The Big House

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Mark B There have been so many big-budget prison films and standout series like HBO's Oz, that it's hard to imagine a time when these stories were fresh. Even with the one-dimensional characters, the story keeps pace. Two things kept coming into my mind: These are the oldest corrections officers I've ever seen, and I'm wondering why they cast two nearly identical actors (Chester Morris and Robert Montgomery) as two of leads. In the crappy, 480p version that I watched, I truly had a difficult time telling which was which. #454 in my "watch ever BP nominated film" bucket list. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/14/25 Full Review ChrisCSH H The big house is a film that was way ahead of its time this early Academy award best picture nominee showing the inner workings of a prison and the mundane, and shocking every day tasks. The direction by George W Hill was incredibly shot along with magnificent acting of Wallace Berry, and the climax of the film will leave many people shocked. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/09/24 Full Review Audience Member As one of the first prison movies, this inspired others in this genre. This early example of prison melodrama is still entertaining. This is still good, hard-bitten stuff with one of Beery's best tough guy roles. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review steve d A erly prison film that somehow is still effective. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Prison films from this era tend to serve as social dramas hoping to be Oscar bait that involve an innocent man trapped inside a prison system where he is mistreated before escaping and falling in love with a nice girl. This film had many similarities to the later I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932) but it tried to expand the scope of the story with many supporting characters and a little more moral complexity than that film. I found myself liking the film even as I had low expectations for it and due to it's brief running time and some surprisingly involving conflicts I think this earned the critical acclaim it received at the time. Kent, Robert Montgomery, is imprisoned due to drunk driving charges and believes himself to be innocent but he finds himself struggling to fit in at an overcrowded prison. He is roommates with the violent, mercurial Butch, Wallace Beery, and the friendly, fatherly Morgan, Robert Montgomery, but both are members of a clique established in the prison that Kent cannot break into. Kent decides to become a stool pigeon to try to get out of prison early and when Morgan is to receive parole early for good behavior he plants a knife in his bed and has him sent to solitary confinement. When Morgan gets out he fakes an illness and escapes, finding Kent's sister Anne, Leila Hyams, and falling in love with her before he is found and taken back to the prison. Butch has been planning a mass prison escape while Morgan is away and when he arrives back at the prison suspicion is directed his way. He tries to warn the prison guards of the conflict that will arise but they do not listen to him and violence breaks out. One of the major issues with the film is the image quality as unlike other notable films from this era it does not appear to have been restored and so it appears blurry throughout. The cinematographer also appears to have done a poor job of framing as actors will regularly have the tops of their heads cut off or bounce in and out of frame. This occasionally took me out of the film as it was hard to make out what was occurring at some points and at many points where Morris was delivering a dramatic line of dialogue I suddenly could not make out his eyes. This also took away from the set design and cinematography in place as there were some impressive shots, such as the tracking shots of the prisoners passing guns back and forth, that were compromised by the fuzzy image. Here's for hoping that this film does receive some sort of restoration soon as I would like to see some of the imagery in the film clearly. The film also includes an unnecessary interlude in which Morgan escapes from prison and falls in love. This was entirely unnecessary as we already supported Morgan and trusted that he was morally in the right so it was not correct to take him out of the prison environment in an attempt to make the audience care about him more. This section of the film takes you out of it as a big part of the tension of prison films is drawn from the inescapability of the situation the men are in and seeing a man go free halfway through stops this tension from existing. Add in the fact that the Morgan, fascinating while in prison, becomes generic when interacting with his equally standard love interest and you have a big old dead weight in the middle of the film. What could have elevated the film was leaving Morgan in prison and having the aftermath of Kent's betrayal dealt with but instead the film takes the easy way out and gives the audience a plot contrivance that feels forced and lacking in excitement or intrigue. The fun of the film comes with the scenes inside the prison as the dynamic between the three roommates is fascinating and the double crossing has some real shock to it. Montgomery is well cast as a less than intelligent villain and Morris proves to be more capable than he appeared in Alibi (1929) while Beery relies on the same old shtick he employed in a lot of his other roles. For people who love the work of these actors this film will be a real treat. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member ***Spoilers ahead, Maybe?*** Since I like old black & white prison movies so much I expected to like this movie as well but I couldn't get into it.For me it was just OK.Right from the start I felt like I was watching it just to be watching it.Things didn't get exciting until the very end with the failed escape & shoot out.It was the only time I was able to get into the movie but there was only like 10 minutes left so it really didn't matter.During the riot I can't believe they brought out a couple of tanks.I was NOT expecting that.It had me wondering if there were ever any actual prison riots where tanks were used to bring the prison back to order.A thing I thought that was interesting was the inmate that escaped, went straight on the outside & seemed like he would've stayed that way if he wasn't captured & sent back, fell right back into place on the inside, the inmate who I thought would never let prison change him, ended up changing in the end & the main inmate you knew there was no hope for, was never going to change.I'm not sure The Big House is a movie I'd recommend.It got alot of good reviews but I just wasn't into it.It's something you'll have to see & decide for yourself Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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