Big House

The archetype prison break picture may show it's age but it has some decent action scenes, good performances and an oppressive and intimidating setting that enables it to retain a creaky toughness.

Imprisoned after being convicted of a drunk driving, death resulting charge privileged Kent Marlowe (Robert Montgomery) finds himself in an inhuman environment of an overcrowded prison. There he meets the likes of hardened criminals Machine Gun Schmidt (Wally Beery) and cell mate John Morgan (Chester Morris) who attempts to teach him the ropes. Marlowe in turn sets up Morgan causing him to be denied parole. Morgan is forced to go over the wall but is recaptured and returned just in time to participate in a major break out.

Some of the Big House is downright preposterous with stilted dialog and lame brain logic but Beery and Morris come across well as pretty tough mugs and Montgomery's Marlowe is a suitably craven rat. There's a bravura prison riot at the tail end of the film that is well edited and suspenseful pitting Beery against the warden played by Lewis Stone who refuses to meet inmate demands and stoically responds to the threat of hostage sacrifice by calling in tanks. In its own way and especially in its time The Big House is as uncompromisingly tough as the warden.

Remember when Caged was such a big deal, shocking the censors and lifting the lid on what really goes on inside a women's prison? Twenty years earlier, and without the constraints of the Hays Code, there was The Big House, a gritty drama lifting the lid on what goes on inside a men's prison. Robert Montgomery is convicted and sent to an overcrowded prison after a drunk driving incident. His cellmates are hardened criminals Wallace Beery and Chester Morris, no match for the innocent newcomer. The latter two have a very interesting dynamic: Wallace is the biggest, baddest criminal on the block, and everyone's afraid to cross him, yet he backs down like a puppy whenever Chester scolds him. It's 1930, and the lack of censors can only show so much, but if you want to, you can definitely interpret their relationship as more than just cellmates.

I enjoyed The Big House as well, since I love seeing Robert Montgomery's curly hair flopping in his face as his eyes light up with liquid fire. There's a lot more to the movie than just eye candy, though, including episodes of solitary confinement, riots, convict gangs, and escape attempts. If you like this oldie, check out Public Hero Number 1 next. It's another great prison drama starring Chester Morris, and the warden is once again Lewis Stone!

I saw "The Big House" last night as part of Turner Classic Movies' tribute to Frances Marion, the great female screenwriter. Marion became the first woman to win an Academy Award for screenwriting for her work on this film.

"The Big House" is a fascinating character study, showing how three very different men deal with being imprisoned. Butch (Wallace Beery) lords over all of the men with a knife and threats of violence. John Morgan (Chester Morris) is smart enough to befriend Butch and his crew, but keeps his own set of values. Newcomer Kent Marlowe (Robert Montgomery) is terrified of prison and eventually turns "rat" in hopes of being released.

The film also infers that the public at large is partly to blame for the discontent (and eventual unrest) within the prison: at one moment, the head warden says something to the effect of the public wanting to put criminals in prison, but not wanting to spend the money to build more prisons to accommodate them. This is issue is still debated to this day.

I also found the portrayal of the lone female character, Anne Marlowe (Kent's sister, played by Leila Hyams), very refreshing and unexpected. Instead of the crying, simpering type we might expect in a prison movie, we are given a smart and compassionate woman who owns her own business.

All of the actors gave excellent, realistic performances and Frances Marion's screenplay was well-deserving of the accolades it received. The insight and sensitivity that she used to write about these characters and this place surpasses most of the scripts written by men on the same subject.

Kent (Robert Montgomery) arrives in prison and is put in a cell with Butch (Wallace Beery) and Morgan (Chester Morris), a couple of hardened criminals who run the place. Kent is warned by them to choose his friends wisely. He doesn't.

This is a strange film in that it starts out as Kent's story but gradually turns into Morgan's story. The film moves at a good pace climaxing in the attempted escape where old pals Butch and Morgan have a final confrontation. Robert Montgomery is a wimp/coward/creep in this film while Wallace Beery is the thug.

It's an enjoyable film with a touch of romance thrown in by the storyline involving Anne (Leila Hyams) and Morgan. Morgan escapes and hangs out with Anne and her family. She is Kent's sister. There are tense moments involving him and the policeman that finally re-arrests him. Morgan maintains a smart outlook throughout the film and goes out of his way to protect Kent even though Morgan knows what a traitor Kent has been. Shagging his sister must only increase his inner torment as to what he should do. It all works out nicely in the end!

Convict John Morgan (Chester Morris) escapes prison and falls in love with his cellmate Kent Marlowe's (Robert Montgomery) sister, but is later caught and sent back. He soon becomes embroiled in an escape plot that also involves Kent.

The Big House was one of the first prison films, and obviously an influential one. Chester Morris is excellent in the lead, and Wallace Beery is great as the simple-minded Machine Gun "Butch" Schmidt. The best performance in the film comes from Robert Montgomery as the weak-willed Marlowe. The cinematography and set design are quite good.

Highly recommended. First time viewing. 4/5