6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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 Jerry 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.
Starring: Broderick Crawford, Ralph Meeker, Reed Hadley, William Tarmey, Lon Chaney Jr.Film-Noir | 100% |
Drama | 82% |
Crime | 35% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.75:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.75:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)
BDInfo verified
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Cover art for 1955’s “Big House, U.S.A.” displays five prison tough guys, with stars Broderick Crawford, Ralph Meeker, and Charles Bronson captured in menacing poses to sell the feature as a hardened prison drama. And yet, the titular location is only a minor part of the overall narrative, with John C. Higgins’s screenplay establishing a wider scope of crime and intimidation. Surprisingly, “Big House U.S.A.” is a kidnapping saga that winds through multiple locations as it details the saga of Jerry “Iceman” Barker (Meeker), an unrepentant ghoul responsible for the missing child of a wealthy businessman.
The AVC encoded image (1.75:1 aspect ratio) presentation delivers a satisfactorily filmic viewing experience, offering tasteful grain and secure contrast. Detail is a must with these actors, capturing textured close-ups that register with menace and meatiness. National park visits are also defined, with crisp distances, while prison interiors are highly decorated. Delineation is secure, presenting darker scenes without solidification. Source is relatively clean, offering some speckling and minor scratches, but no overt damage.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix carries comfortably, with emphasis on dialogue exchanges, which hold their dramatic intent and group dynamic. Voiceover is full and secure. Atmospherics are flavorful, creating a sense of prison life with distant voices and roaring machinery, while park visits offer wildlife and environmental presence. Hiss is detected but never dominant.
There is no supplementary material on this disc.
There's a lot to "Big House, U.S.A." It's a busy picture, and one that's unrelentingly grim, taking crime very seriously, determined to suggest closure but not provide comfort for the audience when it comes to the central kidnapping case. Packed with hostile performances and a chilling conclusion, "Big House, U.S.A." actually works best when it ignores the grind of the prison system. By observing the entire arc of villainy, without providing easy answers, the feature develops into a boldly realistic depiction of crime and punishment.
1955
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1955
Reissue | Special Edition
1948
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1948
4K Restoration
1948
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Deluxe Edition
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Warner Archive Collection
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1949