By 1932 standards, this must have been a hard-hitting film at time of release during the big Depression. It still packs a punch with some grim vignettes on a chain gang with RICHARD DIX as a "Cool Hand Luke" kind of guy opposing the stiff opposition of sadistic warden C. HENRY GORDON.
The story starts with a grim "sweat box" scene with JOHN ARLEDGE (as Carter) unable to perform on the chain gang and put into the infamous torture chamber. When he dies, it builds from there to rebellion among the prisoners. TOM BROWN is Dix's kid brother. He gets into a scrape on the chain gang and ends up in the sweat box too. But Dix manages to get him an office job to keep him out of future scrapes.
However, the story builds to an escape by most of the convicts and punishment too for some of the authority figures. It's all over in a brief one hour and four minutes so the plot never gets too complicated but deals mostly with the brutal treatment some of the men have to endure. ROCHELLE HUDSON has a brief scene but is given virtually nothing to do but look winsome as a prison visitor.
Effectve, but certainly not one of the best prison films, all of which came much later and reached their peak during the '40s.
The story starts with a grim "sweat box" scene with JOHN ARLEDGE (as Carter) unable to perform on the chain gang and put into the infamous torture chamber. When he dies, it builds from there to rebellion among the prisoners. TOM BROWN is Dix's kid brother. He gets into a scrape on the chain gang and ends up in the sweat box too. But Dix manages to get him an office job to keep him out of future scrapes.
However, the story builds to an escape by most of the convicts and punishment too for some of the authority figures. It's all over in a brief one hour and four minutes so the plot never gets too complicated but deals mostly with the brutal treatment some of the men have to endure. ROCHELLE HUDSON has a brief scene but is given virtually nothing to do but look winsome as a prison visitor.
Effectve, but certainly not one of the best prison films, all of which came much later and reached their peak during the '40s.