If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

There is a haunting scene here where a prisoner on death row getting ready to go to the gallows breaks down in the arms of priest Charles Bickford, revealing his fear and being unsure how to pray. He admits that he was guilty of murdering his wife out of jealousy, but in that last moment of anger after her death, tried to call her back but couldn't. I've heard ministers say that even at the moment of death, somebody with the greatest sins on their soul can come to Christ and be forgiven and atoned. This movie may be schmaltzy in many ways, but it also opens up the opportunity for discussion on the issue of salvation. It wasn't just a fear of going to hell in this man's heart, but his regret for a human emotion he had no control over, and one which ruined his life. Bickford, playing a man of God who was once a child of the streets, has a gruff exterior, but his heart is big, especially as he deals with the troubled inmates of a very rough prison where a new warden turns everything upside down, leading to a very violent riot. This Monogram film is about two reels longer than most of their films, with great detail put into the individual characterizations, and crafty in how it develops the events leading up to this mutiny. The aggressor in that mutiny is inmate Barton MacLane who senses the fear and innocence of a new young inmate (Dennis Moore) and cleverly uses him as a key into events which will lead up to this riot and attempt to escape. Bickford, sensing that MacLane is up to no good in regards to Moore, refuses to help him to get a job in the prison library, and MacLane becomes resentful towards him because of that. Bickford also aids the aging inmate George Cleveland who has been in prison for years and unable to deal with the life that he finds when he is freed. Little aspects like this makes "Mutiny in the Big House" an above average second feature, partially based upon alleged real events and people, and not at all cloying or overly preachy. Bickford and MacLane, practically interchangeable in their gruff personalities, are excellent in their roles, and the conclusion is thrilling, reminding me of the stand-off at the tail end of "High Noon".

A great film. Remember the part where Father Joe looks at the envelope. It is addressed to 6948 Woodman Ave. Miltown PA. There is a Milltown PA but not a Miltown PA. But what is really fascinating is that 6948 Woodman Ave. is the Van Nys address of Ann Dvorak, with whom he made Gangs of new York a year earlier. I ponder what this suggests?Barton MacLane crackles, the under-rated Pat Moriarty is believable and not stereotyped as an overly hostile warden, of which there are many in film. There is a brilliant cast of characters. George Cleveland provides some levity.A powerful film, flawless acting, with excellent pace and balance. One of the great prison films, of which there were many.

Although some of the scenes have some real poignancy to them in the end Mutiny In The Big House ends up a melodramatic mess with every prison cliché in the book thrown into the plot.The two leads and two opposite poles of good and evil are Charles Bickford as the prison chaplain and Barton MacLane as the toughest con in the joint. Parts that both are well cast in, especially MacLane.The main part of the story line involves young Dennis Moore sent to prison for forging a $10.00 check for his mother's medicine. Sounds like he didn't have a good lawyer if indeed it was his first offense. Over Bickford's objections Moore is assigned as cell-mate to MacLane who tries to wise him up in prison ways. Bickford of course sees something redeemable in Moore and the conflict begins.Best scenes are with old time institutionalized con George Cleveland. When he's released he can't adjust to life on the outside. Long before James Whitmore perfected the part in Shawshank Redemption, Cleveland gives a touching performance and Bickford actually goes to bat for him to get him sent back to prison.The climax includes a prison break and what normally happens, happens in Mutiny In The Big House. Charles Bickford was in a much better prison film Brute Force and a lot of these same situations were handled better in that classic film.You can't pass up a film with Bickford and MacLane in classic parts, but don't expect all that much from Mutiny In The Big House.

Although Martin Mooney based this story on real events and a real priest who worked in the prison system, I couldn't help but think that this film seemed a bit too sappy and hard to believe. Maybe you'll like it more than I did--I just see it as a heavy-handed time-passer.Dennis Moore plays a convict who was given an unusually harsh sentence for his first offense. For writing a bad check for $10, he was given 1-14 years in the penitentiary--and the priest in the institution (Charles Bickford) feels sorry for him and wants to keep this nice guy from becoming a career criminal. However, the guy is assigned to bunk with a real hard-core jerk (Baron MacLane--who made a career out of playing such roles). Can the good priest keep Moore's character on the straight and narrow or will he be manipulated by his bunkie and live a life of crime? Overall, it's not a terrible film despite its low budget. But it also is handled poorly--coming off as too saccharine to be taken very seriously.