''Prison Break'' is a 1938 American crime-drama film directed by
Arthur Lubin
Arthur Lubin (July 25, 1898 – May 11, 1995) was an American film director and producer who directed several ''Abbott & Costello'' films, '' Phantom of the Opera'' (1943), the '' Francis the Talking Mule'' series and created the talking-horse TV ...
and starring
Barton MacLane
Barton MacLane (December 25, 1902 – January 1, 1969) was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC ...
,
Glenda Farrell
Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress. Farrell personified the smart and sassy, wisecracking blonde of the Classical Hollywood films. Farrell's career spanned more than 50 years, appearing in numerous Broadwa ...
and
Paul Hurst
Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town.
As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, b ...
.
The film was based on the story "Walls of San Quentin" by
Norton S. Parker. It was released by
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
on July 12, 1938. A fisherman confesses to a murder he didn't commit to protect a friend. Determined to keep out of trouble in prison, but another convict makes things difficult for him.
Plot
Joaquin Shannon (
Barton MacLane
Barton MacLane (December 25, 1902 – January 1, 1969) was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC ...
), a fisherman, takes the blame for a crime to protect his brother-in-law Joe Fenderson (
Edward Pawley
Edward Joel Pawley (March 16, 1901 in Kansas City, Missouri – January 27, 1988 in Charlottesville, Virginia) was an American actor of radio, films and Broadway. The full name on his birth certificate is Edward Joel Stone Pawley; he never u ...
), who died from injuries from a mugging. He is sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crime. Joaquin asks Joe's sister and his girlfriend Jean Fenderson (
Glenda Farrell
Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress. Farrell personified the smart and sassy, wisecracking blonde of the Classical Hollywood films. Farrell's career spanned more than 50 years, appearing in numerous Broadwa ...
) to wait for him, expecting to be paroled in one year for good behavior. However, in prison, he battles with Red Kincaid (
Ward Bond). Joaquin's repeat altercation with Red causes him to fail his parole examination and his prison sentences are lengthened. Later, when Joaquin helps to stop a prison break which was led by Red, he is immediately released from prison.
Joaquin reunites with Jean. However, because of his criminal record and prison sentence, he is shunned and dismissed by employers. In a bar, he meets Soapy (
Paul Hurst
Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town.
As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, b ...
) a fellow ex-convict. Soapy convinces Joaquin to smuggle someone out of the country, who is actually Red and has escaped from prison. When Red and Soapy show up at the boat, they force Joaquin to navigate the boat. A dying Soapy who was shot by the police tells Jean that Red killed her brother. After finding out the truth, Joaquin fights Red and knocks him out so he can be delivered to the police, hopeful his name will be cleared in the process.
Cast
*
Barton MacLane
Barton MacLane (December 25, 1902 – January 1, 1969) was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, including his role as General Martin Peterson on the 1960s NBC ...
as Joaquin Shannon
*
Glenda Farrell
Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress. Farrell personified the smart and sassy, wisecracking blonde of the Classical Hollywood films. Farrell's career spanned more than 50 years, appearing in numerous Broadwa ...
as Jean
*
Paul Hurst
Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town.
As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, b ...
as Soapy
*
Constance Moore
Constance Moore (January 18, 1920 or January 18, 1921Additional on April 23, 2017. – September 16, 2005) was an American singer and actress. Her most noted work was in wartime musicals such as ''Show Business'' and ''Atlantic City'' and the ...
as Maria Shannon
*
Edward Pawley
Edward Joel Pawley (March 16, 1901 in Kansas City, Missouri – January 27, 1988 in Charlottesville, Virginia) was an American actor of radio, films and Broadway. The full name on his birth certificate is Edward Joel Stone Pawley; he never u ...
as Joe Fenderson
*
Edmund MacDonald as Chris
*
Ward Bond as Red Kincaid
*
Guy Usher
James Guy Usher (May 9, 1883 – June 16, 1944) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 190 films between 1932 and 1943.
Born in Mason City, Iowa, Usher acted on stage before venturing into films. Billed as James Guy Usher, h ...
as The Warden
*
Victor Kilian
Victor Arthur Kilian (March 6, 1891 – March 11, 1979) was an American actor who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses in the 1950s.
Early life, career, and homicide
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Victor Kilian began his ca ...
as Fenderson
*
Frank Darian
Frank Darien (March 18, 1876 – October 20, 1955) was an American actor. He appeared in 225 films and between 1915 and 1951.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darien, Frank
1876 births
1955 deaths
American ...
as Cappy
*
George Cleveland
George Alan Cleveland (September 17, 1885 – July 15, 1957) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1930 and 1954.
Career
Cleveland was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. His first appearance on the stage ...
as Ding
*
John Russell as Jackie
* Thomas Louden as Priest
* Paul Everton as Judge
Production
Glenda Farrell and Barton MacLane became popular co-starring in the
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
'
Torchy Blane
Torchy Blane is a fictional female reporter, the main character of nine films produced by Warner Bros. between 1937 and 1939. The Torchy Blane series were popular second features during the later 1930s and were mixtures of mystery, action, adve ...
film series. The movie, ''Prison Break'', were supposed to be the first film in a four-picture deal and dual contract with Farrell and MacLane. However, they made no other films at the Universal Pictures again with each other. Arthur Lubin became attached to direct on 12 April with
Trem Carr
Tremlet C. Carr (November 6, 1891– August 18, 1946) was an American film producer, closely associated with the low-budget filmmaking of Poverty Row. In 1931 he co-founded Monogram Pictures, which developed into one of the leading specialist pro ...
with whom he had made several movies to produce. He supervised the writing of the script at Victorville.
The movie's working titles were "State Prison", "Prison Walls" and "Walls of San Quentin".
Filming started 16 May 1938 under the title ''Walls of San Quentin''. Later in May the title was changed to ''State Prison'' as it was felt "San Quentin" had already been used in a title for a film with MacLane. The title would be changed again.
Reception
Frank S. Nugent of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' writes:
Unlike most of our modestly-budgeted melodramas dealing with the parole system, "Prison Break"... omits the jubilant finale in which the boss-racketeer controlling the parole board is exposed and the warden-in-cahoots is sent further up the river. In point of stricter fact, Universal's little treatise has omitted both the racketeer and the corrupt warden, and adheres throughout to its pessimistic view of parole. Although we hesitate to damn a film producer, in these cautious days, with the epithet "crusader," we really distrust Universal of having expressed an opinion. Is there a picket in the audience? The trouble with prisons, the picture says, is that they're full of such unpleasant people. When you take an honest, non-criminal soul like Barton MacLane's tuna fisherman, Joaquin Shannon, and pen him up with hardened offenders of the Red Kincaid type you are either going to have him turn criminal himself or get a bad name with the keepers for punching Mr. Bond in the jaw. Then there are a few notorious inconsistencies about parole itself: the denial of the right to marry, which deprives Mr. MacLane of the benefits of Glenda Farrell's society; and the stern rule about letting even a paroled tuna fisherman go beyond the jurisdictional 12-mile limit. Mr. MacLane really exercises more restraint than we would expect any one of so Irish a face to show, but he does lose his temper at last, just before the scriptwriters relent and decide to clear up the mystery of the murdered Joe Fenderson. By that time you probably will be as confused about it as we were — not knowing whether to relax and take it as just another moderately good Class B melodrama, or to muster your indignation over the seemingly iniquitous parole system. In either case, it's not a bad show at all."
The ''Los Angeles Times'' said the film had "originality" and "marked dramatic interest".
''Diabolique'' magazine called it "a Warner Bros-style innocent-man-accused-of-crime-goes-to-prison tale... like most of Lubin’s movies from this time it is stacked to the brim with plot, and the director punches it through."
Home media
''Prison Break'' was released on DVD on May 14, 2007.
References
External links
*
Prison Breakat
TCMDB
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...
Prison Breakat Letterbox DVD
Prison Breakat BFI
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prison Break
1938 crime drama films
1938 films
American crime drama films
American black-and-white films
1930s English-language films
Films based on short fiction
Films set in prison
1930s prison films
Universal Pictures films
Films directed by Arthur Lubin
American prison drama films
1930s American films