Rainey Dawn One of the dirtiest, grittiest crime noirs to come out of the 1950s. It's about a man, Jerry Barker, that kidnaps a sick child, holds him hostage and asks the father for ransom money for the safe return of the child. Barker gets his money but the boy ends up dead and Barker in prison. He became known as The Ice Man in the news papers and well hated in prison for killing a child. Barker's troubles become worse inside the penitentiary.Great casting, superb acting, cinematography is beautiful and a story that can leave you on the edge of your seat. A worthwhile crime-prison film to watch. It is really rough at times but a darn good film. Great to see this one again! 9/10

bkoganbing Big House USA sounds like a prison picture, but only in part of the film is the setting a maximum security prison. There is the part how Ralph Meeker got there and the last part about his escape with several other solid citizens, residents of Big House USA.A young boy with one rich father is kidnapped by Meeker and dies while in his custody. Not that he killed him, but kidnapping alone as per the Lindbergh law gets him the gas chamber. Father Willis Bouchey pays the ransom, but gets no child back.Meeker is arrested, but all he's charged with is extortion, without a body dead or alive, the authorities can do no more. But with the reputation as a child killer, Meeker's not going to be a popular guy even in the maximum security federal penitentiary he's sent.But cell-mate Broderick Crawford has other ideas about the ransom money never recovered and buried in a national park. He and confederates Lon Chaney, Jr., William Talman, and Charles Bronson escape with Meeker. They had an escape plan in the works already, a quite ingenious one which costs another prisoner his life during a dry run.A chance to see all these guys in a film is never to be passed up. Crawford we're told is a smart guy. Personally if he were that smart he'd have realized that the authorities would know full well he was heading for the park and go anywhere else. But greed overtakes intelligence.There's also a nice role here for Felicia Farr as Meeker's accomplice. FBI man Reed Hadley and chief forest ranger Roy Roberts represent the law. Big House USA spends more time in the wide open spaces than in a maximum security prison. Still it's a tight little noir film with a fine cast of players.

mark.waltz Some brilliant actors inhabit this "B" crime melodrama from the mid 50's. This independent film simply adds "USA" to the title (minus "The") of the 1930 prison movie that was way ahead of its time in its depiction of prison violence. That film, along with "Brute Force", remains a classic in the genre of life-after-crime films. This film, however, doesn't have that reputation. It is, however, the genesis of a crime, here a kidnapping gone wrong, that results in the criminal (Ralph Meeker) gaining the nickname "Ice Man" in prison for his cold demeanor in the way he denies having seen the victim, sadly an 8 year old boy he kept hidden while trying to extort money from his wealthy father.Like child molesters, kidnappers of children in prison are considered the lowest of the low, and in this case, Meeker's cell-mates (Broderick Crawford, Lon Chaney Jr., Charles Bronson) ostracize him immediately. But knowing he has ransom money stashed away, they decide to include him in on their escape plans, with the intention of killing him once he leads them to it. This leads them back to the scene of the original crime where there is a sad, ironic conclusion that is unfortunately still too real in crime solving.All of the actors are excellent, even if they are playing totally despicable people. The prison scenes don't begin until half way through the film even though Crawford is top-billed. Meeker is really the focus of the film. There are some genuine horrifying visuals, especially the fate of the asthmatic 8 year old. This is not for ultra-sensitive movie viewers. It is interesting to note that Bronson, pretty much shirtless in his entire time on screen, has a physically amazing torso. Crawford and Chaney's characters are pretty interchangeable. Like most crime dramas or 50's film noir, the film has the typical documentary-like narration that by this time was totally clichéd. The result is a gripping but ultimately depressing film that will leave the viewer speechless.

DKosty123 This film is not the best of it's genre. It is like a low budget version of the 1950's Dragnet series. The cast is something else.Broderirck Crawford, William Talman, a young Charles Bronson, & Lon Chaney Jr make interesting cell mates in a maximum security island prison. When the Ice Man joins them, they hatch an escape plot involving his ransom money. Like Dragnet, in this movie, the police appear to be a lot smarter than the crooks/murderers/thieves.This could have been better but it is obvious that this is a low budget thriller. The acting talent only gets an average script to work with. While the film is based on fact, it does not quite rise to the level of a great film. For those who like the familiar faces it is OK. It is fictionally based upon a real incident. Only the names were changed to protect the guilty, or is that innocent? Actually, the story is good enough to involve the viewer, but it does not become a must see movie.