Road to the Big House
Cast & Crew
Walter Colmes
John Shelton
Ann Doran
Guinn Williams
Joe Allen Jr.
Richard Bailey
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After they are caught brawling, state penitentiary inmates Butch McQuinn and Eddie Clark are placed in separate solitary confinement cells. Despite Eddie's claim that Butch was at fault, and that the other inmates are trying to intimidate him into sharing the fortune he made on the "outside," the warden punishes both men. In his cell, Eddie ruminates about his life before he became a criminal, when his loving wife Agnes was at his side and he had a good job at the bank: A loyal employee for four years, Eddie is not bothered by the mundane routine of his life and his low pay, until the day he compares himself to his friend George Bates, who can afford to bring caviar to a dinner at the Clarks. Eddie becomes further depressed about his lack of success when a receipt for the two cemetery plots he bought for himself and Agnes arrives in the mail. Eddie suddenly concludes that he is leading an empty life and vows to devote himself to succeeding at any cost, even if it means committing a crime. The crime Eddie chooses to commit is a bank robbery, and he wastes no time in preparing the heist. After buying two tickets to Laredo, Texas, Eddie waits for an opportunity to enter his bank's safe alone and steal $200,000 from Marty Kelvin, one of the bank's clients. With the stolen money in hand, Eddie returns home and tells Agnes about their newly found riches. Refusing to accept her husband's argument that they both deserve the money, Agnes calls Mr. Manning, the bank president, and tells him that Eddie accidentally brought home a client's deposit that he could not put into the vault before closing time. While Agnes promises an immediate return of the money, Eddie stops at a bar and gets drunk. Manning does not wait for Eddie to come around with the money, and instead has him arrested. At his trial, Eddie is found guilty of embezzlement and is sentenced to ten years in prison. Despite Agnes' pleas that he return the money, Eddie decides to keep it hidden in the hope of collecting it after his release. When word of the secreted money reaches Butch, he offers Eddie an escape plan in exchange for a share of the money. Eddie, however, refuses the offer, and Butch slugs him. Following his release from solitary confinement, Eddie is approached by Clyde Sutter, an inmate who was hired by Kelvin to get Eddie to break out of prison and lead him to the money. The prison break ends in Eddie's recapture, however, as Agnes inadvertently leads the police to her husband. When the day of Eddie's release from prison finally arrives, he goes to the place where he hid the money, only to discover that it is gone. Though Agnes confesses that she found the money and has long since returned it, Eddie forgives her and realizes that she did the right thing.
Director
Walter Colmes
Cast
John Shelton
Ann Doran
Guinn Williams
Joe Allen Jr.
Richard Bailey
Pierre Watkin
Eddie Fields
Rory Mallinson
Dorothy Vaughn
William Stelling
C. Montague Shaw
Charles Jordan
Lyle Latell
John Doucette
Keith Richards
Jack Conrad
Walden Boyle
Mickey Simpson
Crew
Jason Bernie
Leon Chooluck
Walter Colmes
Bob Cowan
Al Kegerris
Selvyn Levinson
J. J. M.
Ray Mercer
Ralph Slosser
Ralph Stanley
Walter Strenge
Frank Sylos
Ben Winkler
Aubrey Wisberg
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was The Dark Road. The onscreen credits for technical advisor on the prison sequence list only the initials "J. J. M." A Hollywood Reporter news item adds the following actors to the cast: Mike Sandler, Dick Terry, Victor Zimmerman and Connie Leon, but their appearance in the released film had not been confirmed.
