I've seen worse prison pics. Dialogue and staging of the action scenes, especially the "revolt", are a bit on the stiff, lackluster side (let's just say director R.G. Springsteen is no Don Siegel and leave it at that) but the performances, other than the always over the top Timothy Carey, are quite good. I was particularly impressed with a young Robert Blake's take on a basically decent inmate caught between the head guard's racism and Gene Evans' seductive betrayal. Also worthy of mention is veteran character actor John Qualen, who usually portrayed stolid farmers in John Ford movies, doing a nice job as a Bob Stroud-like lifer. And Evans, as per usual, is solid as a complete and utter scumbag. Give it a generous B minus 'cause I found myself involved with and, in Blake's case, caring about these guys.
9 Reviews
The New Style in Prison Movies
boblipton6 March 2021
Robert Blake is a young man sent to prison. The guards are corrupt, the warden, played by Emile Mayer, is an uncaring bureaucrat, and Blake's cellmate is Gene Evans, who tries to get him to start a riot to cover Evans' prison break.
R.G. Springsteen was a ver competent B western director. He was so good he survived directing them after they were long dead. A few times he got to direct crime dramas, and he knew how to take people like Evans, who usually played henchmen in oaters, and bring him up to date.
The 1930s had prison dramas that were about the reforming power, about how thoughtful, caring authorities. The 1950s brought a new look, stories about the bad, bad men -- and women -- locked up there, and how they mistreated themselves, creatures of violence from which society must be guarded; perhaps there was a bit of paranoia about communism lurking in the subtext. Robert Blake is not there to be reformed. He is a vicious, dangerous creature in the eyes of the warden, who believes the guards who plant a knife on him. If he is to be reformed, he must do it himself. He must realize that the life of a criminal will kill him and the few decent men in prison and make the effort without help.
R.G. Springsteen was a ver competent B western director. He was so good he survived directing them after they were long dead. A few times he got to direct crime dramas, and he knew how to take people like Evans, who usually played henchmen in oaters, and bring him up to date.
The 1930s had prison dramas that were about the reforming power, about how thoughtful, caring authorities. The 1950s brought a new look, stories about the bad, bad men -- and women -- locked up there, and how they mistreated themselves, creatures of violence from which society must be guarded; perhaps there was a bit of paranoia about communism lurking in the subtext. Robert Blake is not there to be reformed. He is a vicious, dangerous creature in the eyes of the warden, who believes the guards who plant a knife on him. If he is to be reformed, he must do it himself. He must realize that the life of a criminal will kill him and the few decent men in prison and make the effort without help.
Good Actors Lift Level Of Standard Prison Pic
lchadbou-326-2659219 August 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This is a standard prison picture helped by the presence of a number of good actors.Tough guy Gene Evans, whose story is told in flashback, stars as Gannon, a big time criminal planning a break out where his fellow convicts will get gun parts smuggled in from connections outside, hidden in boxes of large soap cakes,conceal them inside bales of jute being stored in the mill area, and assemble them until they are ready to use. In the climax, where the prisoners all burst out of their cells, taking food from the canteen and generally rioting, there is an exhilarating rush from seeing these men strive for their freedom. The Evans character, however, deliberately lets others be killed by the guards he knows are waiting on the other side, so he can selfishly sneak over a wall a different way on his own. Robert Blake co-stars as a young Latino convict Gannon grooms to become embittered enough to help them. Rather than hire a real Latino performer, Hollywood at the time often used actors with a vaguely swarthy background (Blake came from Italian stock) and cast them as Mexicans or Indians. There is a subplot involving the trouble the Blake character gets into with the heavy set captain of the guards, played by Walter Barnes, who is a racist: At one point the Latino is called a "little chili picker," at another the captain tells a group of inmates speaking Spanish, "From now on you monkeys better stick to English."Timothy Carey delivers another of his patented weirdo jobs as Bugsy, running a racket inside. John Qualen as an older prisoner acts as more of an observer, who stands back and reacts to what is going down with bemused, quizzical expressions. And in a somewhat smaller role Emile Meyer is on hand as the warden. He had previously played the warden in the much superior, Don Siegel directed prison film, Riot In Cell Block 11. Meyer was usually cast as an authority figure: a police official or detective, or a sheriff if in a Western.
A good cast always helps.
youroldpaljim20 May 2001
The plot of this film has been filmed a million times: a group of prisoners start a revolt in order to make an escape attempt. What makes this worth seeing over dozens of other "B" films is the good cast. Gene Evans is excellent as Lou Barlow who tricks good kid Rudy (Robert Blake) into helping him escape. Tim Carey gives his usual good performance as the unhinged prisoner "Bugsy" who lovingly fondles guns. Glad my local video store had this one.
Must-See Prison Movie
mackjay220 October 2008
This B-grade prison movie really packs a wallop, thanks to committed performances from a cast featuring Gene Evans, Tim Carey and Robert Blake. A stock story is brought to convincing, exciting life as hardened criminal Gene Evans is thrown into the "Big House". Right off the bat, he organizes a crashout. But he has other things on his mind as well. Routine as it may at first seem, this movie holds a number of surprises that make well worth anyone's time. Evans is solid as ever and expert at taking charge of the situation. He has no trouble standing up to and intimidating Tim Carey (a feat in itself). But the most impressive performance comes from young Robert Blake: his subtle use of accent and his consistency of character show true acting talent. Blake is the heart of this film while Evans is the brazen brains of it. Also on hand are stalwarts John Qualen, Emile Meyer and others, all directed by R.G. Springsteen with powerhouse impact. Great stuff. Yet another B movie that could use a restored issue on DVD.
hard boiled "tough guy" prison movie
jonnyhaole9683923 June 2005
The joy of this movie is that it filled with generic (corny) lines and situations throughout, yet it is still a great yarn. Some friends and I discovered this flick accidentally on TV years ago in the 70's and it has enjoyed a surreptitious cult-like status ever since. With lines like, "I can't eat, I can't sleep, food turns sour in my belly," and characters with a name like Bugsy, and a very young Robert Blake spouting, "Oh, holy Toledo!" you just cannot go wrong watching this movie with some friends. I challenge anybody who sees this movie to try and not quote at least one of the many unforgettable lines for days and/or years after seeing Lou and the gangs travails inside the unforgiving walls of "the big house."
There are so many good films in this genre....and this is yet another.
planktonrules6 March 2021
Apart from the 'women in prison' exploitation films of the early 1970s, prison films usually are among the better movies you can find. Now I am not saying they all are great movies...but finding a bad prison film isn't easy. So, I wasn't very surprised that "Revolt in the Big House" turned out to be very watchable and well made.
When the story begins, tough guy Lou Gannon (Gene Evans) has arrived at prison. He apparently was a very famous criminal but getting the goods on him wasn't easy...and he FINALLY has run out of luck. Once there, he meets up with an old friend, 'Bugsy' (Timothy Carey) and the pair work on a plan for a big escape. This involves coming up with a plan to smuggle guns into the prison...and you'll have to watch the film to see what's next.
The acting, script and direction are all good here. In fact, I can't think of any big problems with the film and a score of 8 is awfully good for such a low budgeted picture. My one complaint is when one of the prisoners gets machined gunned....and not a single hole nor speck of blood is seen...nothing. Quite enjoyable overall.
When the story begins, tough guy Lou Gannon (Gene Evans) has arrived at prison. He apparently was a very famous criminal but getting the goods on him wasn't easy...and he FINALLY has run out of luck. Once there, he meets up with an old friend, 'Bugsy' (Timothy Carey) and the pair work on a plan for a big escape. This involves coming up with a plan to smuggle guns into the prison...and you'll have to watch the film to see what's next.
The acting, script and direction are all good here. In fact, I can't think of any big problems with the film and a score of 8 is awfully good for such a low budgeted picture. My one complaint is when one of the prisoners gets machined gunned....and not a single hole nor speck of blood is seen...nothing. Quite enjoyable overall.
Mostly what you've seen before.
vandino17 September 2006
Another prison revolt/escape movie, this time it's Allied Artists that tries for that Warner Bros. stock story. Gene Evans plays the new boss-like inmate with a 20-year sentence that he's not about to tolerate. He rouses everyone he meets with the idea of breaking out. But Evan's character is more slippery than you think, giving the film its only strength, story-wise. He's got tricks up his sleeve, and a cold, cold heart that's revealed at the end. Evans is solid, as is Robert Blake who struggles with a Mexican accent but gets a lot of dialogue and handles it well. The standout is Timothy Carey, playing the half-smart tough guy inmate used like all the others by Evans. Carey is convincingly creepy and menacing... aw heck, he's just plain weird throughout.
Not a bad little movie, but it does take a while to get going, and the titled "revolt" doesn't occur until late in the proceedings, and shows the budget limitations (the staging is mostly awful, too) and ends fairly quickly. Doesn't hold a candle to the energetic old Warner Bros. prison thrillers.
Not a bad little movie, but it does take a while to get going, and the titled "revolt" doesn't occur until late in the proceedings, and shows the budget limitations (the staging is mostly awful, too) and ends fairly quickly. Doesn't hold a candle to the energetic old Warner Bros. prison thrillers.
Robert Blake & Tim Carey's Revolt
TheFearmakers8 March 2023
In most prison flicks, whenever a convict returns from solitary confinement... a week or longer in almost pitch dark... they'd emerge like from a well-lit office, maybe a little more tired, ragged...
But Robert Blake in the low-budget potboiler REVOLT IN THE BIG HOUSE has an extremely jaded expression, rubbing his eyes while suffering the proverbial devil's hangover, back into the flow of prisoners that includes our main star, Gene Barry, as a once-powerful headline-making mobster, now doing twenty years to life...
Blake's Mexican twenty-something Rudy Hernandez is his cellmate, initially providing a monologue summing up his entire wrong-side-of-the-streets existence in an overlong six minutes... and every minute counts in what's a programmer/exploitation, practically a remake of Don Siegel's RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11...
Both have Emile Meyer as an open-minded warden, and while that's a far superior picture, REVOLT intentionally packs more of a violent wallop, including chief guard Walter Barnes... a composite of all guards... who can't stop bullying Blake... in fact he's the reason the poor kind wound up in solitaire...
The best scenes occur during the first half as Gene Evan's Lou Gannon plays it mellow and slow-burn, getting a soft job and, within the main interior set of gathered prisoners (contrasting to random grainy real-life stock footage of a real prison), he subtly collects willing criminals for the second half's anticipated and thus inevitable titular REVOLT aka attempted breakout...
And once again, Timothy Carey is the scene-stealer, about thirty-pounds too heavy for an agile and cunning heavy yet his signature gritting teeth and firebrand temper is always fun, helping to turn this BIG HOUSE into a neat ensemble of character-driven scenes that, as a whole, smoothly passes the time without feeling like doing time.
But Robert Blake in the low-budget potboiler REVOLT IN THE BIG HOUSE has an extremely jaded expression, rubbing his eyes while suffering the proverbial devil's hangover, back into the flow of prisoners that includes our main star, Gene Barry, as a once-powerful headline-making mobster, now doing twenty years to life...
Blake's Mexican twenty-something Rudy Hernandez is his cellmate, initially providing a monologue summing up his entire wrong-side-of-the-streets existence in an overlong six minutes... and every minute counts in what's a programmer/exploitation, practically a remake of Don Siegel's RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11...
Both have Emile Meyer as an open-minded warden, and while that's a far superior picture, REVOLT intentionally packs more of a violent wallop, including chief guard Walter Barnes... a composite of all guards... who can't stop bullying Blake... in fact he's the reason the poor kind wound up in solitaire...
The best scenes occur during the first half as Gene Evan's Lou Gannon plays it mellow and slow-burn, getting a soft job and, within the main interior set of gathered prisoners (contrasting to random grainy real-life stock footage of a real prison), he subtly collects willing criminals for the second half's anticipated and thus inevitable titular REVOLT aka attempted breakout...
And once again, Timothy Carey is the scene-stealer, about thirty-pounds too heavy for an agile and cunning heavy yet his signature gritting teeth and firebrand temper is always fun, helping to turn this BIG HOUSE into a neat ensemble of character-driven scenes that, as a whole, smoothly passes the time without feeling like doing time.
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