Review of The Big House (1930) by Ken T — 07 Feb 2011

Still very entertaining tale of prison. Robert Montgomery is Kent, a young man just sent to prison for manslaughter. He gets thrown into a cell with the two toughest guys in the joint - the more cerebral Morgan (Chester Morris) and tough guy Butch (Wallace Beery).

Lewis Stone plays the Warden, who wants to do what is right. After Kent double-crosses Morgan causing him to lose out on his parole, Morgan escapes and seeks out Kent's sister, Anne. The two fall in love.

But there is much more to this film. Sure there is the typical cheesy acting attributed to this period, but the writing of Frances Marion is well-researched and the dialogue far better than many films of the era.

Wallace Beery is perfectly cast as the tough heavy Butch who has had enough of the joint. The original prison movie and still highly enjoyable.