The big house 1930 - Putting the prison pictures genre on the map

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IMDB rating: 7,2

Director: George W. Hill
Main Cast: Chester Morris, Wallace Beery, Lewis Stone, Robert Montgomery, Leila Hyams

"The Big House established the prison drama as a motion picture genre, as it set new standards in realistic sound recording. Even by MGM's lofty standards, the film had high production values: the Cedric Gibbons-designed sets vividly recreated the harsh, sometimes brutal life inside U.S. prisons in the 1930s, and Douglas Shearer's Oscar-winning sound effects accentuated the stark visual tone. The sensation of bullets whizzing, rattling, and clanking off metal bars was a thrill to audiences who were embracing the transition away from silent films. Big House proved to be a star-making vehicle for Wallace Beery, who had been cast in the film only after the death of the studio's first choice, Lon Chaney. Frances Marion garnered a Best Writing Oscar for her screenplay, making her the first woman to receive an Academy Award outside of the Best Actress category." - www.allmovie.com

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Ladies they talk about 1933 - Bad girl Stanwyck behind bars

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IMDB rating: 6,7

Directors: Howard P. Bretherton, William Keighley
Main Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, Lyle Talbot, Dorothy Burgess, Lillian Roth

"The women in prison genre reached its peak in the 1950s, but the progenitor of those films can be found in 1933's Ladies They Talk About. Based on a play by actress Dorothy Mackaye, which in turn was loosely based on her actual experiences in a women's prison, Ladies is sheer delight for lovers of hard-boiled dames slinging snappy phrases around like so much hash. As is often the case with films in this genre, the plot has a number of credibility gaps; most of them are passable and add to the general enjoyment, but the final one - in which the heroine shoots and wounds the man she hates, only to immediately declare her love for him, after which he tells the cops that it's nothing and he plans to marry her - does take the cake. The soft country club conditions of the women's prison, which includes dorm-style rooms with lace curtains, is also a bit hard to take. But it doesn't matter, for Ladies has the one and only Barbara Stanwyck on hand to add her special magic to the salty dialogue and to make one happy to overlook any problems with the screenplay. Add in a good supporting cast that includes Lillian Roth warbling a song to a picture of Joe E. Brown, and you have a picture that may not be great but is definitely entertaining." - www.allmovie.com

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The criminal code 1931 - "Somebody's got to pay!"

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021770/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 7,1

Director: Howard Hawks
Main Cast: Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes, Constance Cummings, Boris Karloff, DeWitt Jennings, Mary Doran

"Howard Hawks' early sound prison melodrama, based on a play by Martin Flavin, already contains his stylistic signature of over-lapping dialogue - a technique he would greatly expand upon in the next ten years. Walter Huston is district attorney Brady, who quickly convicts Robert Graham (Phillips Holmes) of murdering a man who was harassing his girlfriend. Brady is later made the warden of the prison where Robert is held. Brady tries to make friends with Robert, but Robert will have no dealings with the new warden. Nevertheless, Brady, who thinks Robert is a decent man who became embroiled in extraordinary circumstances, gives Robert a job as his chauffeur. As he drives with Brady's daughter Mary (Constance Cummings), the two fall in love. Meanwhile, things heat up back at the prison, where crazed killer Ned Galloway (Boris Karloff) kills the squealer Runch (Clark Marshall). Robert knows Ned killed Runch, but refuses to tell Brady. Brady reluctantly sends Robert to solitary confinement to get him to give up the murderer's name, but Robert holds out on him.
Constance Cummins isn't given much as Huston's daughter but she is appealing. However, Boris Karloff gives one of his very finest performances as a tough but decent prisoner.
The Criminal Code is one of Hawks' lesser known films (maybe because he was uncredited as director). It is simply a superlative film that is dominated by powerhouse performances by Walter Huston, Phillips Holmes and Boris Karloff. Holmes acting was occasionally flat in films but when he was given the right role he was fantastic as he definitely was here. The Criminal Code, which opened on Broadway in 1929 and lasted a very respectable 179 performances, was another acting honor for Walter Huston."

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