The Big House
by George Hill
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Chester Morris, Robert Montgomery, Wallace BeeryDirector: George Hill
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 87 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-06-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Bros.
Movie Reviews of The Big House
Movie Review: Sets the archetype for prison films
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Big House" is the first of the prison films to capture an audience, and as such, it is the archetype for almost every prison movie to follow, apart from the "chain gang" films that have their origins in Paul Muni's excellent 1932 "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang."
One doesn't expect a film such as this from MGM. After all, during the early 30s, MGM was best known for Garbo's "Anna Christie" (1930) and "Mata Hari" (1931), "Grand Hotel" (1932), musicals (e.g., "Lord Byron", "Good News", "Dancing Lady" etc.) and the "Tarzan" films. "The Big House" fits better into Warner Brothers, with Edward G Robinson's (1930) "Little Caesar", Cagney's great "Public Enemy" (1931), and Howard Hughes "Scarface" (1932). But Director George Hill and writer Frances Marion were at MGM where they made not only "The Big House", but also Min and Bill (1930) with Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler. Marion was also the writer for "Anna Christie" and "Good News." So this very un MGM film got made at MGM because the artistic talent was there.
The Big House was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, but it was beaten by "All Quiet on the Western Front." Wallace Berry got the nod for Best Actor, but the award went to George Arliss in "Disraeli." But "The Big House" was the winner for Best Sound (Douglas Shearer) and Best Writing (Frances Marion). Marion was the first woman to win an AA for writing. How did a woman get to write a prison movie? Easy, She was married to the Director (George W. Hill). But Marion's success was not attributable to her spousal arrangement alone. She was the favorite writer for such well known actors as Mary Pickford, Marion Davies, and Marie Dressler. In addition she won an Oscar in 1931 for "The Champ" (also with Wallace Beery).
(BTW - there is a 2000 movie entitled "Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood" with Kathy Bates as the voice of Marion)
The New York Evening Post said "...it is Beery who runs off with the glory...he is the incarnation of a convict." The Big House was so popular that Laurel and Hardy produced a spoof called "Pardon Us" in 1931. It was their first feature film, following literally dozens of two reelers for which they are best remembered. Walter Long does a terrific parody of Wallace Beery, and the blackface bit by Stan and Ollie remains hilarious to this day.
The film itself starts off like a documentary as we follow recently incarcerated Kent Marlowe (Robert Montgomery) through the introductory phases - talk with Warden (Lewis Stone), surrender of personal items, prison uniform, etc. Then Kent goes to his cell, a small sliver of space in which two convicts are already living - Machine Gun Butch Schmidt (Wallace Beery) and robber/forger John Morgan (Chester Morris).
Morris is best remembered for his Boston Blackie films starting in 1941. Robert Montgomery went on to host the popular "Robert Montgomery Presents" series on TV (in which Morris appeared) and to father Elizabeth, our favorite Samantha.
Lon Chaney was originally cast in the role of Butch, but his untimely death gave Beery a chance. Beery was in desperate need of a chance, his career in jeopardy after being released from his contract with Paramount and spending more than a year without a film offer. His role as Butch, coupled with "Min and Bill" the same year (also written by Marion and directed by Hill) and "Billy the Kid" (he played Pat Garrett), followed with the best actor award in 1931 for "The Champ" (also written by Marion) elevated Beery to the A list where he remained and made such memorable films as "Treasure Island" (1934), "Viva Villa" (1934), and "China Seas" (1935). He continued to work through 1949, but his heyday was the 30s. Beery said of himself -"...my mug has been my fortune."
The film shows us the boredom of prison life, the dangers lurking in the prison yard, the terrible dining arrangements (parodied by Leslie Nielson in Naked Gun), and the fearfulness of solitary confinement (there's great shot of Morris as the door is sealed and he merges with the darkness). The shots of mass movements, in and out of the court yard, up and down the stairs, etc. provide an excellent visage into prison uniformity.
There is a liberal bent to the Warden's explanation for the problems in prison (too little money and too many prisoners), and the guards are friendly and folksy. But that doesn't stop the Warden from calling in the tanks when a prison riot breaks out.
Crime was very much on everyone's mind in 1930, as witnessed by Warner Brothers' films with Robinson, Raft, and Cagney. The Roaring Twenties had come to an end and the Depression was only just being felt. Other popular crime films that year were Marlene Dietrich in "The Blue Angel", Howard Hughes' "Hell's Angels", Hitchcock's "Murder", King Vidor's "Billy the Kid" (also starring Beery), and "Street of Chance". The most popular movies of that year were "All Quiet on the Western Front", "The Big House", "Hell's Angels", "The Blue Angel", and "Animal Crackers",
This film is well worth viewing. It gives us a moment in time of how people behaved and what life was like in 1930. It also gives us some great performances and, from an historical perspective, defines prison movies for the next century.
The sound is remarkable for 1930 as is the photography. George Hill's direction is sharp and to the point. His camera work varies from the prison scenes to the scenes in the community, helping give us a fuller feeling of what prison life must have been like.
(BTW - as originally written, the romance was between Morris and Montgomery's wife, but when they got bad reviews at a screening, Irving Thalberg had them re-write the script to make the woman Montgomery's sister rather than his wife. If you look closely, you'll see scenes that were original and scenes that were re-written)
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