Murder in the Big House (1942)
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Synopsis of Murder in the Big House
Murder in the Big House was a remake of the 1936 Warner Bros. programmer Jailbreak. In his first starring role, Van Johnson plays reporter Bert Bell, who wonders how it came to be that death-row inmate Dapper Dan Mallory (Michael Ames) was "accidentally" killed just before his appointment with the electric chair. Digging a little deeper, Bell discovers that Dapper Dan was planning to make a big revelation just before his execution, one which would expose the corrupt political machine for which he worked. With the help of heroine Gladys Wayne (Faye Emerson) and perenially drunken columnist Scoop Connor (George Meeker), Bell contrives to have himself thrown in jail to solve the mystery. Though the film passed unnoticed when first released, Murder in the Big House raked in a pile of cash when it was reissued as Born to Trouble in 1945, by which time Van Johnson had become the hottest male star in the movies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Complete Cast of Murder in the Big House
- Faye Emerson - Gladys Wayne
- George Meeker - "Scoop" Conner
- Roland Drew - "Mile-Away" Gordon
- Joseph Crehan - Jim Ainslee
- Douglas Wood - Bill Burgen
- Dick Rich - Guard
- Jack Mower - Ramstead
- Henry Hall - Chaplain
- Patrick McVey - Chief Electrician
- Van Johnson - Bert Bell
- Frank Wilcox - Randall
- Ruth Ford - Mrs. Gordon
- William Gould - Warden John Bevins
- John Maxwell - Prison Doctor
- Fred Kelsey - Keeper
- Creighton Hale - Ritter
- Tod Andrews - "Dapper Dan" Malloy
- William "Bill" Phillips - Mike
- Director(s):
- B. Reeves "Breezy" Eason
- Writer(s):
- Raymond Schrock
- Producer(s):
- William Jacobs
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