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The Last Mile is directed by Howard W. Koch and adapted to screenplay by Milton Subotsky and Seton I. Miller from the play of the same name by John Wexley. It stars Mickey Rooney, Frank Overton, Michael Constantine and John Vari. Music is by Van Alexander and cinematography by Joseph Brun.

The Death House is the cell block where nine inmates await their dates with the electric chair. Some of the guards delight in tormenting the condemned men, one of whom is Killer John Mears (Rooney), and he's had enough...

Already made in 1932 with Preston Foster in the starring role, Howard Koch's 59 version of The Last Mile taps into the film noir zeitgeist of the time and unleashes a film of great power.

Essentially played out on one set, there was a danger that this could have been too stage bound as a production, but not a bit of it, the tight confines of the shoot are just perfect for the thematics of the story. Pic begins with imposing title credits, an animated drawing of "Old Sparky" accompanied by shards of Van Alexander's Jazz "N" Blues musical score. We are then locked up with the convicts of "The Death House", sharing their fears, their anger and their regrets, the constant glances towards "The Door" at the end of the block akin to catching a glimpse of "The Grim Reaper" spying on you.

For the first two thirds of the piece the makers ask for our patience as they build characters and atmosphere, gently ratcheting up the tension with every claustrophobic frame. Prison stories were ready made for film noir purveyors, offering great opportunities for the cinematographers to utilise the steel bars for psychologically shadowed impact, and Joseph Brun does that excellently here, even managing to extend the cell shadows over the smug guards, the inference is that they too are locked up in this place of abject misery.

The air of fatalism mixes with the sweat of the men and drips down the cell walls, we are left in no doubt that this powder keg is about to be ignited, and when it comes it comes with the thunder, producing a last third of kinetic cinema of throat grabbing proportions. To which Koch and his team deliver a film noir coup de grace. Rooney leads the way with his performance of a seething John Mears, it's not over acting as some critics of the time suggested, it's a full on commitment to the portrayal of the incarcerated male who literally has nothing to lose and has had enough of being taunted. The other actors around him inevitably pale into his shadow, but they also put much emotion into their respective roles, very much so.

An under seen and under valued prison noir, The Last Mile should be sought out by anyone with a bent for such films. 8.5/10

This is a very grim, hard hitting, even brutal film about a death row break that goes awry. It's black and white photography keeps it from being dated. Mickey Rooney is excellent as the twisted, yet strangely sympathetic lead. One of the first movies to portray the psychological desolation of death row. It is also quite poignant.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that Mickey Rooney's the whole show in this movie but that wouldn't be far from the mark. This extremely violent 1959 remake of a 1932 film based on a Broadway play by John Wexley is directed in slam-bang style by Howard Koch, who does such a fine job it could just as easily be Don Siegel or Phil Karlson behind the camera. For fans of the prison genre this is a must see. It has it all.

The plot is basic stuff about doomed men in the big house, how they're treated by the guards, what motivates them, how the prison system works, as Hollywood sees it anyway. In style the film's similar to many period gangster films of its time. Rooney had already played Baby Face Nelson a couple of years earlier. He's in fine form here as a desperate inmate determined to break free. And he takes a lot of people with him in the stunning last half-hour of the film, in which the bullets are flying left and right.

Rooney's performance was so persuasive, he seemed so in tune with his character's mood swings (I don't know how else to put it) that I was practically rooting for him to make it in the end. The supporting cast is filled with some fine actors, ranging from veterans Frank Conroy and Leon Janney, up and comer Michael Constantine, the always distinguished Frank Overton, plus ex-cowboy star Donald "Red" Barry. The Last Miles must have seemed somewhat retro in its day,--prison pictures weren't common around the time it was made-and it plays well now, is curiously viscerally satisfying, and a good example of Hollywood trying to recapture some of the glory of Depression era films, and doing a damn good job of it, too.

The movie may be a cheap-jack production, but it also has a number of graphic touches including Rooney's absolutely riveting performance. With its single set, ugly b&w photography, and no-name cast (except for Rooney), I can't imagine the film played more than a few remote drive-in's farthest from town. Nonetheless, the 80-minutes pushes the bounds of 50's movie-making in several notable ways.

For example, catch how much emotional fear the doomed men—whether guards or cons— show when facing death. It's really unusual for that period to risk agitating audiences with realistic fears of death. But this one does. Also, the ricocheting bullets had me ducking under my chair— a really well done special effect. Actually, this cheapo comes closer to Sam Peckinpah's raw depiction of violence than about any film I've seen from that time—bullets actually raise blood, and despite their pleading people do get shot point blank. I'm guessing the producers got away with this because Hollywood didn't much care what a few necking teenagers might use for background.

It's an ugly movie in more ways than one—not a single woman in sight!-- just a bunch of ugly guys. At the same time, the first half too often drags before picking up with the slam-bang second half. Then too, have you ever seen a more barren or squeakier clean cell block, likely a reflection of the story's stage origins. Anyway, it's Rooney at his most intense. And despite the movie's really brutal nature, there are more moments of genuine honesty than in most A-productions of the period. But it's not one you want to see if you're feeling down.

Having not seen this film in about 20 years I am still impressed with it 's hard -hitting impact and stellar acting. Of course, one Mr. Mickey Rooney is indeed, INCREDIBLE in his role as the ring-leading "Killer".(In reference to another review here-none other than Orson Welles evoked Mickey Rooney's name as the greatest movie actor,also.) I also recall the jazzy-brassy score and the bare black and white photography. I love the Mick's last line before he goes out for his dose of lead poisoning.(I think the Stranglers lifted it for a line in one of their songs-Get a Grip on Yourself.)This is a great film and unjustly buried film. Let's get it out ! Side note-a recent Film Review magazine gave a big write up on Don Segal's "Babyface Nelson" ,made a couple years before "Last Mile" and also starring Mickey Rooney. Another rave of the Mick's intense and sympathetic performance.Perhaps it's the start of a groundswell of a appreciation for some truly superior cinematic performances.