Le Pacte des tueurs

Original title: Big House, U.S.A.

1955
Approved
1h 23m

IMDb RATING

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Charles Bronson, Lon Chaney Jr., Broderick Crawford, Felicia Farr, and Reed Hadley in Le Pacte des tueurs (1955)

Gerry Barker finds a lost boy whose rich father is extorted into paying a ransom for his return but the boy accidentally dies and Gerry goes to prison.Gerry Barker finds a lost boy whose rich father is extorted into paying a ransom for his return but the boy accidentally dies and Gerry goes to prison.Gerry Barker finds a lost boy whose rich father is extorted into paying a ransom for his return but the boy accidentally dies and Gerry goes to prison.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

1.2K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos57

+ 53

Top cast19

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Broderick Crawford

Rollo Lamar

Ralph Meeker

Gerry Barker

Reed Hadley

Special FBI Agent James Madden

William Talman

'Machine Gun' Mason

Lon Chaney Jr.

Alamo Smith
(as Lon Chaney)

Charles Bronson

Benny Kelly

Felicia Farr

Emily Evans
(as Randy Farr)

Roy Roberts

Chief Ranger Will Erickson

Willis Bouchey

Robertson Lambert
(as Willis B. Bouchey)

Peter J. Votrian

Danny Lambert
(as Peter Votrian)

Robert Bray

Ranger McCormick

William Boyett

Ranger at Park Exit
(uncredited)

Nelson Leigh

Madden's FBI Supervisor
(uncredited)

Gregg Martell

Accomplice on Fishing Boat
(uncredited)

Bill McLean

Dipsy
(uncredited)

Jan Merlin

Tommy
(uncredited)

Joe Ploski

Convict
(uncredited)

Stafford Repp

Prison Warden Machek
(uncredited)

Director
- Howard W. Koch
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
There are two actors who played Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (and both share a scene together): Robert Bray in My Gun Is Quick (1957), and the most famous, that came out the same year as this movie, Ralph Meeker in En quatrième vitesse (1955).

Goofs
When they're fishing, the fish Rollo has on his line when he pulls it out of the water is obviously already dead.

Quotes
Rollo Lamar: Any of you geniuses know what "apparently" means?
Alamo Smith: "Apparently?"
Rollo Lamar: Yeah.
Benny Kelly: Yeah, it means that something that ain't, looks like it is.

Connections
Featured in Kain's Quest: The Stone Killer (2015)

User reviews24

Featured review

6/10

Grim documentary style prison drama is gritty and realistic...

The story begins with a lost boy, a kidnapping, a ransom as extortionist RALPH MEEKER takes advantage of a situation which led to the death of the boy. The F.B.I. is soon on the case when the boy's father reports his disappearance. Meeker is sent to an island prison to serve a sentence as an extortionist who has $200,000 hidden somewhere.

He's thrown in with some hardened criminal types--CHARLES BRONSON, BRODERICK CRAWFORD, LON CHANEY, JR.--labeled "the Iceman" because of his cool demeanor and icy gaze. Crawford has one of the film's best lines: "Well, the iceman cometh." Since no prison drama would be complete without an escape plan being hatched, BIG HOUSE U.S.A. is no exception. The suspense lies mainly in the survival of Meeker who is known as the most hated man in prison because he harmed a boy. Crawford devises an escape plan that includes Meeker, "the goose that laid the golden egg", so he can share the hidden loot with them. Of course, it's a crime doesn't pay melodrama, so in the end all their best laid plans go awry.

Nice outdoor photography in Royal Gorge Park, Colorado, for the rugged scenes in the finale.

Summing up: Well worth your time--interesting and gritty.