From my favorite movies..

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

There's a prison scene in the film Cool Hand Luke (1967) in which George Kennedy beats up and continually knocks down new inmate and wise guy Paul Newman in a sanctioned boxing match. Newman keeps getting up until he can do so no more and, in so doing, earns the respect of Kennedy's character and the others in the prison. At the end of the fight, Newman's character is even assisted by the man who delivered the punishment. That scene might have been lifted, almost in its entirety, from this pretty good B movie starring Walter Pidgeon, who plays a district attorney that's framed and sent to jail to be among his 6,000 enemies, two thousand of which his character estimates were 'sent up' by him. Nat Pendleton plays tough guy 'Socks' Martin, who's responsible for the beating that Pidgeon's Steve Donegan receives.Directed by George B. Seitz, with a screenplay by Bertram Millhauser that was based on a story by Wilmon Menard and Leo L. Stanley, this crime and punishment drama also features (among others) Rita Johnson as Ann Barry, a woman who'd been framed (initially, by persons unknown) and then prosecuted by Donegan, only a deputy trial prosecutor at the time; Paul Kelly as the prison's Dr. Malcolm Scott, Harold Huber as the notorious 'gangster' Joe Silenus, Grant Mitchell as Warden Alvin Parkhurst, John Arledge as Donegan's younger brother Phil, J.M. Kerrigan as Donegan's assistant Dan Barrett, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams as a member of Silenus's gang, Esther Dale as a prison matron, and Raymond Hatton & Willie Fung as prisoners. Selmer Jackson, as a judge, and Ernest Whitman, as a prisoner, are among those who appear uncredited.A pretty standard prison drama, really, easily viewed, digested, and enjoyed in just more than an hour. With more than 500 convictions to his name, Donegan is successful in his bid to become the D.A.. However, he's made a lot of enemies, chief among them is Silenus who uses a gambling debt owed to him by the prosecutor's former assistant Dan Barrett to (pressure him into helping) frame Donegan on a phony bribery charge. This is ironic because Donegan had said that a frame-up was almost impossible while prosecuting Ms. Barry. Of course, once inside the prison, run by a somewhat detached and certainly naive warden, Donegan is quickly a target of those he'd sent there (virtually everyone). He's befriended and protected by the kindly, clued-in doctor, who assigns Donegan to the ward that contains the older and crazy inmates.Silenus doesn't want to take any chances that Donegan makes it through his year long sentence on good behavior, so he tells Maxie (Williams) to get word to Socks to bump off the former D.A., which leads to the aforementioned bout. Actually, Dr. Scott, who knew of Donegan's former ring experience, setup the match with Socks, rightly thinking that the ex-prosecutor could hold his own and/or gain the respect of the others in the process. Socks then warns Donegan of the pending Silenus hit. Meanwhile, Donegan had befriended Ann and had employed his brother to assist with clearing her in that case. But against Donegan's warnings, Phil had also been following Silenus and his gang, which leads to a predictable ending (including his death) that begins with the requisite failed prison break and ends with the expected exonerations.

Relentless prosecutor (Walter Pidgeon) is framed for bribery and sent to prison. Once there, he is faced with thousands (!) of criminals he put away. He finds unlikely help from a woman (Rita Johnson) he prosecuted. Pidgeon discovers she, too, was framed and has to face that the justice system is more flawed than he originally believed.Excellent 'B' movie from MGM. A fast-paced, tough crime drama with a colorful cast backing up Pidgeon that includes Grant Mitchell, Nat Pendleton, Harold Huber, Guinn Williams, and Paul Kelly (no stranger to prison). Arthur Aylesworth is fun as a creepy old lunatic Pidegon is forced to sleep next to. It's one of those movies where convicts are mostly an alright bunch of guys and, even if they hate your guts, they will learn to respect you if you show how tough you are. Yeah, it's far-fetched but still entertaining. It's barely over an hour so there's no excuse not to check it out.

B-movies were inexpensively made films that lasted about an hour. They were intended as the 2nd, or 'B' film, for a double-feature. There is a perception that Bs were always bad films or that they were always made by cut-rate studios but neither is true. In the case of "6000 Enemies", it is not a bad film AND it was made by MGM--the richest and most prestigious studio at that time. While I think the film easily could have been better, it still hold up pretty well with other Bs.Walter Pidgeon plays a district attorney who is a decent and honest man. As a result, organized crime hates him and they frame him for a crime he did not commit--and he's sent to prison. Naturally, many of his fellow prisoners hate him and want to kill him. With the help of a woman he sent to prison (she, too, was framed) and a nice prison doctor (Paul Kelly) he hopes to prove his innocence. However, and this REALLY is dumb, Pidgeon undergoes a magical transformation near the end that really undoes all the good writing and acting before this--and the film is, unfortunately, wrapped up way too quickly and perfectly to make it anything other than an average time-passer. High points for the film is the acting of Pidgeon and some interesting plot ideas--and they are able to carry the film further than it should have been.By the way, it's ironic that Kelly was cast as the nice prison doctor, as he actually served time in prison for killing a man. He's one of the very few actors I can think of that had left acting due to prison and was able to make a successful return once released.

6,000 Enemies (1939) *** (out of 4) Good "B" picture from MGM about a tough-as-nails D.A. (Walter Pidgeon) who sends everyone to the big house and he takes pleasure in making sure that the streets are clear of any scum. His luck eventually runs out when a gangster frames his and soon the D.A. gets sent to the same prison where he's sent thousands of people. Once inside his life is in danger but he plans on making it through and along the way he meets a woman (Rita Johnson) he sent up who might just have been innocent as well as hold a clue to his own case. 6,000 ENEMIES is without question MGM's attempt to try and capture the mood and spirit of a Warner crime picture and for the most part it succeeds. At just 62-minutes there's really no time for any character development or any type of plot growth as everything happens without much reason for thought. The first five-minutes pretty much covers Pidgeon's rise to the top and then the next two-minutes covers his fall from grace and yet the way he's framed makes no sense and probably could have been defeated inside any court room. With that said, there's really no point in making fun of the plot too much because the movie was made to be simple entertainment and that's exactly what it manages to be. I thought the prison stuff was a lot of fun as we get a lot of familiar situations yet director Seitz really makes them seem fresh and original. One of the highlights is a scene where the D.A. wants to be put in with the regular guys instead of the safe haven so they send him to the cafeteria where a full riot breaks out. Another very good sequence has him having to fight 'Socks' Martin (Nat Pendleton) who just happens to be one of the men sent to kill him. There's another good subplot between the D.A. and a doctor (Paul Kelly) inside the prison. In a film like this it's always good to have a strong group of actors and they all do fine work here with Pidgeon fitting the role of the tough guy with ease. He has no problem making you believe he's this brilliant D.A. and he is good at showing off his toughness as well. I thought both Kelly and Pendleton added a lot of entertainment and both are strong as usual. Johnson was also very good in her role and you'll certainly be wishing you could see more of her. Character actor Grant Mitchell plays the dimwitted warden and we even get Guinn Williams in a brief part. Fans of "B" crime pictures are going to get a real kick out of this one. It's certainly far from a masterpiece but then again it wasn't trying to be GONE WITH THE WIND.