***SPOILERS*** Even though the movie "Big House U.S.A" runs for a scant 83 minutes it seems like well over two hours watching it and all the side plots that's in it. In fact we never get to see the big man or top star Braderick Crawford, the psycho as well as wimpy sadist killer Rollo Lamar, until almost halfway into the film.
The story starts with good natured fisherman Jerry Baker, Ralph Meeker, giving a hand to this runaway boy Danny Lambert, Peter J. Votrian, who checked out of camp when he was about to be giving an injection for his serious asthma condition. As it turned Baker was on to little Danny in that his dad Mr. Lambert, Willis Bouchey, being one of the riches men in the state of Colorado. Holding little Danny hostage for a ransom of $200,000.00 Baker makes the mistake in leaving the kid alone in this dilapidate fire tower in the woods. Trying to escape Danny falls to his death and with that Baker if caught faces the death penalty for, a federal charge, kidnap/murder.
Caught by the FBI lead by Special Agent James Madden, Reed Hadley, Baker being a step ahead of the law had disposed of Danny's body and hid the ransom money where he only faced and got a one to five year sentence at the top security Cascaville prison. It's behind bars that Baker got involved, since he had no choice in the matter, with his cell-mates who were serving time for a slew of multiple murders all across the country. Headed by the brains of the outfit Rollo Lamar Baker is forced to break out of jail with Rollo and his fellow cell-mates the worst bunch of convicts in the entire prison system. It's not that Rollo liked Baker but the fact that Baker knew where he stashed the $200,000.00 ransom money was worth saving his life; That's until Rollo got his hands on that cash and then he's history!
Worth watching just to see future action star Charles Bronson all pumped up, the guy would give Arnold Schwartznegger a run for his money in a body building contest, and crazy with future District Attorney Berger, William Talman, in the Perry Mason TV show as, this really takes the cake, William "Machine Gun" Mason! In fact three years later Charles Bronson would get the lead role as the real, whom Talman's character was obviously based on, Machine Gun Kelly.
P.S There's also horror star Lon Cheney Jr. as the dim witted and lovable convicted murderer Lenny Alamo Smith. It fact it was Lenny that Lon Chaney played in the 1939 film "Of Mice & Men" that made him a star. And talking about Lenny in "Of Mice & Men" it was non-other then Broderick Crawford who originated the role on Broadway three years earlier!
The story starts with good natured fisherman Jerry Baker, Ralph Meeker, giving a hand to this runaway boy Danny Lambert, Peter J. Votrian, who checked out of camp when he was about to be giving an injection for his serious asthma condition. As it turned Baker was on to little Danny in that his dad Mr. Lambert, Willis Bouchey, being one of the riches men in the state of Colorado. Holding little Danny hostage for a ransom of $200,000.00 Baker makes the mistake in leaving the kid alone in this dilapidate fire tower in the woods. Trying to escape Danny falls to his death and with that Baker if caught faces the death penalty for, a federal charge, kidnap/murder.
Caught by the FBI lead by Special Agent James Madden, Reed Hadley, Baker being a step ahead of the law had disposed of Danny's body and hid the ransom money where he only faced and got a one to five year sentence at the top security Cascaville prison. It's behind bars that Baker got involved, since he had no choice in the matter, with his cell-mates who were serving time for a slew of multiple murders all across the country. Headed by the brains of the outfit Rollo Lamar Baker is forced to break out of jail with Rollo and his fellow cell-mates the worst bunch of convicts in the entire prison system. It's not that Rollo liked Baker but the fact that Baker knew where he stashed the $200,000.00 ransom money was worth saving his life; That's until Rollo got his hands on that cash and then he's history!
Worth watching just to see future action star Charles Bronson all pumped up, the guy would give Arnold Schwartznegger a run for his money in a body building contest, and crazy with future District Attorney Berger, William Talman, in the Perry Mason TV show as, this really takes the cake, William "Machine Gun" Mason! In fact three years later Charles Bronson would get the lead role as the real, whom Talman's character was obviously based on, Machine Gun Kelly.
P.S There's also horror star Lon Cheney Jr. as the dim witted and lovable convicted murderer Lenny Alamo Smith. It fact it was Lenny that Lon Chaney played in the 1939 film "Of Mice & Men" that made him a star. And talking about Lenny in "Of Mice & Men" it was non-other then Broderick Crawford who originated the role on Broadway three years earlier!