The picture goes on to answer the question posed by Whit Whittier (William Campbell) in my summary line above. Whittier is the name assigned to the principal character in the film, a stand in for real life criminal Caryl Chessman who's autobiography formed the basis for this movie. The picture briefly traces Whittier's impoverished youth with an eye toward trying to answer his unspoken thoughts on how he landed on Death Row. It's almost a standard narrative on how a young punk starts out by taking up with similar minded thugs, gradually moving up to the gangster life via exposure to harsher forms of incarceration - "The tougher it gets, the better I like it" he proclaims at one point.
A lot of the dialog in the early part of the picture is rather atrocious, though actor William Campbell exudes the kind of punk malice one would expect in a film of this sort. James Dean might have been well suited for the Whittier role however he died the same year this movie was released. A modern remake of the story might be well suited for somebody like Charlie Sheen who Campbell appeared to resemble in a handful of scenes, though Sheen is probably too old now for a role like this. But he's got the bad boy part pretty well down pat.
By the time the picture's over it's not too much of a mystery why Whittier's on Death Row, even if he couldn't figure it out himself. Considering how resourceful he turned out to be in prison by learning the law and using it to his advantage, one wonders why he couldn't have used the opportunity earlier in life to make something more of himself. It's one of those imponderable questions life sometimes presents that has no defining answer.
A lot of the dialog in the early part of the picture is rather atrocious, though actor William Campbell exudes the kind of punk malice one would expect in a film of this sort. James Dean might have been well suited for the Whittier role however he died the same year this movie was released. A modern remake of the story might be well suited for somebody like Charlie Sheen who Campbell appeared to resemble in a handful of scenes, though Sheen is probably too old now for a role like this. But he's got the bad boy part pretty well down pat.
By the time the picture's over it's not too much of a mystery why Whittier's on Death Row, even if he couldn't figure it out himself. Considering how resourceful he turned out to be in prison by learning the law and using it to his advantage, one wonders why he couldn't have used the opportunity earlier in life to make something more of himself. It's one of those imponderable questions life sometimes presents that has no defining answer.