Underplayed Gems

Murder in the Big House (1942)

Murder in the Big House poster
Directed by
B. Reeves Eason
Genre
prison film
Country
United States
Runtime
59 min
Rated
NR
Rating
6.8 of 10 from 5 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A reporter goes undercover in a prison to investigate a murder. He uncovers a conspiracy among the inmates and guards.

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What happens

Murder in the Big House is a black-and-white American crime drama, released by Warner Bros. Pictures in April 1942. Structured as an hour-long second feature, it is directed by the prolific specialist in low-budget action productions, B. Reeves Eason, and stars Van Johnson, who is top-billed above the title, in his first credited film role which represents the entire output of his six-month contract with the studio. The female lead, Faye Emerson, billed alongside Johnson above the title, played starring and co-starring parts in a small number of B pictures during 1940s and achieved TV stardom at the end of the decade and in the 1950s as a glamorous interviewer and personality during the medium's formative years. Following Johnson's rise to become the 1945 top box-office attraction as a leading man and Emerson's marriage to the president's son, Elliott Roosevelt, the film was re-released to theaters in late 1945 and early 1946 under the title Born for Trouble. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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