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IMDbPro

Big House, U.S.A.

  • 19551955
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
1K
YOUR RATING
Big House, U.S.A. (1955)
CrimeDramaFilm-Noir
Gerry Barker finds a lost boy whose rich father is extorted into paying a ransom for his return but the boy accidentally dies and Gerry goes to prison.Gerry Barker finds a lost boy whose rich father is extorted into paying a ransom for his return but the boy accidentally dies and Gerry goes to prison.Gerry Barker finds a lost boy whose rich father is extorted into paying a ransom for his return but the boy accidentally dies and Gerry goes to prison.
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
1K
YOUR RATING
    • Howard W. Koch
    • John C. Higgins
    • George W. George(story)
    • George F. Slavin(story)
  • Stars
    • Broderick Crawford
    • Ralph Meeker
    • Reed Hadley
    • Howard W. Koch
    • John C. Higgins
    • George W. George(story)
    • George F. Slavin(story)
  • Stars
    • Broderick Crawford
    • Ralph Meeker
    • Reed Hadley
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 22User reviews
    • 28Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos18

    Ralph Meeker in Big House, U.S.A. (1955)
    Charles Bronson, Ralph Meeker, and William Talman in Big House, U.S.A. (1955)
    Broderick Crawford in Big House, U.S.A. (1955)
    William Talman in Big House, U.S.A. (1955)
    Lon Chaney Jr. in Big House, U.S.A. (1955)
    Lon Chaney Jr. in Big House, U.S.A. (1955)
    Charles Bronson, Lon Chaney Jr., Ralph Meeker, and William Talman in Big House, U.S.A. (1955)
    Charles Bronson, Lon Chaney Jr., Broderick Crawford, and William Talman in Big House, U.S.A. (1955)
    Charles Bronson, Broderick Crawford, Ralph Meeker, and William Talman in Big House, U.S.A. (1955)
    Charles Bronson, Lon Chaney Jr., Broderick Crawford, and William Talman in Big House, U.S.A. (1955)
    Charles Bronson, Broderick Crawford, Ralph Meeker, and William Talman in Big House, U.S.A. (1955)
    Reed Hadley, Roy Roberts, and William Talman in Big House, U.S.A. (1955)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Broderick Crawford
    Broderick Crawford
    • Rollo Lamar
    Ralph Meeker
    Ralph Meeker
    • Gerry Barker
    Reed Hadley
    Reed Hadley
    • Special FBI Agent James Madden
    William Talman
    William Talman
    • 'Machine Gun' Mason
    Lon Chaney Jr.
    Lon Chaney Jr.
    • Alamo Smith
    • (as Lon Chaney)
    Charles Bronson
    Charles Bronson
    • Benny Kelly
    Felicia Farr
    Felicia Farr
    • Emily Evans
    • (as Randy Farr)
    Roy Roberts
    Roy Roberts
    • Chief Ranger Will Erickson
    Willis Bouchey
    Willis Bouchey
    • Robertson Lambert
    • (as Willis B. Bouchey)
    Peter J. Votrian
    Peter J. Votrian
    • Danny Lambert
    • (as Peter Votrian)
    Robert Bray
    Robert Bray
    • Ranger McCormick
    William Boyett
    William Boyett
    • Ranger at Park Exit
    • (uncredited)
    Nelson Leigh
    Nelson Leigh
    • Madden's FBI Supervisor
    • (uncredited)
    Gregg Martell
    Gregg Martell
    • Accomplice on Fishing Boat
    • (uncredited)
    Bill McLean
    Bill McLean
    • Dipsy
    • (uncredited)
    Jan Merlin
    Jan Merlin
    • Tommy
    • (uncredited)
    Joe Ploski
    Joe Ploski
    • Convict
    • (uncredited)
    Stafford Repp
    Stafford Repp
    • Prison Warden Machek
    • (uncredited)
      • Howard W. Koch
      • John C. Higgins
      • George W. George(story)
      • George F. Slavin(story)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Even though Felicia Farr made her debut in this film under the name Randy Farr, she would make her official debut a year later in Jubal (1956) as Felicia Farr, once again co-starring Charles Bronson. In this movie, they do not have any scenes together but do in Jubal. Bronson, like Felicia, had 2yrs earlier made a significant name change also: from Buchinsky/ Buchinski to Bronson in Delmer Daves' Drum Beat (1954).
    • Goofs
      When they're fishing, the fish Rollo has on his line when he pulls it out of the water is obviously already dead.
    • Quotes

      Rollo Lamar: Any of you geniuses know what "apparently" means?

      Alamo Smith: "Apparently?"

      Rollo Lamar: Yeah.

      Benny Kelly: Yeah, it means that something that ain't, looks like it is.

    • Connections
      Featured in Kain's Quest: The Stone Killer (2015)

    User reviews22

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Per the Lindbergh Law
    Big House USA sounds like a prison picture, but only in part of the film is the setting a maximum security prison. There is the part how Ralph Meeker got there and the last part about his escape with several other solid citizens, residents of Big House USA.

    A young boy with one rich father is kidnapped by Meeker and dies while in his custody. Not that he killed him, but kidnapping alone as per the Lindbergh law gets him the gas chamber. Father Willis Bouchey pays the ransom, but gets no child back.

    Meeker is arrested, but all he's charged with is extortion, without a body dead or alive, the authorities can do no more. But with the reputation as a child killer, Meeker's not going to be a popular guy even in the maximum security federal penitentiary he's sent.

    But cell-mate Broderick Crawford has other ideas about the ransom money never recovered and buried in a national park. He and confederates Lon Chaney, Jr., William Talman, and Charles Bronson escape with Meeker. They had an escape plan in the works already, a quite ingenious one which costs another prisoner his life during a dry run.

    A chance to see all these guys in a film is never to be passed up. Crawford we're told is a smart guy. Personally if he were that smart he'd have realized that the authorities would know full well he was heading for the park and go anywhere else. But greed overtakes intelligence.

    There's also a nice role here for Felicia Farr as Meeker's accomplice. FBI man Reed Hadley and chief forest ranger Roy Roberts represent the law.

    Big House USA spends more time in the wide open spaces than in a maximum security prison. Still it's a tight little noir film with a fine cast of players.
    helpful•9
    1
    • bkoganbing
    • Apr 14, 2014

    Details

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    • Release date
      • November 18, 1955 (Belgium)
      • United States
      • MGM
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Canon City, Colorado, USA
    • Production companies
      • Bel-Air Productions
      • Camden Productions Inc.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 23 minutes
      • Black and White

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