Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison (1951)

★ 6.4 1h 27m IMDb

Drama Crime

A warden and his assistant clash over prison reform, triggering a violent riot.

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Cast

Steve Cochran as Chuck Daniels Died 1965 · Eureka, California He is perhaps best remembered for his role of Big Ed Somers, the power hungry gangster pal of James Cagney in "White Heat" (1949). Born Robert Alexander Cochran in Eureka, California, he was the son o...

David Brian as Mark Benson Died 1993 · New York City, New York, U.S. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. David Brian (August 5, 1914, New York City – July 15, 1993) was an American actor and dancer. Description above from the Wikipedia article David Brian, lice...

Philip Carey as Red Pardue Died 2009 · Hackensack, New Jersey, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Philip Carey (July 15, 1925 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. Carey was born in Hackensack, New Jersey.[3] He served in the United States Marine Cor...

Ted de Corsia as Warden Ben Rickey Died 1973 · Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ted de Corsia (September 29, 1903 [or 1905] – April 11, 1973) was an American radio, film, and television actor best remembered for his role as a gangster who...

Scott Forbes as Jim Frazier Died 1997 · High Wycombe, England, UK

Michael Tolan as Leo Daly Died 2011 · Detroit, Michigan, USA Michael Tolan (born Seymour Tuchow, November 27, 1925 – January 31, 2011) was an American actor. He died January 31, 2011, at a Hudson, New York, hospital from kidney failure..

Director Crane Wilbur

Cast Steve Cochran, David Brian, Philip Carey, Ted de Corsia, Scott Forbes, Michael Tolan, Dick Wesson, Paul Picerni, William Campbell, Edward Norris

John Chard 7/10 Nov 09, 2019

Bloody Folsom!

Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison is written and directed by Crane Wilbur. It stars Steve Cochran, David Brian, Philip Carey and Ted de Corsia. Music is by William Lava and cinematography by Edwin B. DuPar.

The sadistic rule of Warden Ben Rickey (Corsia) at Folsom prison has brought the establishment to breaking point. Escape attempts and riots are now the order of the day. Can Mark Benson (Brian), the board of directors' specially assigned captain of the guards, actually make a difference?

There is no substitute for freedom!

Film Noir has some pretty great prison based movies, where the likes of "Brute Force", "Riot In Cell Block 11" and some French classics are simply must see movies for anyone interested in the genre in this film making style. Wilbur's movie is no classic, but it has enough requisite nous about it to ensure it's well worth the time of the discerning viewer.

The stereotypes and prison movie tropes are of course wholesome. We have another sadistic warden (Corsia enjoying himself), alpha male convict (the always ace Cochran), stool pigeons getting short shrift (hello dam buster) and bouts of brutal violence. Jostling within the pent up testosterone stew is the core question of if prison is a place of punishment or a correctional seat of change?.

Filmed on location inside the famous prison itself, we are taken aback from the off when the prison narrates to us as a first person - stentorian like (Charles Lung), it's a neat device that demands we listen to what the prison has to say!. Wilbur (also prison movie Canon City 1948) keeps things suitably atmospheric and sweaty, while DuPar (I Was a Communist for the FBI) photographs with moody monochrome strokes to emphasise the desperation of the incarcerated male.

It all builds to an explosively thrilling climax, a reward for those who stayed patient throughout the long stretches of dialogue. And then it's time for the prison to talk to us again, thanks Folsom, nice to meet your acquaintance. 7/10