There was a spate of prison dramas in the early 1930s. While 'The Big House' is by no means a bad specimen - quite on the contrary - it does not play in the same league as some of the top movies in this genre: think, for example, of Mervyn Le Roy's 'I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang' (1932) with Paul Muni. 'The Big House' starts off with Kent (Robert Montgomery) being jailed. In prison, he shares a cell with Morgan (Chester Morris) and Butch (Wallace Beery). Morgan sees Kent's sister visiting him, escapes, establishes a relationship with her and is re-captured. Butch tries to escape too, but his attempt ends in disaster: A riot breaks out that causes many deaths. By saving some of the guards, Morgan wins a pardon and is released. The acting is good throughout, with Beery standing out. It is really he who carries the film: he effortlessly dominates every scene where he appears. In fact, I have yet to watch a film with Beery where he does not impress me. The dialogues are good, too. The reason why I am not rating 'The Big House' higher than 7 stars is that the plot is in some places a bit awkwardly constructed. When the film starts, you are led to expect that Robert Montgomery plays one of the core roles. He is important but appears relatively rarely and is a minor character compared to Beery and Morris. A true central character (Kent's sister, played by Leila Hyams) is introduced very late and remains relatively bland. For all that, 'The Big House' is suspenseful and fast-paced. An enjoyable prison drama!
Review of The Big House
