20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)
If you don’t know that I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang was released the same year, 20,000 Years in Sing Sing could be looked at as a pretty good prison movie from 1932. However, armed with the knowledge that there’s an exceptional prison movie out there from the same year, with a better actor and a more interesting plot, you can’t help but think this one’s pretty dated.
Spencer Tracy stars as a tough, filthy crook who gets sent to Sing Sing. He’s a handful and causes trouble as soon as he gets there, starting a massive fist fight because his uniform doesn’t fit. When his girlfriend Bette Davis gets sick, the sympathetic warden lets him leave the prison unescorted to visit her, believing that Spence’s honor will bring him back. This doesn’t make any sense! Just send a guard with him, or have him followed, and then there’s no problem.
I’m not a Spencer Tracy fan, so seeing him furrow his brow and shout isn’t my idea of a good time. I did enjoy seeing a young, pretty Bette Davis, even though she’s only in the movie for about fifteen minutes. If this movie was made in 1928, I’d be able to appreciate it more, knowing it was a few years before Hollywood was able to crank out a really good quality movie. However, as the Members of the Board of the Hot Toasty Rag Awards know, there were dozens of high quality movies cranked out in 1932, which makes this one feel watered-down.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Cinema Central" for posting!
More Ward Bond movies here!
More Spencer Tracy movies here!
Spencer Tracy stars as a tough, filthy crook who gets sent to Sing Sing. He’s a handful and causes trouble as soon as he gets there, starting a massive fist fight because his uniform doesn’t fit. When his girlfriend Bette Davis gets sick, the sympathetic warden lets him leave the prison unescorted to visit her, believing that Spence’s honor will bring him back. This doesn’t make any sense! Just send a guard with him, or have him followed, and then there’s no problem.
I’m not a Spencer Tracy fan, so seeing him furrow his brow and shout isn’t my idea of a good time. I did enjoy seeing a young, pretty Bette Davis, even though she’s only in the movie for about fifteen minutes. If this movie was made in 1928, I’d be able to appreciate it more, knowing it was a few years before Hollywood was able to crank out a really good quality movie. However, as the Members of the Board of the Hot Toasty Rag Awards know, there were dozens of high quality movies cranked out in 1932, which makes this one feel watered-down.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Cinema Central" for posting!
More Ward Bond movies here!
More Spencer Tracy movies here!