Thanks to Universal’s set designer, Russell Gausman, there’s a wonderful Germanic/UFA feel to the claustrophobic settings of this classic prison drama. (He’d just taken a masterclass doing Fritz Lang ’s SCARLET STREET.) Richard Brooks ’ script may spell everything out for us, especially in some airless flashback sequences, but Jules Dassin had a natural bent for ‘noir’ and he homes right in on the homo-sadistic trappings of Hume Cronyn’s prison captain. Check out the decorative touches in his office! Burt Lancaster, in his second film, shows off his effortless presence and form as he leads a host of manly men to certain destruction. Glistening lensing from William Daniels & a typically brooding Miklos Rozsa score make this one deluxe.
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