Big House, U.S.A.

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Big House, U.S.A. is a 1955 American crime film noir directed by Howard W. Koch. The screenplay is by John C. Higgins, based on a story by George W. George and George F. Slavin. It stars Broderick Crawford, Ralph Meeker, Reed Hadley, William Talman, Lon Chaney Jr., and Charles Bronson. United Artists released the film, which runs 83 minutes. It premiered in New York on March 11, 1955 and opened in Los Angeles on June 1, 1955.

Plot
At a summer camp near a Colorado national park, a young boy has a severe asthma attack during a race. Nurse Emily Evans treats him with an injection, but the boy, terrified of needles, runs into the woods. Park ranger Erickson and the missing boy’s father, Robertson Lambert, become frantic. A man named Jerry Barker demands a $200,000 ransom and tells Lambert not to tell anyone or he’ll kill the boy. Lambert pays, but the boy dies trying to escape. Barker returns with the ransom, sees the body, and throws the child over a cliff, burying most of the money.

An FBI agent named Madden catches Barker for extortion but cannot prove murder since the body is not found. Barker is sent to prison, where the warden exposes him to four hardened convicts—bank robber Rollo Lamar, smuggler Alamo Smith, and killers Mason and Kelly. Barker earns the nickname “ice man” for his cold courtroom demeanor and soon wins the inmates’ trust. They include him in their plan to escape, hoping to grab the hidden ransom money.

Madden pursues Barker and discovers Emily’s involvement from the start. In the park, the fugitives turn on each other until only two remain. Mason is shot dead, and Lamar pleads for mercy. The money is recovered, Barker and Lamar are sent back to prison to face the gas chamber, and Emily receives a long prison sentence.

Reception
A New York Times review described the film as a good idea for a crime melodrama that doesn’t fully deliver. The reviewer criticized the handling of the child’s death as well as the lack of parental anguish, noting the story’s suspense was not fully realized.