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IMDb > Big House, U.S.A. (1955)

Big House, U.S.A. (1955) More at IMDbPro »

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Big House, U.S.A. (1955) -- A tough and realistic crime drama unfolds as merciless kidnapper Jerry Barker (Ralph Meeker) demands ransom paid against a young runaway whose fate lands Barker in Casabel Island Prison.

Overview

User Rating:
6.6/10   228 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 62% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
John C. Higgins (written by)
George W. George (story) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Big House, U.S.A. on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 November 1955 (Belgium) more
Genre:
Tagline:
5 KILLER CONVICTS BREAK OUT! (original print ad - all caps) more
Plot:
When young Danny Lambert runs away from camp in south-central Colorado, he becomes the object of a park-wide-search... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
User Comments:
The Iceman Cometh more (9 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Broderick Crawford ... Rollo Lamar
Ralph Meeker ... Geraldo 'Jerry' Barker aka Iceman
Reed Hadley ... Special FBI Agent James Madden
William Talman ... William 'Machine Gun' Mason

Lon Chaney Jr. ... Leonard M. 'Alamo' Smith (as Lon Chaney)

Charles Bronson ... Benny Kelly
Felicia Farr ... Emily Euridice Evans (as Randy Farr)
Roy Roberts ... Chief Ranger Will Erickson
Willis Bouchey ... Robertson Lambert (as Willis B. Bouchey)
Peter J. Votrian ... Danny Lambert (as Peter Votrian)

Robert Bray ... Ranger McCormick
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Additional Details

Runtime:
83 min (Turner library print)
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.75 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
West Germany:18 (nf) | USA:Approved (Certificate #17328) | Sweden:15
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: Shadow of equipment in foreground when the 3 escapees are talking about fishing with the park ranger on horseback. more
Quotes:
Rollo Lamar: Any of you geniuses know what "apparently" means?
Leonard M. 'Alamo' Smith: "Apparently?"
Rollo Lamar: Yeah.
Benny Kelly: Yeah, it means that something that ain't, looks like it is.
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FAQ

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17 out of 18 people found the following comment useful.
The Iceman Cometh, 10 December 2001
9/10
Author: telegonus from brighton, ma

Rugged mid-fifties prison break flick with great cast,--Broderick Crawford, Ralph Meeker, Lon Chaney, Jr., Charles Bronson, Reed Hadley, Bill Bouchey and Roy Roberts--it oozes violence and cruelty, and is even today one tough, convincing little movie. Ralph Meeker is excellent as a cold-blooded killer known as 'the iceman", but Crawford has the film's best line when Meeker joins his prison cell: "The iceman cometh". Very watchable and outdoorsy, with fine work by a virile cast, it rather resembles stylistically Crawford's TV series Highway Patrol in its plain, police procedural take on the American western landscape of the fifties, with killers, like Commies, lurking behind every rock and tree. Strong stuff, and a worthy late entry in the prison escape genre.

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No win for the Iceman vawlkee_2000
Where is this Prison leroykevin
What would you do? vawlkee_2000
Kid (spoiler) HoferPM-1
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