It's unfortunate that the one and only teaming of Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis was early in their careers when neither really had a chance to show what they were capable of.
Tracy was under contract to Fox at this time and Fox loaned him to Warner Brothers and at that time Tracy was playing all kinds of mug parts. Here he does a role that James Cagney must have turned down over at Warner Brothers.
Tracy is a gangster who's freshly arrived at Sing Sing doing a five to thirty year stretch for some unnamed offense. He's accompanied by Louis Calhern his crooked politician attorney. While Tracy's being processed in, Calhern is upstairs trying to bribe warden Arthur Byron. It doesn't work and Tracy begins life at Sing Sing on the wrong foot.
Gradually things warm up between the two of them, Tracy and Byron and Byron gives Tracy a 24 hour furlough from Sing Sing on the honor system. While in New York Tracy and Calhern mix it up, because Calhern's now on the make for Tracy's girlfriend Bette Davis.
Now one could argue that this was an example of progressive thinking on the warden's part. Stuff like that just wasn't done back in the day, in fact some "progressive" release policies are what kept Michael Dukakis from becoming president.
Not even players of the caliber of Tracy and Davis could make me swallow this one. I will say that Louis Calhern is the best one in the film, he is one sleazebag for the ages.
In fact 20,000 Years in Sing Sing only gets as high a rating as it does because of Tracy and Davis. Good thing Davis fought for better roles and Tracy's potential was only really explored after he got to MGM.
Tracy was under contract to Fox at this time and Fox loaned him to Warner Brothers and at that time Tracy was playing all kinds of mug parts. Here he does a role that James Cagney must have turned down over at Warner Brothers.
Tracy is a gangster who's freshly arrived at Sing Sing doing a five to thirty year stretch for some unnamed offense. He's accompanied by Louis Calhern his crooked politician attorney. While Tracy's being processed in, Calhern is upstairs trying to bribe warden Arthur Byron. It doesn't work and Tracy begins life at Sing Sing on the wrong foot.
Gradually things warm up between the two of them, Tracy and Byron and Byron gives Tracy a 24 hour furlough from Sing Sing on the honor system. While in New York Tracy and Calhern mix it up, because Calhern's now on the make for Tracy's girlfriend Bette Davis.
Now one could argue that this was an example of progressive thinking on the warden's part. Stuff like that just wasn't done back in the day, in fact some "progressive" release policies are what kept Michael Dukakis from becoming president.
Not even players of the caliber of Tracy and Davis could make me swallow this one. I will say that Louis Calhern is the best one in the film, he is one sleazebag for the ages.
In fact 20,000 Years in Sing Sing only gets as high a rating as it does because of Tracy and Davis. Good thing Davis fought for better roles and Tracy's potential was only really explored after he got to MGM.