House of Numbers ** (1957, Jack Palance, Barbara Lang) – Classic Movie Review 12,237

Director Russell Rouse’s 1957 American film noir movie House of Numbers is based on Jack Finney’s 1957 novel, and stars Jack Palance and Barbara Lang.

Jack Palance plays two lookalike brothers, Bill Judlow and his younger brother Arnie Judlow. Good citizen Bill is trying to help his ex-professional boxer brother Arnie, convicted of murder, escape from San Quentin State Prison and return to his wife Ruth (Barbara Lang).

MGM studios have a good plan: two plots for the price of one as the jailbreak film mixes with the twins-style movie or lookalike movie. Then they have two other good ideas: cast Palance and film in San Quentin.

However, thanks to an underpowered movie, the results are moderate, though acceptable enough: a rather unengaged-seeming Jack Palance could have had more fun with it. However, Edward Platt has a good time as the jail warden and the then new star Barbara Lang relishes playing Palance’s wife.

Russell Rouse and Don M Mankiewicz’s screenplay is taken from Jack Finney’s novel about a good brother trying to take his lookalike younger brother’s place in jail.

Also in the cast are Harold J Stone, Edward Platt, Timothy Carey, Richard H Cutting, Joe Turkel.

The movie set in San Quentin and Mill Valley, California, then the home city of author Finney, and filmed on location at San Quentin.

The cast are Jack Palance as Arnie Judlow / Bill Judlow, Harold J Stone as Prison Guard Henry Nova, Edward Platt as The Warden, Barbara Lang as Mrs Ruth Judlow, Frank Watkins as Brother, Joe Conley as convict in line, Timothy Carey, Richard H Cutting and Joe Turkel.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,237

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