20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)

That was an excellent one.

Redundant and unnecessary.

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

20,000 YEARS IN SING SING (First National Pictures, 1932/33), directed by Michael Curtiz, with screen adaptation of the book by Warden Lewis E. Lawes of Sing Sing Prison, State of New York, marks another of the studio's finer contributions to the prison movie cycle. Though prison melodramas have been around dating back to the silent movie era, its popularity reached its peak following the releases of THE BIG HOUSE (MGM, 1930), THE CRIMINAL CODE (Columbia, 1930), or HELL'S HIGHWAY (RKO Radio, 1932), but nothing as strong and powerful as I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHANG GANG (Warner Brothers, 1932) starring Paul Muni. While Muni might have the selected choice for this latest prison installment, the thing about Muni is that he never did the same thing twice. Other actors might have been considered for the lead, ranging from the studios' own James Cagney or Douglas Fairbanks Jr., for instance, but Spencer Tracy, on loan from Fox Studios, turned out to be a very good choice, marking this his one and only opportunity working with another star on the rise, and that's Bette Davis. By the end of the decade, these two would become major stars with two Academy Award wins to their name.Based on telegram notes and calendars, the story takes place in 1932. It opens inside a train bound for Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. Tommy Connors (Spencer Tracy) is introduced as a tough guy with political connections whose troublesome past consists of numerous charge convictions dating back to 1919. With his latest assault with a deadly weapon, Tommy is sentenced to serve from five to thirty years in a prison that, to him, "sounds like a chop suey joint." Along for the ride is Joe Finn (Louis Calhern), his friend and lawyer, to offer Warden Long (Arthur Byron) a bribe of $5,000 worth of bonds for Tommy's early parole. Once met, Finn learns that the warden is both tough, honest and refusing all sorts of bribes from political crooks. Regardless of Tommy's past being "all in fun," he'll be just a number treated like all the other prisoners. Following a series of rebellious actions, the warden, strict on discipline, uses reverse psychology to finally get Tommy eventually come to terms and working in the rock pile. The warden soon takes a special interest in Tommy, especially after he refuses to join with the other convicts on a prison break only because it's to take place on his jinx day which is Saturday. When the warden is notified that Tommy's love of his life, Fay Wilson (Bette Davis), has been serious injured from an automobile accident that has left her in critical condition, he allows the convict temporary release without a guard to be with her. Because of this arrangement, Tommy swears he'll return, "even if it means the chair." Upon his release and arrival at Fay's New York apartment, Tommy soon learns who was responsible for both sending him up to prison and Fay's accident. After the guilty party is gunned down, Tommy, believed to be the guilty party, disappears, forcing the warden to now face the prison board.Other members of the cast include convicts Lyle Talbot (Bud Saunders); and Warren Hymer (Hype); and uncredited appearances by Sheila Terry (Babe Saunders); Nella Walker (Mrs. Long); Harold Huber (Tony); Edward McNamara (Guard Richards); Rockcliffe Fellowes, Clarence Wilson, among others.While somewhat contrived through its second half, 20,000 YEARS IN SING SING works on both levels in story content and entertainment. This is Tracy's film and the very same actor before his super stardom Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer period (1935-1954). Bette Davis's scenes with Tracy are memorable, although somewhat scattered with brief segments. The prison escape sequence is well staged and like many prison melodramas at the time, especially those coming from Warner Brothers/First National Pictures during the Depression era, attempts were made in every way to become as realistic as possible. Once seen, it's hard to forget the impressive opening and closing credit montage of prisoners and year numbers floating about before the official title the life prison term of 20,000 YEARS IN SING SING appearing across the screen superimposed over the aerial view of Sing Sing Prison itself.20,000 YEARS IN SING SING was parodied along with I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG as a comedy short titled "20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang," and later remade and altered by Warner Brothers (1940) as CASTLE ON THE HUDSON with John Garfield, Ann Sheridan and Pat O'Brien in the Tracy, Davis and Byron roles. Grant Mitchell can be spotted in both versions playing Doctor Ames. While both editions are good in their own way, nothing comes close to the original, thanks to Tracy's powerful performance. Never distributed to home video, it's become available both on DVD through Turner Home Entertainment, as well through broadcasts on cable television's Turner Classic Movies. Will Sing Sing prison still be around in 20,000 years? Stick around and find out. (***)

20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932) ** 1/2 (out of 4) A tough guy (Spencer Tracy) gets 5-30 in Sing Sing but he thinks the journey will be easy due to his connections on the outside. The Warden (Arthur Byron) eventually reforms the guy but when his girlfriend (Bette Davis) gets injured, the Warden offers the man one night outside the prison if he promises to return the following day. This Michael Curtiz directed prison drama is pretty good, although it really doesn't offer us anything new or original. The story eventually falls apart in the middle section but Tracy and Davis, in their only film together, makes it worth watching.

Warner Bros. began their grim social dramas in the '30s and 20,000 YEARS IN SING SING is a good companion piece to their other blockbuster drama I WAS A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG.If this one had been made ten years later, it would have starred Humphrey Bogart (a much more convincing tough guy prisoner than Tracy), and Ann Sheridan would have played the gangster's moll. Here the roles are essayed by SPENCER TRACY and BETTE DAVIS, both of them effective although not as well cast as Bogart and Sheridan would have been.Tracy is the swaggering bully who thinks life owes him something, even in prison, and only after some hardships behind prison walls does he begin to respond to the humanity of a good warden. All of the prison scenes are well done and probably are a true reflection of what life behind bars was like during this time period. LYLE TALBOT has a good supporting role as a rebellious prisoner bent on making a break and LOUIS CALHERN is fine as Joe Finn, a con man who gets his comeuppance from Tracy and Davis in a well staged fight scene.Good, grim social drama has all the usual melodramatic overtones of the '30s dramas but still packs a punch even though it's a time capsule of prison life then. There is virtually no background music throughout unless montages are being shown, something that would change drastically in just a few more years.

It's unfortunate that the one and only teaming of Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis was early in their careers when neither really had a chance to show what they were capable of.Tracy was under contract to Fox at this time and Fox loaned him to Warner Brothers and at that time Tracy was playing all kinds of mug parts. Here he does a role that James Cagney must have turned down over at Warner Brothers.Tracy is a gangster who's freshly arrived at Sing Sing doing a five to thirty year stretch for some unnamed offense. He's accompanied by Louis Calhern his crooked politician attorney. While Tracy's being processed in, Calhern is upstairs trying to bribe warden Arthur Byron. It doesn't work and Tracy begins life at Sing Sing on the wrong foot.Gradually things warm up between the two of them, Tracy and Byron and Byron gives Tracy a 24 hour furlough from Sing Sing on the honor system. While in New York Tracy and Calhern mix it up, because Calhern's now on the make for Tracy's girlfriend Bette Davis.Now one could argue that this was an example of progressive thinking on the warden's part. Stuff like that just wasn't done back in the day, in fact some "progressive" release policies are what kept Michael Dukakis from becoming president. Not even players of the caliber of Tracy and Davis could make me swallow this one. I will say that Louis Calhern is the best one in the film, he is one sleazebag for the ages.In fact 20,000 Years in Sing Sing only gets as high a rating as it does because of Tracy and Davis. Good thing Davis fought for better roles and Tracy's potential was only really explored after he got to MGM.