Prison stories and movie musicals may seem a mismatch, but some films have combined elements of both genres with entertaining results. We have assembled a few of these oddball movies, from the dawn of sound to the rock’n’roll 1950s, for your enjoyment.
Weary River (1929) is part-talkie and part-silent made at the cusp of the sound era. It tells the story of a convicted gangster (Richard Barthelmess) who develops his musical abilities while incarcerated and, with the aid of the prison warden, becomes a radio star. In addition to the title song, Barthelmess (dubbed by Johnny Murray) sings “Frankie and Johnny,” “It’s Up to You,” and other tunes. The piano-playing is also dubbed, by Frank Churchill. The helpful warden is played by William Holden – but not that William Holden. This actor (no relation) was active during the years 1920-31.
Over the Wall (1938) is another movie about a prisoner who redeems himself through music while behind bars. In this case, it’s Dick Foran as a tough prizefighter who is framed for murder and winds up in Sing Sing, where the prison chaplain (John Litel) encourages him to, well, sing. Foran’s songs include “Ave Maria,” “One More Tomorrow” and “Have You Met My Lulu?” Frank McDonald directs, and the cast also includes Ward Bond, June Travis and Dick Purcell.
Comet Over Broadway (1938) is a Kay Francis soap opera in which our heroine is wed to a jealous husband (John Litel), who kills another man over her and is sentenced to life in prison. This puts a bit of a crimp in her ambitions to become a Broadway star – but only temporarily. Busby Berkeley and John Farrow directed the film, which also features Ian Hunter, Donald Crisp and, in a fleeting appearance, a young Susan Hayward. The soundtrack includes Harry Warren’s “Dames,” the title song from another Warner Bros. film.
Always in My Heart (1942) is another melodrama starring Kay Francis, cast this time as a woman who pretends to be a widower so her children won’t know that their father (Walter Huston) has been imprisoned for decades. Now divorced, she is planning to marry another man (Sidney Blackmer) when her ex is released. Without revealing his identity, he befriends his daughter (Gloria Warren), who has inherited his musical aptitude and wants to be an opera singer. Warren’s numbers include “Carnival of Venice,” “Uno voce poco fa” and the title song, which was Oscar-nominated as Best Original Song. Huston shows his skill at the piano, and a lighter musical touch is provided by Borrah Minevitch and His Harmonica Rascals. Jo Graham directs.
The Beggar’s Opera (1953) is perhaps the most distinguished entry in our Prison Music series, being a film version of John Gay’s 1728 ballad opera and marking the only time the distinguished Laurence Olivier appeared in a movie musical. The Technicolor film, which marked the movie debut of the highly lauded stage director Peter Brook, casts Olivier as the highwayman MacHeath, who is condemned to death for his crimes after being betrayed by two of his paramours. Imprisoned and waiting to be hanged, he is entertained by a beggar (Hugh Griffith) who has written an opera in which MacHeath is the hero. The original opera was the basis of Bertolt Brecht’s 1928 The Threepenny Opera. The film, itself a spoof of movie musicals, also features Cyril Conway, Dorothy Tutin and George Rose. The score includes three numbers delivered by Olivier in his own voice: “At the Tree I Shall Suffer,” “The Charge Is Prepared” and “How Happy Could I Be with Either?”
Jailhouse Rock (1957), perhaps Hollywood’s most memorable prison musical, offers Elvis Presley one of his best vehicles. He plays a rowdy youth who is jailed for manslaughter, meets up with a country singer (Mickey Shaughnessy) and decides to become a musical performer after serving his time. Richard Thorpe directed the black-and-white MGM film, and it contains what many Presley fans consider his best onscreen dance number: a routine with other inmates performed to the title tune. Other Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller songs performed by Presley in the movie include “I Want to Be Free,” “Treat Me Nice” and “(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care.”
Untamed Youth (1957) is another study of 1950s teenage delinquency, this one released by Warner Bros. and catering more to the exploitation market. Mamie Van Doren and Lori Nelson star as sisters who are arrested for hitchhiking and skinny-dipping and sentenced to labor on a Texas prison farm. It seems the place is full of rock’n’roll and calypso addicts, providing Van Doren a chance to gyrate through such Les Baxter numbers as “Rolling Stone,” “Oobala Baby” and “Go, Go, Calypso!”
Other titles in the series include: Say It with Songs (1929); and two short films 20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang (1933) and The Canary Comes Across (1938).
