The Naked Cage (1940's & 1950's Prison Noir Films)
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- DirectorJules DassinStarsBurt LancasterHume CronynCharles BickfordAt a tough penitentiary, prisoner Joe Collins plans to rebel against Captain Munsey, the power-mad chief guard.
- DirectorClaude SautetStarsLino VenturaSandra MiloJean-Paul BelmondoA ruthless criminal flees from the pursuit, involving more and more casualties.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsDana AndrewsJoan FontaineSidney BlackmerA novelist aided by his future father-in-law conspires to frame himself for the murder of a burlesque dancer as part of an effort to ban capital punishment.
- DirectorLewis SeilerStarsIda LupinoJan SterlingCleo MooreA sadistic prison warden takes out her sexual frustration on her women inmates. While a caring physician tries to improve the jail's brutal atmosphere, a pair of rebellious inmates take matters into their own hands.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyVirginia MayoEdmond O'BrienA psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsSterling HaydenLouis CalhernJean HagenA major heist goes off as planned, but then double crosses, bad luck and solid police work cause everything to unravel.
- DirectorRoberto GavaldónStarsMaría FélixArturo de CórdovaRosario GranadosA artist model who leads the ever hapless Arturo de Córdova away from the arms of his innocent, blue-eyed wife and down, down, down into the ecstatic depths of degradation which include a stop at seedy Panamanian nightclub.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsNeville BrandEmile MeyerFrank FaylenFed up with the inhumane prison living conditions, a general prison riot breaks out, leading to hostage-taking, a stand-off with the guards and eventual negotiations with the prison administration officials.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsEleanor ParkerAgnes MooreheadEllen CorbyA gentle, naive, pregnant 19-year-old widow is slowly, inexorably ground down by the hardened criminals, sadistic guards, and matron at a woman's prison. Will she be the same person when her sentence is up?
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsTony CurtisSidney PoitierCara WilliamsTwo chained-together escaped convicts, White and Black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsBarry FitzgeraldHoward DuffDorothy HartA step-by-step look at a murder investigation on the streets of New York.
- DirectorJack LeeStarsYvonne MitchellTerence MorganJoan CollinsFollows three women through their first day of freedom after they are released from prison.
- DirectorRobert BressonStarsFrançois LeterrierCharles Le ClaincheMaurice BeerblockA captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from a German prison in France.
- DirectorHoward W. KochStarsBroderick CrawfordRalph MeekerReed HadleyGerry Barker finds a lost boy whose rich father is extorted into paying a ransom for his return but the boy accidentally dies and Gerry goes to prison.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsDennis O'KeefeClaire TrevorMarsha HuntJoe Sullivan (Dennis O'Keefe) has taken the rap for Rick (Raymond Burr), who double-crosses him with a flawed escape plan and other means intended to get rid of him.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsEdward G. RobinsonSusan HaywardRichard ConteAfter years in prison, Max promises revenge on his brothers for their betrayal. His lover Irene and memories of his past yield him a broader perspective.
- DirectorJacques BeckerStarsAndré BervilJean KeraudyMichel ConstantinDistrust and uncertainty arise when four long-term inmates cautiously induct a new prisoner into their elaborate prison-break scheme.
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsJohn MillsJohn McCallumElizabeth SellarsReleased from prison after twelve years, a wrongfully convicted British man seeks revenge on the witnesses who lied at his trial.
- CreatorJack WebbStarsJack WebbBen AlexanderOlan SouleSgt. Joe Friday and his partners methodically investigate crimes in Los Angeles.
- DirectorJack BernhardStarsJean GillieEdward NorrisRobert ArmstrongA mortally wounded female gangster recounts how she and her gang revived an executed killer from the gas chamber, to try and find out where he buried a fortune in cash.
- DirectorFrank TuttleStarsAlan LaddEdward G. RobinsonJoanne DruAfter 5 years in prison, ex-cop Steve Rollins is paroled and searches for the San Francisco mobsters who framed him for manslaughter.
- DirectorMaxwell ShaneStarsFarley GrangerAnthony QuinnAnne BancroftA mobster (Quinn) springs a condemned murderer (Granger) because he got his sister (Bancroft) pregnant.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsLawrence TierneyMarian CarrBarton MacLaneEx con Lawrence Tierney, hunts a supposedly reformed inmate, MacLane who escapes during a trip to San Francisco.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsStanley BakerSam WanamakerGrégoire AslanIn the UK, after pulling a racetrack robbery, repeat offender Johnny Bannion hides the loot in a farmer's field but the police and the local mob come looking for Johnny and the money.
- DirectorMax NosseckStarsLawrence TierneyEdmund LoweAnne JeffreysJohn Dillinger begins his life of crime as a petty thief, meets his future gang in prison and eventually masterminds a series of daring robberies.
- DirectorIrving LernerStarsVince EdwardsLyle TalbotJohn ArcherA vicious killer escapes from San Quentin with a cannister of what he believes to be heroin but is actually a radioactive substance that threatens all Los Angeles.
- StarsCharles BronsonJames FlavinLudwig StösselFormer combat cameraman Mike Kovac is now a freelance photographer in New York City, specializing in difficult and dangerous assignments where he can get the kinds of pictures that other photographers can't, or won't take. He sometimes gets help, often reluctantly, from his contact in the police department, Lt. Donovan, and advice from his immigrant father Anton.
- DirectorHoward W. KochStarsMickey RooneyFrank OvertonMichael ConstantineA prison break is attempted the same night an execution occurs on death row.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsGeorge RaftVirginia MayoGene LockhartThe former employee of a trucking company, currently in prison for embezzlement, plans his eventual revenge against his former boss.
- DirectorWilliam CastleStarsHoward DuffShelley WintersDan DuryeaUS Treasury agent George Morton persuades convicted criminal Johnny Evans to help him destroy a drug smuggling ring in exchange for early parole.
- DirectorCrane WilburStarsRichard BasehartMarilyn MaxwellSigne HassoA paroled convict's infatuation with a gold-digger nurse working at a sanitarium leads him to crime.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsSidney TolerMantan MorelandBen CarterA public defender enlists Charlie to exonerate one of his clients, an ex-con falsely accused of bank robbery and murder, scheduled for execution in nine days.
- CreatorHenry J. OppermanStarsKen LynchJack OrrisonJack DavisA crime program, with a twist - The Lieutenant (Ken Lynch) was never seen on camera, as the program used the subjective first-person camera technique as did the 1947 film "Lady in the Lake".
- CreatorErle Stanley GardnerStarsRaymond BurrBarbara HaleWilliam HopperThe trials of a master criminal defense attorney handling the most difficult cases in support of the innocent.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBarton MacLaneGlenda FarrellPaul HurstJoaquin Shannon arrives home from a cruise on his fishing boat. His first mate, Charles Nelson, is to marry Shannon's sister the next day. Nelson gets drunk and Shannon finds him near the unconscious body of a man that he, Shannon, had been fighting with previously. The man dies and Shannon takes the blame and goes to prison. There he gets into trouble instigated by "Big Red" Kincaid and is denied a parole. He stops a prison break and get a parole. Not able to get work, he takes a job with a former convict on a fishing boat. Kincaid, who has shot a guard and escaped and vowing vengeance on Shannon, shows up.
- DirectorAlfred RoomeStarsJack WarnerJane HyltonGeorge ColeWar hero George Martin escapes prison handcuffed to crook Willie Stannard. They obtain railway tickets. Pursued by police and press, George aims to break free from Willie and escape.
- DirectorRobert S. BakerStarsPatrick HoltSandra DorneSonia HolmA cop robs a store to go undercover in a gang. In prison he meets a member and escapes. Now inside, he identifies the boss and thieves, but not the informant. As a big heist nears, the cop is distracted by the boss's girlfriend.
- DirectorJean NegulescoStarsIda LupinoDane ClarkWayne MorrisA girl living with her parents on an isolated California farm falls in love with a chain-gang convict working at a nearby highway construction site, and sets out to help him when he escapes.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsJames CraigBonita GranvilleFrank JenksAfter Pearl Harbor, convicts at Alcatraz prison live in fear of bomb attacks, driving Champ Larkin and his pal Jimbo to a desperate escape attempt which lands them on a tiny lighthouse island, where they take over. The five inhabitants are stymied in their efforts to summon aid. But the island also figures in the schemes of a big Nazi spy ring; which will win out, the gangsters' greed or their patriotism?
- DirectorMontgomery TullyStarsWilliam HartnellJimmy HanleyChili BouchierDock worker Tom Masterick is wrongfully convicted of a murder charge. His death sentence is commuted to a long prison term. When released as an old man, he vows to show that his alleged victim is still alive.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsHumphrey BogartJohn DerekGeorge MacreadyAn attorney defends a hoodlum of murder, using the oppressiveness of the slums to appeal to the court.
- DirectorHasse EkmanStarsHasse EkmanEva DahlbeckUlf PalmeA journalist is writing a critical article about the prison service in Sweden. The magazine's editor in chief does not agree with him and removes the article. The journalist then plans to fake a crime to gain knowledge about life in prison.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsSusan HaywardSimon OaklandVirginia VincentA prostitute, sentenced to death for murder, pleads her innocence.
- DirectorNick GrindeStarsBoris KarloffEvelyn KeyesBruce BennettA physician on death row for a mercy killing is allowed to experiment on a serum using a criminals' blood, but secretly tests it on himself. He gets a pardon, but finds out he's become a Jekyll-&-Hyde.
- DirectorRobert BressonStarsMartin LaSalleMarika GreenJean PélégriMichel passes the time by picking pockets, careful to never be caught despite being watched by the police. His friend Jacques may suspect, while both men may have their eyes on Jeanne, the pretty neighbor of Michel's ailing mother.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBrian DonlevyElla RainesCharles CoburnA unfaithful wife plots with her lover to kill her husband, but the lover is accidentally killed instead. The husband stays in hiding and lets his wife be charged with conspiracy.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsBurt LancasterLizabeth ScottKirk DouglasFrankie Madison leaves prison expecting a share from his ex-partner. But Prohibition bootlegging didn't prepare Frankie for Big Business.
- DirectorCharles CrichtonStarsHoward KeelAnne HeywoodCyril CusackTwo inmates working to shore up a dike during a severe flood are swept away in the current along with their guard. The three of them wind up in an isolated house whose flooded interior contains a frightened woman.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsJames StewartJean HagenWendell CoreyDavid Marshall Williams is sent to a prison farm where he works in the tool shop and eventually develops the precursor of the famous M-1 Carbine automatic rifle used in World War II.
- DirectorLewis SeilerStarsHumphrey BogartIrene ManningRichard TravisFearing life in prison for a fourth offense, convict Duke Berne pulls out of an armored car robbery, planned by his crooked lawyer, but he is framed for the robbery anyway.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsGeorge RaftJane BryanWilliam HoldenAn ex-con who wants to go straight has difficulties trying to reintegrate into society while on parole.
- DirectorAlberto CavalcantiStarsSally GrayTrevor HowardGriffith JonesAfter WW2, former RAF airman Clem Morgan joins a gang of black-market smugglers-thieves but when a robbery goes wrong, Clem is caught , framed for a policeman's murder, and is sent to prison where he plots his escape and revenge.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsTyrone PowerDorothy LamourEdward ArnoldThe son of a jailed Wall Street broker turns to crime to pay for his father's release.
- StarsBoris KarloffEwan RobertsEric PohlmannColonel March of The Department of Queer Complaints investigates unusual cases, locked-room murders, and mysteries concerning the supernatural.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsJoseph CottenRhonda FlemingWendell CoreyAn unhinged, deceptively mild-mannered bank robber escapes prison, seeking revenge on the cop who accidentally killed his wife during a gun battle.
- StarsFrank M. ThomasNicholas SaundersWilliam GarganPrivate detective Martin Kane works in New York solving crimes. Depending on the year, Kane was either smooth and suave or hard bitten and the cooperation he received from the police depended on the year. The only constant was Happy McMann's tobacco shop where Kane hung out.
- DirectorHenry LevinStarsGlenn FordBroderick CrawfordMillard MitchellA D.A. becomes the prison warden where he tries to help an inmate he prosecuted, because he believes his sentence was excessive.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsJames CagneyGeorge RaftJane BryanA corrupt D.A. (Thurston Hall) with political ambitions is angered by news stories implicating him in criminal activity and decides to frame the reporter (James Cagney) for manslaughter in order to silence him.
- DirectorEdward D. Wood Jr.StarsLyle TalbotDolores FullerHerbert RawlinsonVic Brady draws young Don Gregor into a life of crime. He then blackmails Gregor's plastic surgeon father into fixing up his face so he can evade the cops.
- DirectorAlfred L. WerkerStarsVirginia MayoDale RobertsonStephen McNallyIn 1897 Arizona, an ex-marshal is sent to the territorial prison where many of his enemies, among guards and inmates alike, are eager for a chance at payback.
- DirectorWalter DonigerStarsLouis HaywardJoanne DruPaul KellyA group of prisoners are planning an escape. They take hostages. Warden Duffy tries to convince one of the inmates that their plight is useless, and to give up.
- DirectorHall BartlettStarsElroy 'Crazylegs' HirschBarbara HaleChester MorrisA convict in a medium-security prison is torn between his need to finish his sentence and get back to his wife and family, and his desire to escape the confines of prison.
- DirectorMiguel M. DelgadoStarsMiroslavaSara MontielKaty JuradoEvangelina asesina a su amante Alberto. En prisión ella conoce a Dora, la novia de Alberto, quien fue privada de su libertad por los negocios ilicitos de él. Una interesante historia esta a punto de tejerse.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsPaul HenreidLizabeth ScottAndré MorellA doctor repairs a female inmate's disfigured face to match the lovely woman who left him, and marries her, only to find out how abusive she is.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsJohn GarfieldAnn SheridanPat O'BrienAn arrogant mobster, sentenced to a long prison term in Sing Sing, becomes a changed man when given a chance by the fair and progressive warden.
- StarsBeverly GarlandFrank CampanellaJoseph SullivanNew York City policewoman Casey Jones' assignment to fight crime often entails her going undercover in some of the seediest and most dangerous parts of the city.
- DirectorCrane WilburStarsScott BradyJeff CoreyWhit BissellTwelve inmates plan a prison break from the Colorado State Penitentiary but one of them reluctantly joins the group.
- DirectorFred F. SearsStarsJohnny DesmondMerry AndersRichard DevonAn escaped convict decides to quit running and turn himself and his fellow escapee in to the authorities - but not without complications.
- DirectorR.G. SpringsteenStarsRod CameronGale RobbinsAllison HayesLawyer Marc Hill helps clear the name of his girlfriend's father who is accused of murdering a man that was blackmailing him.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsMaureen O'SullivanHenry FondaRalph BellamyTwo innocent men are wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The fiancée of one of them convinces a police detective of their innocence, and together they try to find the real killer before the men's execution date.
- DirectorCrane WilburStarsSteve CochranDavid BrianPhilip CareyAt California's Folsom Prison, escape attempts and riots are on the rise due to the old-school sadistic style of management of a brutal warden.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsArline JudgeRoger ClarkRobin RaymondWhen a teacher loses her job because her brother-in-law is a racketeer, she takes a position at a girls' reformatory.
- DirectorRobert D. WebbStarsJeffrey HunterSheree NorthBarry SullivanAn old inmate tells his cellmate, who's up for parole, about the location of a 35-year old gold loot and the released convict goes looking for it in Arizona.
- DirectorArchie MayoStarsGeorge RaftJoan BennettLloyd NolanAn aircraft designer falls for the wife of an imprisoned gangster. All goes well until the gangster gets out of prison...
- DirectorWilliam C. McGannMichael CurtizStarsJohn GarfieldRosemary LaneDick PurcellIn 1934, a New York reporter infiltrates a crime syndicate by befriending its boss who is serving time inside Blackwell Island prison.
- DirectorPaul SloaneStarsSally ParrPatrick WaltzWalter ReedA young man who insists that he is innocent is slated to be the first executed in the prison's electric chair.
- StarsNorman RoseCharles BickfordJoel AldredStories taken from the files of various law-enforcement agencies, including city, county and state police, park rangers, military police, etc.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsTerry MooreDebra PagetBert FreedDottie Manson commits a murder for which club singer Lois King is arrested, tried, and condemned to die. The story line wanders through the trial and Miss King's final hours on Death Row. The true killer is finally ready to confess, but already Miss King (who has by now been strapped into the electric chair) is at risk. Will she be rescued in the nick of time?
- DirectorCharles CrichtonStarsMichael RedgraveRobert MorleyRonald SquireA British petty criminal lies to his son about his frequent prison terms by inventing honorable plausible explanations for his absences from home, but things get complicated when his son becomes a judge's assistant.
- DirectorSidney SalkowStarsLinda DarnellEdgar BuchananMichael DuaneA young woman's husband has been imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. In order to be near him to try to help him get his sentence overturned, she moves into a boardinghouse near the prison whose residents are the wives of inmates.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsWalter PidgeonAnn HardingBarry SullivanAn attorney successfully defends a young hoodlum charged with murder but later has doubts about his client's innocence and starts investigating his background and associations.
- DirectorJohn EnglishStarsRichard ArlenStanley RidgesLynne RobertsThe spirit of an executed murderer enters the body of a physician, and forces him to do its bidding--namely, murder.
- DirectorWilliam BerkeStarsHugh BeaumontAnn SavageEdward BrophyPrivate detective finds himself framed for the murders of a wrestler and a crooked referee, then for the murder of a mystery man posing as a new parolee from Alcatraz.
- DirectorD. Ross LedermanStarsChester MorrisTrudy MarshallConstance DowlingBlackie performs in a magic show at a women's prison, which gives an inmate an opportunity to escape.
- DirectorSteve SekelyStarsJean ParkerLionel AtwillDouglas FowleyA young woman is on Death Row for the murder of a man who was blackmailing her family, although she claims she was framed. Her fiance', a doctor who is conducting experiments on reviving the dead, also happens to be the state's executioner, and is assigned to pull the switch when she is strapped into the electric chair. A famous criminologist, believing her to be innocent, rushes to investigate the case and clear her before her execution date.
- DirectorB. Reeves EasonStarsFaye EmersonVan JohnsonGeorge MeekerA Death Row inmate vows to reveal damaging information about corrupt politicians on the day of his electric chair execution but he is found dead in his cell, prompting an investigation by a local reporter.
- DirectorR.G. SpringsteenStarsGene EvansRobert BlakeTimothy CareyGannon is an imprisoned racketeer kingpin who tries to manipulate his young cell mate into staging a riot and prison break, but the cell mate tries to back out when he realizes other inmates may be killed in the process.
- DirectorWilliam NighStarsCharles BickfordBarton MacLanePat MoriarityA young man forges a check in order to help his mother, but is caught and sentenced to 14 years in prison. The prison chaplain, seeing that the new arrival is a good man who's had some bad luck, sets out to help keep him out of trouble so he can serve his sentence and get out. However, his cellmate, a hardened con, sees the chaplain's interest in the young convict as something he can use in his planned jailbreak.
- DirectorWalter ColmesStarsJohn SheltonAnn DoranGuinn 'Big Boy' WilliamsIn 1929, middle-class bank clerk Eddie Clark, unhappy with his lot in life and jealous of prosperous George Bates, an ex-suitor of his loyal wife Agnes, steals $200,000 from his bank, with intentions of he and Agnes being in Mexico before the theft is discovered. Agnes tries to persuade him to return the money to no avail. He is caught and sent to prison without revealing the hidden location of the loot, figuring to get it and live in luxury when his ten-year term is over. His case has received much publicity and nearly every inmate in the prison attempts to wrest the information from him. Gangsters on the outside arrange with convicts Clyde Sutter and Butch McQuinn to get the secret from him. Agnes, who has taken a waitress job in a nearby city, is also trying to find the money with the intention of returning it and getting Eddie a reduced sentence. Sutter's plan is to involve Eddie in a prison break and turn him over to the gangsters on the outside. Butch is shot during the break, and Eddie is the only one to escape. He meets Agnes in an old warehouse but she has been trailed by gangsters Kelvin and Benson. They beat him up but his life is saved by the arrival of the state police. He is returned to prison with an additional five years added to his sentence. He is released in 1947 and makes his way to the money's hiding place - a cemetery plot he had bought in 1929.
- StarsReed HadleyHugh BeaumontKeith RichardsThis series dramatizes confidence games which fall under the jurisdiction of Captain John Braddock.
- DirectorGustav MachatýStarsRuth HusseyTom NealPaul KellyShopgirl Mary Turner, sentenced to prison for someone else's theft, is released and takes revenge upon those who wronged her in powerful but lawful ways.
- DirectorJo GrahamStarsGeorge BrentBrenda MarshallGene LockhartWhen Laurie goes to the execution of Varney and faints, she does not know that Varney gets a full pardon minutes before he is to die. She calls in a story about his death and gets transferred to the Bewildered Heart Column of Prudence Maddox. When Mitch writes a story about Greer murdering Crowder that he cannot prove, he gets transferred from editor to Prudence Maddox. He makes Prudence very profitable for the paper, but the only way he can get the job of editor back, is to prove that Greer is a crook.
- DirectorEdward BuzzellRichard RossonStarsRobert SterlingCharles WinningerDonna ReedA G-man is sent to prison to befriend a suspected robbery ringleader and then helps him break out to gain his confidence.
- DirectorWalter DonigerStarsPerry LopezBeverly GarlandWalter AbelA power struggle emerges among convicts condemned to prison life.
- DirectorPhilip FordStarsDon 'Red' BarryJanet MartinWilliam PhippsA group of prisoners being transported by train to Alcatraz prison plot an escape.
- DirectorGeorge WaggnerStarsWilliam GarganJune ClydeJohn LitelA detective begins to suspect that a man may be in prison for a crime he didn't commit.
- DirectorNick GrindeStarsRochelle HudsonFrieda InescortJune LangJobless Betty Andrews, although innocent, is convicted of a department store theft and, despite the best efforts of her lawyer and noted social worker Mary Ellis and a reporter, Jim Brent on her behalf, is sentenced to a year in the Curtiss House of Correction. Chief Matron Brackett rules with an iron hand with the aid of inmates Frankie Mason, "The Duchess" and Nita Lavore. One of the inmates commits suicide and a subsequent story by Jim on the prison conditions leads to Mary Ellis being made the supervisor of the prison. When ten girls are allowed to go home for Thanksgiving under the promise of returning by eleven p.m., Frankie and "The Duchess", angry over losing the privileges given them by the departed Matron Brackett, arrange to have Betty kidnapped so she can not return at the appointed time. Another of the girls telephones Jim and he finds Betty a prisoner at a deserted roadhouse...
- DirectorMax NosseckStarsBruce CabotRochelle HudsonPaul KellyFrances Ryan, living high-and-free-wheeling life as the wife of gangster "Smiley" Ryan, spends some time behind bars as a result of her husband's activities, and, when she gets out, realizes she has been a bad example for her kid-sister, Jennie White, and five of her friends. With the aid of her old boyfriend, she manages to divert them from their juvenile-delinquent path leading to disaster for each.
- CreatorBlake EdwardsStarsCraig StevensHerschel BernardiLola AlbrightPeter Gunn is a private detective with a knack for finding trouble. His cases often mean he runs into the shadiest characters, most vicious thugs and the most powerful crime bosses. Cool and resourceful, he always gets the guilty party.