The Big House (1930)

Convicted of manslaugher for a drunken driving accident, Kent (Robert Montgomery) is sent to prison. Here he meets vicious incarcerated figures who are planning an escape from the brutal conditions. What the inmates believe to be a seamless plan turns into an all out massacre in this hard nosed crime drama. This early talkie was greatly influential to numerous men-behind-bars melodramas that would follow in its path. Screenwriter Frances Marian gleaned the dialogue and situations from San Quentin Prison, which she observed in preparation for the film. Wallace Beery brims with memorable anger as "Machine Gun" Butch Smith.