Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

wes-connors Convicted of manslaughter due to drunk driving, otherwise good-natured 24-year-old Robert Montgomery (as Kent Marlowe) is thrown in "The Big House" with more hardened criminals. His cell-mates are robber-forger Chester Morris (as John Morgan) and "Machine Gun" killer Wallace Beery (as Butch Schmidt). Conditions in prison are so bad Mr. Beery plans to bust out. Berry advances his career considerably. His engaging rogue received an "Academy Award" nomination as "Best Actor" of the year. The nominated "Best Picture" won awards for two filmmaking giants, writer Frances Marion and sound technician Douglas Shearer. They are two reasons MGM's product was top quality...Much from here has been imitated and recycled. Although MGM lost "box office" favorite Lon Chaney, who reportedly would have starred in "The Big House", the studio's star-power is so big this film is full of leading men, flexing their acting muscles. Recently Oscar-nominated for "Alibi" (1929), Mr. Morris gives Richard Barthelmess a run for his money, and Mr. Montgomery shows fantastic fidgeting skills. All three have memorable acting moments. The production's highlight may be the sequence where Morris is sent to the dungeon. The romantic interlude sidetracks the drama, but adds a pretty blonde. The ending is also good, but you can tell MGM is showing off. With their personnel, they could.******** The Big House (6/14/30) George Hill ~ Chester Morris, Wallace Beery, Robert Montgomery, Lewis Stone

st-shot The archetype prison break picture may show it's age but it has some decent action scenes, good performances and an oppressive and intimidating setting that enables it to retain a creaky toughness.Imprisoned after being convicted of a drunk driving, death resulting charge privileged Kent Marlowe (Robert Montgomery) finds himself in an inhuman environment of an overcrowded prison. There he meets the likes of hardened criminals Machine Gun Schmidt (Wally Beery) and cell mate John Morgan (Chester Morris) who attempts to teach him the ropes. Marlowe in turn sets up Morgan causing him to be denied parole. Morgan is forced to go over the wall but is recaptured and returned just in time to participate in a major break out.Some of the Big House is downright preposterous with stilted dialog and lame brain logic but Beery and Morris come across well as pretty tough mugs and Montgomery's Marlowe is a suitably craven rat. There's a bravura prison riot at the tail end of the film that is well edited and suspenseful pitting Beery against the warden played by Lewis Stone who refuses to meet inmate demands and stoically responds to the threat of hostage sacrifice by calling in tanks. In its own way and especially in its time The Big House is as uncompromisingly tough as the warden.

Michael_Elliott Big House, The (1930) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Robert Montgomery is sent to prison for manslaughter charges when he's put in the same cell as Machine Gun Butch (Wallace Berry). A breakout is eventually planned but a riot happens first. Berry rightfully so got an Oscar nomination but I found Montgomery a tad bit too dull in his role. The film is overly talky, which is the norm for its time but the action packed finale is very good. There are also one too many social messages said but this here was mostly due to the times that the film was released.

Ron Oliver THE BIG HOUSE - prison of no hope - the last terminal for lost souls. Only the strong survive; the weak crack or are corrupted. As the warden shrewdly tells a new arrival, the place won't make you go yellow, but it you already are yellow it'll bring it out.MGM was the only studio in Hollywood which would have let a female write the script for such a strong story. But in Frances Marion they not only had the most celebrated screenwriter in the industry, but also a person uniquely qualified to write about any situation. She headed off to California's notorious San Quentin Prison to observe the conditions & learn the lingo. Cheerfully deflecting the jibes & taunts of guards & prisoners alike, she reminded them that after being a frontline correspondent in the Great War there were few situations she couldn't handle.The result is a wonderful film, tough, hard-bitten & stark. MGM did itself proud by supplying a terrific cast and production values. The scene where belligerent Wallace Beery refuses to eat the commissary slop remains a classic.Chester Morris does a fine job as a resourceful crook who is actually helped by his time in prison, reformed against his will. This excellent actor is too often ignored when the histories of 1930's cinema are written. Wallace Beery, as murderous Butch, is absolutely unforgettable. Marion wrote the part with him in mind & it is difficult to imagine anyone else playing it. Lovable & dangerous in equal measure, he steals every scene he's in. THE BIG HOUSE would set Beery firmly on the road to major talkie stardom.Robert Montgomery, on the cusp of his own salad days as a sophisticated, romantic leading man, here plays quite a different role. As a weak, cowardly stool pigeon, he's cast very much against type. It would be 1937's NIGHT MUST FALL before he received another such finely-nuanced role.Lewis Stone is very effective in the small role as the tough-as-nails warden. Beautiful Leila Hyams is well-cast as Mongomery's spunky sister. George F. Marion & DeWitt Jennings are both memorable as elderly security guards. Champion stutterer Roscoe Ates provides a few moments of much needed comic relief.Karl Dane is easily spotted as a hulking convict in several scenes, but he is curiously mute. Doubtless, his thick Danish accent was already giving the Studio trouble. Even though he had been an important comic star in silent pictures, he was quickly relegated to talkie bit parts. He was eventually further reduced to selling hot dogs from a cart outside the MGM front gates. This was the final indignity. He committed suicide in 1934.Preview audiences were curiously cool to THE BIG HOUSE, until MGM executive Irving Thalberg figured out that female viewers didn't like con Chester Morris romancing another prisoner's wife. Thalberg instructed Marion to rewrite a few scenes and refilming made it clear that Leila Hyams was Robert Montgomery's sister, not his spouse. This pleased the patrons and the movie was a big hit.