Unchained (1955)

Director:

Hall Bartlett

Writers:

Hall Bartlett (writer)
Kenyon J. Scudder (book)

Release Date:

6 January 1956 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Tagline:

You can lock them in "The Hole"...put them on bread and water...use the bull-whip and the black-jack...but they're still men...with a man's longings! THE STORY OF CHINO PRISON, CALIFORNIA WHICH DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT...TOLD HOW IT HAPPENED...WHERE IT HAPPENED!

Plot:

A convict in a medium-security prison is torn between his need to finish out his sentence and get back to his wife and family, and his desire to escape the confines of prison. |

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Beautiful Woman | Women's Prison | Based On Book

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Elroy 'Crazylegs' Hirsch	...	Steve Davitt (as Elroy Hirsch)
Barbara Hale	...	Mary Davitt
Chester Morris	...	Kenyon J. Scudder
Todd Duncan	...	Bill Howard
Johnny Johnston	...	Eddie Garrity
Peggy Knudsen	...	Elaine
Jerry Paris	...	Joe Ravens
John Qualen	...	Leonard Haskins
Tim Considine	...	Win Davitt

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Canada:G (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:U (cut)

Filming Locations:

California Institution for Men - 14901 Central Avenue, Chino, California, USA

Company:

Hall Bartlett Productions

Trivia:

Jazz saxophone player Dexter Gordon is featured in an uncredited role as a sax player in the prison jazz band. The film was shot at the correctional facility in Chino, California, where Gordon was then serving time for possession of heroin. Leonard Maltin, in his 1995 Movie Guide, states that jazz legend Georgie Auld dubbed in Dexter Gordon's sax playing.

Soundtrack:

Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go

Why isn't this available on DVD?

With all the junk that has "bonus" material available when it goes straight to video, it's a shame that this lost gem isn't released yet. I saw it on TV when I was in my teens. I loved the song. It's the version that comes to mind first for me, before the Platters or the Righteous Brothers version. The plot details are a little hazy, which is why I was hoping that it had made the cut.

Would whoever holds the rights to this movie please release it on DVD? I'd really enjoy seeing it again. It doesn't have the star power of The Defiant Ones, perhaps, but it was well-written and acted. The fact that it was filmed 'on location' at Chino when this wasn't common.

Thanks to everyone else here that's posted about the movie.