Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951)

Another in a unrelated series of Warner's penitentiary tours in three different decades. This one is California's notorious Folsom Prison prior to its 1944 reformation make-over. Ben Rickey... See full summary »

Director:

Crane Wilbur

Writer:

Crane Wilbur (original screenplay)

Stars:

Steve Cochran, David Brian, Philip Carey

Cast

Cast overview:
Steve Cochran	...	Chuck Daniels
David Brian	...	Mark Benson
Philip Carey	...	Red Pardue
Ted de Corsia	...	Warden Ben Rickey (as Ted De Corsia)
Scott Forbes	...	Jim Frazier
Michael Tolan	...	Leo Daly (as Lawrence Tolan)
Dick Wesson	...	Tinker
Paul Picerni	...	Jeff Riordan
William Campbell	...	Nick Ferretti
Edward Norris	...	Sgt. Cliff Hart (as Eddie Norris)

Storyline

Another in a unrelated series of Warner's penitentiary tours in three different decades. This one is California's notorious Folsom Prison prior to its 1944 reformation make-over. Ben Rickey, the prison's sadistic old-school warden who believes that the prison system if for punishment rather than reformation, rules Folsom with an iron-hand. He highly resents his university-trained assistant, Mark Benson, who does not share Rickey's beliefs. Rickey, hoping the results will be disastrous, gives Benson permission to try his modern method. He tolerates Benson's innovations until convict "Red" Pardue is killed by another prisoner. Benson blames Rickey, who had refused Pardue protection after he had reported an escape attempt. Benson resigns and Rickey brings back his concentration-camp program. Chuck Daniels, a hardened convict, then stage his long-planned prison break. A bloody riot ensues in which Rickey is murdered and the escapees are accidentally killed by a dynamite blast while taking...

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Plot Keywords:

prison | convict | reformation | prisoner | california | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 May 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Meuterei im Morgengrauen

Filming Locations:

Folsom State Prison - 300 Prison Road, Represa, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Johnny Cash has said that when he saw this movie he was inspired to write "Folsom Prison Blues".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator - Personification of Folsom Prison: I am Folsom Prison. At one time they called me "Bloody Folsom."
[laughs slightly]
Narrator - Personification of Folsom Prison: And I earned the name. I've been standing here in California since 1878. My own prisoners built me, shutting themselves off from the free world. Every block of my granite is cemented by their tears, their pain, and the blood of many men. This is a story from my rough, tough past. It happened not long ago after the turn of the century. At the time I tell about, I had within my walls a thousand dangerous...

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Connections

Featured in Walk the Line (2005)

User Reviews

Who narrates?

The narrator of this film is William T. Woodson. He's done a lot of narrating and voice-overs down through the years, particularly the miniseries THE WINDS OF WAR and WAR AND REMEMBRANCE.

Woodson narrated the opening credits of THE INVADERS ("David Vincent knows..."). He also narrates the opening credits for THE ODD COUPLE: "Can two divorced men share the same apartment without driving each other crazy?"

He can also be seen in episodes of such varied television series as PERRY MASON, F TROOP, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW as well as many others. According IMDb, his last known credit is for an episode of DUCKMAN in 1995.