| From January 11-17, the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) cable network will send some of Hollywood's greatest stars up the river for Stars Behind Bars, a 35-movie, festival featuring some of the greatest prison films ever. From the film that started it all, THE BIG HOUSE (1930, Jan. 11, 8 p.m.), through more recent examples like the Clint Eastwood classic ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ (1979, Jan. 12, 10:30 p.m.). Stars Behind Bars will spotlight Burt Lancaster as the BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ (1962, Jan. 12, 8 p.m.), Elvis Presley doing time in JAILHOUSE ROCK (1957, Jan. 13, 8 p.m.) and Paul Muni in the searing exposÈ I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (1932, Jan. 16, 10 p.m.).
Prisons had been a frequent location in silent films, most notably in THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1922, Jan. 17, 12 a.m.), in which Ramon Novarro locked up Lewis Stone in a castle fortress in order to steal his throne. But the coming of sound made the genre a Hollywood staple. Talking films were the perfect medium for clanking cell doors and sudden bursts of gunfire as guards tried to keep convicts in line. MGM pioneered in the prison film with THE BIG HOUSE but failed to follow up on its success, leaving Warner Bros. to dominate the genre through the '30s. Most of Warners' stars wore prison grays on screen, from James Cagney in EACH DAWN I DIE (1939, Jan. 17, 8 p.m.) and WHITE HEAT (1939, Jan. 17, 10 p.m.) to Eleanor Parker in CAGED (1950, Jan. 14, 8 p.m.). By the 1950s, the genre had become more socially conscious, with films like THE DEFIANT ONES (1958, Jan. 16, 8 p.m.) using their prison settings to comment on the evils of racism. But there was still time for the simpler pleasures of the genre, notably Elvis Presley learned to sing the blues in JAILHOUSE ROCK and Steve McQueen and James Garner breaking out of a POW camp in THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963, Jan. 15, 8 p.m.). |