dues. Durkin also does pretty good in his role but I thought he was a lot more believable in his "country boy" state early in the film rather than the hero at the end.
¿Sabías que...?
- CuriosidadesBette Davis's first starring role.
- Citas
Peggy Gardner: If you'd give the kid a chance, Kelly, he might amount to something, instead of always thinking about yourself.
- ConexionesFeatured in V.I.P.-Schaukel: Episodio #6.1 (1976)
Selecciones populares
- How long is Hell's House?Con tecnología de Alexa
Detalles
- Duración1 hora 12 minutos
- Color
- Relación de aspecto
- 1.37 : 1