Big House, U.S.A.

"5 KILLER CONVICTS BREAK OUT!"

Nov 18 1955 Approved 1h 23m
Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

A tough and realistic crime drama unfolds as merciless kidnapper Jerry Barker (Ralph Meeker) demands ransom paid against a young runaway whose fate lands Barker in Casabel Island Prison.

Plot

When young Danny Lambert runs away from camp in south-central Colorado, he becomes the object of a park-wide-search by his wealthy father Robertson Lambert. He is found by Gerry Barker and told to wait at an abandoned look-out tower while he goes for help. Instead, Barker calls the father and demands $200,000 ransom. The money is delivered and Barker buries most of it. Meanwhile, the panicky boy has fallen from the tower to his death, and Barker drops the body off a cliff. The FBI, led by James Madden, capture Barker but can't convict him of kidnapping and he is given only five years for extortion and sent to Casabel Island Prison. There he is assigned a cell with Rollo Lambar, Alamo Smith, Benny Kelly and Machine Gun Mason. The FBI have now traced an affiliation between Barker and Emily Evans, a nurse at Danny's camp. The five cell-mates, led by Rollo, who plans to kill Benny and dress him in Barker's clothes to throw off the police, execute an underwater prison escape, and head north for the ransom money.

Written by

John C. Higgins, George W. George, George F. Slavin

Directed by

Howard W. Koch

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Bel-Air Productions

Languages

English

Awards

N/A

Scores
# of Votes
1,291
Average Rating
6.6 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA