House of Numbers (1957)
This starts with a clunky, poorly written rush to fill us in on the situation--a brother in jail who needs help to escape. But hang in there. It gets better.
The premise is clear early on—Jack Palance plays a man whose brother (also played by Palance) needs to get out of San Quentin. So they plan an escape that involves the first brother breaking into the prison. And so on. Cool stuff.
And when it gets going, there is less talk and more action, and frankly Palance is a physically interesting actor (his delivery is always stiff). This is not a great classic by any stretch. Parts are almost filler—scenes from around the real San Quentin (one of the advertised perks of the movie). But there are also good suspenseful aspects watching this plan get underway. Whether it works, I'll not say. Both Palances are good enough to hold it together.
The leading woman, trying painfully hard to be a kind of Marilyn, is a drag on the whole thing. A few side characters spice it up nicely. But mainly we have the plot, and the details as we see the clever and rather nutty idea get underway. The improbable daring of the events continues right to the end, with a final twist and "The End" hitting you quickly.
The director, Russell Rouse, is obscure (he directed "New York Confidential," which is good), and he probably deserves a lot of blame here because the core idea of the movie is great. And Palance could have risen up a notch with some good leading. One aspect of Palance's performance that is great, for sure, is how he made the two brothers really seem like different characters. They aren't twins, and they look and act different.
The music by the soon-to-be well known conductor, Andre Previn, is an example of orchestral excess—it made me even laugh once, with the crash of music for dramatic effect, though the composing has some new qualities that take it musically beyond the great Max Steiner.
By half way through there was no way I was going to quit, so if you get into this for awhile you'll be hooked by at least the "what happens" part of it all, and by the location shooting and some good night stuff.
This starts with a clunky, poorly written rush to fill us in on the situation--a brother in jail who needs help to escape. But hang in there. It gets better.
The premise is clear early on—Jack Palance plays a man whose brother (also played by Palance) needs to get out of San Quentin. So they plan an escape that involves the first brother breaking into the prison. And so on. Cool stuff.
And when it gets going, there is less talk and more action, and frankly Palance is a physically interesting actor (his delivery is always stiff). This is not a great classic by any stretch. Parts are almost filler—scenes from around the real San Quentin (one of the advertised perks of the movie). But there are also good suspenseful aspects watching this plan get underway. Whether it works, I'll not say. Both Palances are good enough to hold it together.
The leading woman, trying painfully hard to be a kind of Marilyn, is a drag on the whole thing. A few side characters spice it up nicely. But mainly we have the plot, and the details as we see the clever and rather nutty idea get underway. The improbable daring of the events continues right to the end, with a final twist and "The End" hitting you quickly.
The director, Russell Rouse, is obscure (he directed "New York Confidential," which is good), and he probably deserves a lot of blame here because the core idea of the movie is great. And Palance could have risen up a notch with some good leading. One aspect of Palance's performance that is great, for sure, is how he made the two brothers really seem like different characters. They aren't twins, and they look and act different.
The music by the soon-to-be well known conductor, Andre Previn, is an example of orchestral excess—it made me even laugh once, with the crash of music for dramatic effect, though the composing has some new qualities that take it musically beyond the great Max Steiner.
By half way through there was no way I was going to quit, so if you get into this for awhile you'll be hooked by at least the "what happens" part of it all, and by the location shooting and some good night stuff.