Revolt in the Big House

I've seen worse prison pics. Dialogue and staging of the action scenes, especially the "revolt", are a bit on the stiff, lackluster side (let's just say director R.G. Springsteen is no Don Siegel and leave it at that) but the performances, other than the always over the top Timothy Carey, are quite good. I was particularly impressed with a young Robert Blake's take on a basically decent inmate caught between the head guard's racism and Gene Evans' seductive betrayal. Also worthy of mention is veteran character actor John Qualen, who usually portrayed stolid farmers in John Ford movies, doing a nice job as a Bob Stroud-like lifer. And Evans, as per usual, is solid as a complete and utter scumbag. Give it a generous B minus 'cause I found myself involved with and, in Blake's case, caring about these guys.

Apart from the 'women in prison' exploitation films of the early 1970s, prison films usually are among the better movies you can find. Now I am not saying they all are great movies...but finding a bad prison film isn't easy. So, I wasn't very surprised that "Revolt in the Big House" turned out to be very watchable and well made.

When the story begins, tough guy Lou Gannon (Gene Evans) has arrived at prison. He apparently was a very famous criminal but getting the goods on him wasn't easy...and he FINALLY has run out of luck. Once there, he meets up with an old friend, 'Bugsy' (Timothy Carey) and the pair work on a plan for a big escape. This involves coming up with a plan to smuggle guns into the prison...and you'll have to watch the film to see what's next.

The acting, script and direction are all good here. In fact, I can't think of any big problems with the film and a score of 8 is awfully good for such a low budgeted picture. My one complaint is when one of the prisoners gets machined gunned....and not a single hole nor speck of blood is seen...nothing. Quite enjoyable overall.

The plot of this film has been filmed a million times: a group of prisoners start a revolt in order to make an escape attempt. What makes this worth seeing over dozens of other "B" films is the good cast. Gene Evans is excellent as Lou Barlow who tricks good kid Rudy (Robert Blake) into helping him escape. Tim Carey gives his usual good performance as the unhinged prisoner "Bugsy" who lovingly fondles guns. Glad my local video store had this one.

Robert Blake is a young man sent to prison. The guards are corrupt, the warden, played by Emile Mayer, is an uncaring bureaucrat, and Blake's cellmate is Gene Evans, who tries to get him to start a riot to cover Evans' prison break.

R.G. Springsteen was a ver competent B western director. He was so good he survived directing them after they were long dead. A few times he got to direct crime dramas, and he knew how to take people like Evans, who usually played henchmen in oaters, and bring him up to date.

The 1930s had prison dramas that were about the reforming power, about how thoughtful, caring authorities. The 1950s brought a new look, stories about the bad, bad men -- and women -- locked up there, and how they mistreated themselves, creatures of violence from which society must be guarded; perhaps there was a bit of paranoia about communism lurking in the subtext. Robert Blake is not there to be reformed. He is a vicious, dangerous creature in the eyes of the warden, who believes the guards who plant a knife on him. If he is to be reformed, he must do it himself. He must realize that the life of a criminal will kill him and the few decent men in prison and make the effort without help.

Another prison revolt/escape movie, this time it's Allied Artists that tries for that Warner Bros. stock story. Gene Evans plays the new boss-like inmate with a 20-year sentence that he's not about to tolerate. He rouses everyone he meets with the idea of breaking out. But Evan's character is more slippery than you think, giving the film its only strength, story-wise. He's got tricks up his sleeve, and a cold, cold heart that's revealed at the end. Evans is solid, as is Robert Blake who struggles with a Mexican accent but gets a lot of dialogue and handles it well. The standout is Timothy Carey, playing the half-smart tough guy inmate used like all the others by Evans. Carey is convincingly creepy and menacing... aw heck, he's just plain weird throughout.

Not a bad little movie, but it does take a while to get going, and the titled "revolt" doesn't occur until late in the proceedings, and shows the budget limitations (the staging is mostly awful, too) and ends fairly quickly. Doesn't hold a candle to the energetic old Warner Bros. prison thrillers.