Flyerplesys Perfectly adorable

Kodie Bird True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Brandin Lindsey The Big House is a 1930 crime-drama film, set in a prison. The story follows several inmates who are all willing to do anything to get out of jail. Whether it is cutting deals, informing on one another, or planning a breakout, each character is pushed to the limits of what a person is willing to do for freedom. As the story progresses, each character must ultimately face the consequences of whatever choice they make, which seems to be the moral of the film. The Big House is surprisingly sympathetic toward the flaws in the penal system and makes no attempt to hide the horrors of prison. The jail in the film is almost medieval at times with a dungeon for solitary confinement, roach-infested, rotten food, and three men to a closet-sized cell. The story is well-written and the acting is great, for the most part.The bad parts of the film mostly consists of the silliness, such as obviously fake punches, the phony tough-guy routine, and the cringe-worthy "Who...Me?" line that is repeated throughout. The comedy aspects of the film also fall flat, such as the cross-eyed stutter routine and the exaggerated wide-eyed stupidity role. These elements drag the film down.Overall, The Big House is worth watching. Honest, enjoyable, and intense, most viewers will have a lot of fun with this film. Despite a few flaws and bad comedy, the amazing prison scenery will keep you drawn to the screen.

Hitchcoc One might say that this movie is clichéd. Well, clichés have to start somewhere. Three men deal with prison in different ways. The one played by Chester Morris has some integrity and hopes for a better life. The other two are an enforcer and a rat. There is much give and take along the way, and eventually the classic prison break. Of course, at this time we know that right will prevail. There is also a little romance when Marlowe (Morris) escapes. There is also a commentary on what happens when we incarcerate men in places that are too crowded to hole them properly. Excellent actors in a thinly woven (and rather unbelievable) plot.

kidboots Prison pictures were still raw and exciting in 1930 and this was the grand daddy of them all!!! I disagree with the reviewer - I think this film is every bit as good as a Warner Bros. crime movie. Wallace Beery is a revelation as "Butch" - a character, that a few years down the track would become a staple in almost every prison movie.Kent Marlowe (Robert Montgomery) a wealthy youth, who is used to having his parents fight his battles for him, is sentenced to 10 years for manslaughter - he kills a man while driving drunk. Lewis Stone plays the stern warden, while George F. Marion plays his "conscience", Pop Ryker. There are several speeches against the antiquated prison system, the overcrowding, which leads to putting first timers into cells with hardened criminals. This is what happens to Kent - he is to share a cell with "Butch" (Wallace Beery) an unrepentant murderer - "you never heard of the Delancy gang wipe out - well, I done the wiping!!!" and also Morgan (Chester Morris) a criminal who still has humanity. He tries to give Kent advice about surviving in prison but Kent is drawn to the prison stoolie!!!There are some wonderful visual highlights - the prison food hall - prisoners are shown eating at what a few seconds before were empty tables. There is then a protest about the food, which "Butch" leads. Morgan is keeping a low profile as he is due to be released. During visiting time Morgan sees Ann, who is visiting her brother, Kent. Kent is of course whining and complaining about how he can't take things in here anymore and why can't she do something about it. He is cowardly - Robert Montgomery is just excellent and has perfected the wild eyed stare - and through his actions, ruins Morgan's chance of getting an early release. Both Morgan and "Butch" are put in solitary confinement and when they are released Morgan makes a daring escape via the prison morgue.While out he visits Anne's bookstore but she suspects who he is as her brother has written her a letter. She bravely apprehends him with his own gun until he manages to convince her that he means no harm. A local detective thinks he recognizes him and after a few months of freedom (he makes a new start, falls in love with Anne) he is taken back to prison.There is to be a prison breakout (shades of "20,000,000 Years in Sing Sing" (1933)). "Butch" has it timed for noon but Kent has already squealed to the Warden and the guards are waiting for them and because Morgan has refused to join the mob, "Butch" thinks he is the one who leaked the plans. The mob scenes are excellently handled and the siege is very exciting. They even bring in the tanks!!!Although I haven't seen Robert Montgomery in a lot of films, I don't think I have ever seen him act in a more convincing way. Leila Hyams was also an actress who tackled some pretty unusual roles as well. After a few ordinary roles she was surprisingly cast as the circus girl in "Freaks" - but this role was different as well. She plays Anne Marlowe, a compassionate girl, who is not afraid to use a gun to defend herself and also runs her own business.Highly Recommended.

Ron Oliver THE BIG HOUSE - prison of no hope - the last terminal for lost souls. Only the strong survive; the weak crack or are corrupted. As the warden shrewdly tells a new arrival, the place won't make you go yellow, but it you already are yellow it'll bring it out.MGM was the only studio in Hollywood which would have let a female write the script for such a strong story. But in Frances Marion they not only had the most celebrated screenwriter in the industry, but also a person uniquely qualified to write about any situation. She headed off to California's notorious San Quentin Prison to observe the conditions & learn the lingo. Cheerfully deflecting the jibes & taunts of guards & prisoners alike, she reminded them that after being a frontline correspondent in the Great War there were few situations she couldn't handle.The result is a wonderful film, tough, hard-bitten & stark. MGM did itself proud by supplying a terrific cast and production values. The scene where belligerent Wallace Beery refuses to eat the commissary slop remains a classic.Chester Morris does a fine job as a resourceful crook who is actually helped by his time in prison, reformed against his will. This excellent actor is too often ignored when the histories of 1930's cinema are written. Wallace Beery, as murderous Butch, is absolutely unforgettable. Marion wrote the part with him in mind & it is difficult to imagine anyone else playing it. Lovable & dangerous in equal measure, he steals every scene he's in. THE BIG HOUSE would set Beery firmly on the road to major talkie stardom.Robert Montgomery, on the cusp of his own salad days as a sophisticated, romantic leading man, here plays quite a different role. As a weak, cowardly stool pigeon, he's cast very much against type. It would be 1937's NIGHT MUST FALL before he received another such finely-nuanced role.Lewis Stone is very effective in the small role as the tough-as-nails warden. Beautiful Leila Hyams is well-cast as Mongomery's spunky sister. George F. Marion & DeWitt Jennings are both memorable as elderly security guards. Champion stutterer Roscoe Ates provides a few moments of much needed comic relief.Karl Dane is easily spotted as a hulking convict in several scenes, but he is curiously mute. Doubtless, his thick Danish accent was already giving the Studio trouble. Even though he had been an important comic star in silent pictures, he was quickly relegated to talkie bit parts. He was eventually further reduced to selling hot dogs from a cart outside the MGM front gates. This was the final indignity. He committed suicide in 1934.Preview audiences were curiously cool to THE BIG HOUSE, until MGM executive Irving Thalberg figured out that female viewers didn't like con Chester Morris romancing another prisoner's wife. Thalberg instructed Marion to rewrite a few scenes and refilming made it clear that Leila Hyams was Robert Montgomery's sister, not his spouse. This pleased the patrons and the movie was a big hit.