United
Artists, 83m 19s
Released
toward the end of the classic film noir
period, the relatively obscure title BIG
HOUSE, U.S.A. warrants no mention in the indispensible book FILM NOIR: AN
ENCYCLOPEDIC REFERENCE TO THE AMERICAN STYLE (3rd Edition, The Overlook Press,
1992). The omission is understandable on some grounds, especially since the noir straggler does not employ quite the
same visual iconography associated with the best-remembered examples of the
genre. As directed by Howard W. Koch (UNTAMED
YOUTH [1957], VIOLENT ROAD
[1958]), the straightforward narrative plays out under primarily bright
exteriors, including impressive location footage captured in Royal Gorge,
Colorado, without one detour into shabby urban locales where shadowy figures so
often dominate noir geography. From
the very beginning, though, persistently low camera angles consistent with the noir cycle subtly hint of things to come
in the screenplay written by John C. Higgins, whose writing energized some of
the grittiest noir films of the prior
decade, including RAILROADED!
(1947), T-MEN (1947), RAW DEAL (1948), HE WALKED BY NIGHT (1948) and BORDER
INCIDENT (1949), all directed by the great Anthony Mann.
After
the opening credits, a gunshot signals the start of an athletic event at a
children's camp. Fragile participant Danny Lambert (Peter J. Votrian) collapses
from severe asthma symptoms. When camp nurse Emily Evans (Randy [Felicia] Farr)
attempts to calm the boy with an injection, Danny's acute fear of needles
prompts him to flee into the wilderness. A wandering fisherman named Jerry
Barker (Ralph Meeker) happens on the lad, and we fear the worst since that
character is portrayed by Meeker (KISS
ME DEADLY [1955]). The idea that Barker could be a man of impeccable integrity
seems doubtful.
 |
| Jerry Barker (Ralph Meeker) seldom looks innocent |
The
film's second act introduces prison film conventions that nudge the film deeper
into noir terrain. The focus shifts
to the incarceration of Barker, deemed "The Iceman" for his ability
to keep his mouth closed. He is sent to Cascabel Island Prison, where the
inmates are aware he is a reputed child killer, the worst type of criminal.
Barker is assigned to a "Lion's Den" packed with hardened criminals,
led by infamous bank robber Rollo Lamar (Broderick Crawford), who is complemented
by a convincing assembly of noir
thugs: William "Machine Gun"
Mason (William Talman), "wetback smuggler" Alamo Smith (Lon Chaney
Jr.) and the dangerously volatile Benny Kelly (Charles Bronson). The
institution's boiler room provides a particularly appropriate noir crucible for such a salty crew; the
sweat and grime of the hard labor performed within the underground mechanical
facility is palpable.
Accompanied
by sometimes intrusive narration, BIG
HOUSE, U.S.A. is a procedural noir
in the spirit of T-MEN and HE WALKED BY NIGHT. Productive
cooperation is emphasized between Chief Ranger Will Erickson (Roy Roberts) and
Special FBI Agent James Madden (Reed Hadley, PUBLIC DEFENDER [1954-1955]).
Police procedural exercises almost always convey the identical meaning: the law-abiding public is in good hands with
the local and national law enforcement systems. No stone is left unturned in
the pursuit of criminals who make the general populace feel unsafe. In the
film's resolution, a big-time criminal who callously calls for the death of
anyone not useful to him is shown to be a complete coward when confronted by
organized authority.
Additional
film noir tropes are observed by way
of the narrative's criminal couple. An attractive woman with a checkered past,
Nurse Evans certainly fits the bill as the resident monstrous feminine
personality. Not only does she set the stage for Danny's disappearance, she
presciently figures in his connection with Barker, the doomed male disliked equally
by law enforcement officials and criminals. Fate brings Barker to the wounded
bird Danny, each predestined to encounter the other. But the most impactful noir moments of BIG HOUSE, U.S.A. are the darkly disturbing ones: Barker's unceremonious disposal of a small,
lifeless body, a painful death within the prison's titanic boiler system, the
blunt-force murder of an escaped convict and the subsequent disfigurement of
his facial features. No wonder the film's theatrical poster advised,
"SUITABLE ONLY FOR ADULTS."
 |
| The elder Rollo Lamar (Broderick Crawford) in charge |
While
not without its imperfections, BIG
HOUSE, U.S.A. is tightly-crafted and surprisingly intense at times. I found
myself thinking about it over the next few days after first watching it and
that always means something. Framed at the original theatrical aspect ratio of
1.75:1, the single-layered Blu-ray version recently made available through Kino
Lorber presents the film in a newly re-mastered HD transfer that does justice
to the assured B&W cinematography of Gordon Avil (THE CHAMP [1931]).
