Behind the High Wall

When the story begins, Warden Carmichael (Tom Tully) is kidnapped by a group of cons who are escaping from his prison. Along the way, the desperate men pick up an innocent guy (John Derek) and force him to drive them. Well, soon there's an accident and several of the convicts are killed. The innocent guy has survived but is unconscious and the remaining con tries to run away with a suitcase in tow. The Warden and the con exchange gunfire...the con is killed and the suitcase, it turns out, is stuffed with $100,000! On impulse, the Warden decides to keep the money...and leaves the innocent guy to take the rap for supposedly helping in the escape. The problem is...that down deep...the Warden is torn apart by his actions. But is it enough to get him to admit the truth? Apparently not, as he even allows the innocent guy to get sentenced to death for the botched escape!

The story is much more interesting and complex than I described and the acting is spot on. I think with big name stars, it wouldn't have worked as well and having some old reliable character actors instead star in the film was a smart choice. Overall, a very gripping and successful 'small' picture...one that is nothing like any other prison film I have ever seen.

Tom Tully does a very nice job as a warden who is kidnapped during a prison break, and the getaway truck crashes. The warden, the driver, and one con, who has 100,000 in a suitcase, get away. The warden shoots the con and buries the money before the cops get there. Only one problem; the driver is innocent, and the warden is the only one who knows this.

The burden of a guilty conscience weighs heavily on the warden, egged on by his disabled wife, played by Sylvia Sydney, who wants him to fess up. Sydney would have done better if she were a mute in the film, instead of a wheelchair victim. I will not reveal how the film comes to its conclusion, but the driver, played by John Gavin of Spartacus fame, goes through a lot of agony as an innocent bystander. Worth viewing.

A late film noir, with an interesting plot and undeniable potential, unfortunately poorly taken advantage of.

The classic film noir has unscrupulous, false, treacherous characters, always looking for an opportunity to deceive the next. Sometimes, from so much conspiring, they end up suffering the effects of their own poison on their skin or else captured by enemies or the police.

But this Behind the High Wall is a film that is too scrupulous, full of feelings of guilt, regret, too moralistic, precisely the opposite of what characterizes film noir. It is the result of a different era in which traditional values prevailed, in post-war abundance.

Thus a banal melodrama, often implausible, masquerading as film noir.

BEHIND THE HIGH WALL is a little bit of a letdown. The basic idea of the plot is good, if not terribly original: good guy goes bad to try for a better life. The movie starts off just fine with intrigue and some fine action scenes. It's too bad the picture bogs down in talk midway and only barely recovers. What makes BEHIND THE HIGH WALL worth seeing is the dark, sometimes oppressive noir photography and the impressive cast. Tom Tully is excellent as always in a conflicted, yet sympathetic lead role as a prison warden who makes a bad decision. As his crippled wife, Sylvia Sydney--a great actress who is a standout in Fritz Lang's FURY--is almost wasted. But she brings credibility to what could have been merely a maudlin character. The other impressive cast member is John Gavin. Anyone who doubts this chiseled matinée idol's acting talent should see this. Gavin never hits a false note and carries all his scenes with terrific conviction. The movie is populated with many other faces later familiar from TV as well: John Larch, Barney Philips, Peter Leeds, Ed Kemmer (wasted as a frustrated lawyer), Amzie Strickland, and Betty Lynn (later known as 'Thelma Lou' on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW). Lynn's father is played excellently by veteran actor Don Beddoe.

It begins like a prison break plot, in the line of CANON CITY, CRASHOUT, BIG HOUSE USA, but it appears that this is quite different. The following plot will surprise you, because of the warden character. Not the predictable scheme of good vs evil guys. Abner Biberman made some good films for Universal Studios and this one belongs to his best. NIGHT RUNNER was good too. This is for me an underrated crime film from the fifties. I like being surprised by such daring schemes. I won't tell you the film not spoil it. Please try it, if you can purchase it; it is not so hard to get. Maybe more drama than pure gritty crime yarn.