TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

jarrodmcdonald-1 I was surprised how many positive reviews I found online about this film. Not because it isn't good mind you; on the contrary, it is very good-- in fact it may almost be too good for a "B" crime flick of this type. Usually a prison drama that clocks in at 60 minutes about a man who has been unjustly framed is no frills. It is often a poverty row product made with a low budget. But here, it's an MGM production with handsome production values and a lot more attention to detail than we might expect to see.Walter Pidgeon is cast as a ruthless attorney whose tough views on crime come back to haunt him when he's framed by a gangster and sent to the clink for something he didn't do. When he gets there, he is befriended by a doctor (Paul Kelly, who had a real-life prison term) and must deal with other inmates who have it out for him. Many of the situations are not too original, and the characters are glorified stereotypes at best, but Pidgeon and most of the cast do a credible job with the material. Meanwhile, Rita Johnson plays a female inmate with her own simultaneous false conviction; and chances are, she will end up as Pidgeon's wife before the final fadeout. She does a nice job portraying the anguish that her character experiences.What I like about 6,000 ENEMIES is that it gives the lead actor something tougher to play than MGM usually assigned him. Normally, Walter Pidgeon played Greer Garson's suave husband, or he had an honorable role in support of other stars in lavish studio productions. But in this film, he gets a chance to be a bit less than debonair and a lot more rough around the edges. I thought he was very much up to the challenge, especially in a boxing match where his character is pummeled by an opponent (Nat Pendleton). In a way, it's a shame Pidgeon didn't get more of these parts at MGM or other studios. Another thing I like about 6,000 ENEMIES is the way the editor advances the story by literally speeding up the film during some scenes. Also, chunks of material have been spliced together as montages that quickly and efficiently show us key plot points and get us on to the next piece of business. As a result, we have an action-packed film and something that seems to imprint its own style as it goes.

utgard14 Relentless prosecutor (Walter Pidgeon) is framed for bribery and sent to prison. Once there, he is faced with thousands (!) of criminals he put away. He finds unlikely help from a woman (Rita Johnson) he prosecuted. Pidgeon discovers she, too, was framed and has to face that the justice system is more flawed than he originally believed.Excellent 'B' movie from MGM. A fast-paced, tough crime drama with a colorful cast backing up Pidgeon that includes Grant Mitchell, Nat Pendleton, Harold Huber, Guinn Williams, and Paul Kelly (no stranger to prison). Arthur Aylesworth is fun as a creepy old lunatic Pidegon is forced to sleep next to. It's one of those movies where convicts are mostly an alright bunch of guys and, even if they hate your guts, they will learn to respect you if you show how tough you are. Yeah, it's far-fetched but still entertaining. It's barely over an hour so there's no excuse not to check it out.

MartinHafer B-movies were inexpensively made films that lasted about an hour. They were intended as the 2nd, or 'B' film, for a double-feature. There is a perception that Bs were always bad films or that they were always made by cut-rate studios but neither is true. In the case of "6000 Enemies", it is not a bad film AND it was made by MGM--the richest and most prestigious studio at that time. While I think the film easily could have been better, it still hold up pretty well with other Bs.Walter Pidgeon plays a district attorney who is a decent and honest man. As a result, organized crime hates him and they frame him for a crime he did not commit--and he's sent to prison. Naturally, many of his fellow prisoners hate him and want to kill him. With the help of a woman he sent to prison (she, too, was framed) and a nice prison doctor (Paul Kelly) he hopes to prove his innocence. However, and this REALLY is dumb, Pidgeon undergoes a magical transformation near the end that really undoes all the good writing and acting before this--and the film is, unfortunately, wrapped up way too quickly and perfectly to make it anything other than an average time-passer. High points for the film is the acting of Pidgeon and some interesting plot ideas--and they are able to carry the film further than it should have been.By the way, it's ironic that Kelly was cast as the nice prison doctor, as he actually served time in prison for killing a man. He's one of the very few actors I can think of that had left acting due to prison and was able to make a successful return once released.

xerses13 MGM'S 6000 ENEMIES (1939) bears a passing resemblance to Warner Brothers EACH DAWN I DIE (1939) without the star power of James Cagney and George Raft. Stalwart crime fighting citizen is unjustly framed and put behind bars. Proves himself to the "Cons", gets the goods on the guilty and brings them to justice, wins the girl, fade out. Oh, forgives the society that imprisoned him destroyed his career that leads to the death of his brother. Does not even give a thought to filing a lawsuit. Did I mention that this is also a fantasy.The most interesting thing about this film is seeing the way MGM handles such a subject. Or how differently they handled it nine (9) years earlier. THE BIG HOUSE (1930) is a gritty, realistic and tough depiction of prison life. THE BIG HOUSE is a dirty and very unpleasant place to be in. The inhabitants of this prison are scum with little or no saving graces. They will turn on you with the least provocation and on the flimsiest of motives.By the time of 6000 ENEMIES things had changed. The 1934 Production Code was being enforced and at MGM Irving Thalberg was gone and with him the driving force of creativity and risk. L. B. Mayer preferred every picture to be as clean and sanitized as Dr. Kildare's instruments. No studio embraced 'The Code' more then MGM. If you were looking to stretch the envelope it better be at another studio and this film is a perfect example of that. Even the dirt looks clean and as for the gangsters you get the feeling all they need is career counseling. Even when they brought in a hi-powered actor like Edward G. Robinson (for other films) who knew how to play gangsters the results were still tepid. So there is little that Walter Pidgeon could do but fulfill his contract in a pedestrian role. Thankfully for him better days were ahead.