Buried Alive | Drama Movie | Beverly Roberts | Thriller | Free Film
Buried Alive - A prison trustee rescues a despondent executioner from a bar-room brawl, and is blamed for the fight by a tabloid reporter who actually started it, and loses parole, becomes embittered, and gets blamed for murder of guard.
Buried Alive (1939)
Director: Victor Halperin
Writers: William A. Ullman Jr., George Bricker
Stars: Beverly Roberts, Robert Wilcox, Paul McVey
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: United States
Language: English
Release Date: November 6, 1939 (United States)
Synopsis:
Ernie Matthews, who operates the prison electric chair, is having a crisis of conscience about his role as state executioner. His unrequited love for Joan Wright, another prison employee, adds to his depression. She in turn loves Johnny Martin, the warden's chauffeur and a trustee eligible shortly for parole. When the despondent Matthews goes to a local road house after an execution to get drunk, he's taunted by a sadistic reporter, and a brawl results. Because Johnny came to Matthews' aid in the fight, the parole board, pressured by the press, turns down his expected release, and Johnny reacts bitterly, forcing the warden to rescind his privileges. When Johnny's mentally challenged cell mate Big Billy strangles a sadistic warder, it is only Johnny's intervention that keeps a second guard from being killed. Another vindictive convict, Gus Barth, the only living witness to Johnny's heroism, spitefully hides the truth, hoping that Johnny goes to the electric chair.
Reviews:
"The interesting thing about this film is the story by William A. Ullman, who has a clear eye for poignant realism and is always consistent with a sharp psychological intelligence, and he stands as far from the Hollywood dream factory output of box office candy as anyone could ever do. This is a grim story of a prison ward who is about to be set free on parole, when his concern about his fellow prisoners gets him into trouble. His interference in a bar brawl undoes his parole, and it will get worse. When a fellow prisoner tries to escape he tries to stop him, while that prisoner gets time enough to kill a prison guard before he is shot to death. Our fellow gets indicted for the murder and is actually brought to the electric chair.
The film begins with the executioner and his second thoughts about his job, which isn't very funny, we follow a detailed execution from the beginning, and the film ends up where it started, with another execution, which becomes one execution too much for the executioner, who quits his job.
The story is very polyphonic with many characters involved, the direction is lousy, but the film is definitely worth watching for the sake of the story. It's an early and astute attack on the death penalty, showing how easy it was for an innocent to become executed by mistake. No one is buried alive here, but the whole system is by understatement accused of being an institution for burying people alive."
- written by "clanciai" on IMDb.com
Also Known As (AKA):
(original title) Buried Alive
Italy Scacco al patibolo
Sweden Bakom fängelsets murar
United Kingdom Buried Alive
United States Buried Alive
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