Synopsis
The Big House (1930) is one of the founding texts of the prison drama genre — watch it online on iFILM. MGM director George W. Hill built an enormous film around Frances Marion's sharp screenplay and a cast that made the studio's roster of early-sound stars.
Kent Marlowe (Robert Montgomery) goes to prison for a manslaughter conviction after a drunk-driving accident. His cell holds eight. His new neighbours are Butch (Wallace Beery), a violent career criminal with a plan, and Morgan (Chester Morris), a smooth-talking con man with another one. Kent is not built for either world — and the collision between the three of them is what drives the film.
Marion took home the Oscar for her screenplay; the film competed for Best Picture as well. Beery's performance here is what turned him into one of MGM's dominant stars of the early sound era, and it launched a wave of prison pictures across Hollywood. Stream The Big House (1930) online on iFILM.
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