Canon City (1948)

This movie centers around a prison escape from the Colorado State Penitentiary. There are 12 escapees and it shows the efforts placed to capture these men.

Director:

Crane Wilbur

Writer:

Crane Wilbur

Stars:

Scott Brady, Jeff Corey, Whit Bissell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Scott Brady	...	Jim Sherbondy
Jeff Corey	...	Carl Schwartzmiller
Whit Bissell	...	Richard Heilman
Stanley Clements	...	Billy New
Charles Russell	...	Tolley
DeForest Kelley	...	Smalley
Ralph Byrd	...	Officer Joe Gray
Roy Best	...	Himself (as Warden Roy Best)
Henry Brandon	...	Freeman
Alfred Linder	...	Lavergne
Robert Bice	...	Morgan
Ray Bennett	...	Willie Bennett
Robert Kellard	...	Officer Winston R. Williams
Richard Irving	...	George Hernandez
Bud Wolfe	...	Officer Clark

Storyline

This movie centers around a prison escape from the Colorado State Penitentiary. There are 12 escapees and it shows the efforts placed to capture these men.

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Plot Keywords:

prison escape | escapee | prisoner | prison guard

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Taglines:

Filmed with the naked fury of FACT!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Crime | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 June 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alarm i statsfengslet

Filming Locations:

Canon City, Colorado, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryan Foy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References The Noose Hangs High (1948)

User Reviews

Alton summons blizzard to prettify prison break

Legendary noir cinematographer John Alton (Raw Deal, T-Men, The Big Combo and the still-in-print textbook "Painting with Light") shot this fairly routine semi-documentary prison-break film based on a real incident in Canon (pronounced "canyon") City, Colorado. We even get to meet the warden and some of the inmates (one of whom had been in stir since 1897!). Happily, actors arrive to recreate the break, which occurs similtaneously with a Rocky Mountain blizzard. Alton's snow is so Christmassy and photogenic it distances us from the grim business afoot, which has prisoners posing as guards who invade various local homesteads; they hadn't reckoned on one tough old hammer-wielding grandmaw. This is a minor but watchable period piece, once you get over the patriarchal voice-over, so full of moral certitude you could retch. But then that was SOP in midcentury.