The Big House stars Chester Morris, Wallace Beery, Robert Montgomery, and Leila Hyams in this 1930 film. The film is about three prisoners and the lives they live in the prison. John Morgan(Morris) and Butch(Beery) are as close as brothers but when trouble maker Kent Marlowe(Montgomery) comes between the two's friendship, anger arises. On the eve of his pardon, John is accused of concealing a weapon and is sentenced longer because Kent set him up. This is an excellent prison film and I found it quite interesting that MGM came out with this film, and not Warner Brothers, who was known for prison films. I loved the friendship between Morris' John and Beery's Butch; they would be friends until the end and no one could get between that friendship. I thought that it was very cool to see Montgomery as such a weak character. He seems unable to stand up on his own and uses other people's faults to gain from it. Even with a small role, I appreciated seeing Leila Hyam's delicate approach as Anne Marlowe, Kent's sister.
Review for Tomorrow: Ruggles of Red Gap
Update: I'm terrible at keeping promises, so the actors list will have to be delayed for one more day. I have off tomorrow, so I will be spending a good portion of my time working on the list. :)
1 comment:
the grandaddy of all men in prison flicks. Beery became a huge star after this, which is ironic because the role was originally intended for Lon Chaney!
I wish Leila Hyams made more films. She was so lovely and always brought a nice underplayed sensitivity to her roles.
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