The Big House poster

The Big House( 1930)

TV-MACrimeDrama
67%
User
Score

Timely! Tremendous! Thrilling! Drama of Love and a Jail-Break!

Overview

Convicted of manslaughter for a drunken driving accident, Kent Marlowe is sent to prison, where he meets vicious incarcerated figures who are planning an escape from the brutal conditions.

    Top Billed Cast

    1. cast image

      Chester Morris

      John Morgan

    2. cast image

      Wallace Beery

      Machine Gun 'Butch' Schmidt

    3. cast image

      Lewis Stone

      Warden James Adams

    4. cast image

      Robert Montgomery

      Kent Marlowe

    5. cast image

      Leila Hyams

      Anne Marlowe

    6. cast image

      George F. Marion

      Pop

    7. cast image

      J. C. Nugent

      Mr. Marlowe

    8. cast image

      Karl Dane

      Olsen

    9. cast image

      DeWitt Jennings

      Wallace

    10. cast image

      Matthew Betz

      Gopher

    11. cast image

      Claire McDowell

      Mrs. Marlowe

    12. cast image

      Robert Emmett O'Connor

      Donlin

    13. cast image

      Tom Wilson

      Sandy

    14. cast image

      Eddie Foyer

      Dopey

    15. cast image

      Roscoe Ates

      Putnam

    16. cast image

      Fletcher Norton

      Oliver

    17. cast image

      Noah Beery Jr.

      Convict in Yard (uncredited)

    18. cast image

      Chris-Pin Martin

      Inmate (uncredited)

    19. cast image

      Louis Natheaux

      Morgan's Lawyer (uncredited)

    20. cast image

      Herbert Prior

      Prison Doctor (uncredited)

    21. cast image

      Harry Wilson

      Inmate #46375 (uncredited)

    22. cast image

      Angelo Rossitto

      Inmate (uncredited)

    Social

    Review 1Discussion

    A review by CinemaSerf

    7
    Written by CinemaSerf on Sun Oct 12 2025
    This is one of my favourite early examples of the dog-eat-dog world in prison as the young “Marlowe” (Robert Montgomery) is sent down for a decade after a road accident led to a fatality. Not surprisingly, he’s as anxious as hell - not least when he learns that he is to share facilities with “Morgan” (Chester Morris) and convicted murderer “Butch” (Wallace Beery). The governor (Lewis Stone) is broadly sympathetic, as is the chief warder (George F. Marlon) as they reckon putting this naive and impressionable young man in with folks like this isn’t going to aid his chances of survival, much less ...

    Media

    Videos 0Backdrops 2Posters 5

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    Facts

    Status

    Released

    Original Language

    English

    Budget

    -

    Revenue

    -

    Keywords

    • prison
    • prison cell
    • inmate
    • pre-code
    • manslaughter
    • incarceration
    • prison break attempt