Customer Reviews

San Quentin

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A disappointing 1937 prison drama that remains notable for Humphrey Bogart's sympathetic portrayal of a redemptive criminal. Otherwise, "San Quentin" is strictly routine. Pat O'Brien makes the most of his contrived role as the reform-minded captain romancing Bogart's sister (a miscast Ann Sheridan). The clichéd proceedings are briefly enlivened by a road-gang escape and ensuing chase. Unfortunately, the Hays Office took the sting out of this Warner Bros. programmer.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents "SAN QUENTIN" (1937) (70 min/B&W) -- Starring Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, Barton MacLane & Joe Sawyer

Directed by Lloyd Bacon

Veteran director Lloyd Bacon delivers the goods in creating a fast paced film with an exciting chase scene near the end, filled with some daring stunt work, especially the motorcycle jump. There is exceptional camera work by Sidney Hickox of the environs of San Quentin, in particular the shots of the yard with the prisoners at times appearing almost surrealistic.

This is one of those odd situations where the actors were some big names and decent in their performances, and the story wasn't bad....yet there wasn't much appeal to it, either. Only the action scene in the last 10-15 minutes provided any spark to this film which was too flat, for the most part.

The film has a solid cast. Pat O'Brien plays the leading role very well and he really makes the character work. Also great was Humphrey Bogart, from the period when he was not yet a leading man in Hollywood movies. The other characters remain rather flat and blank but Barton MacLane as usual gives a stalwart performance as Lieutenant Druggin is relieved of his temporary position as yard captain, much to his dislike. When an army officer, Captain Steve Jameson (Pat O'Brien), accepts a two-year assignment to be his replacement, Druggin sets about to thwart Steve's changes, believing them to be too liberal.

Joe Sawyer has one of his best film parts in San Quentin. He's a hardened criminal and that's all there is to it. He played a similar role with Bogart in "Black Legion" (1937) which is a much better film.

Dedicated fans of Humphrey Bogart will like this film, others can take it or leave it.

Special footnote -- Humphrey Bogart plays Ann Sheridan's kid brother in this film, even though in real life he was actually older than her by eleven years.

BIOS:
1. Lloyd Bacon [aka: Lloyd Francis Bacon]
Date of Birth: 4 December 1889 - San Jose, California
Date of Death: 15 November 1955 - Burbank, California

2. Pat O'Brien [aka: William Joseph Patrick O'Brien]
Date of Birth: 11 November 1899 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Date of Death: 15 October 1983 - Santa Monica, California

3. Humphrey Bogart [aka: Humphrey DeForest Bogart]
Date of Birth: 25 December 1899 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 14 January 1957 - Los Angeles, California

4. Ann Sheridan [aka: Clara Lou Sheridan]
Date of Birth: 21 February 1915 - Denton, Texas
Date of Death: 21 January 1967 - Los Angeles, California

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 70 min on DVD ~ Warner Bros. Pictures ~ (07/18/2006)

This is a great depression prison era film starring Pat O'Brien and the featuring the then emerging movie legend Humphrey Bogart.It's a must see!!!

"San Quentin", a 1937 Warner Brothers programmer, is a cliched story set in an around the prison of the same name. Pat O'Brien plays an army officer assigned to the prison to establish discipline and reform using army methods. Barton Maclane plays the guard he replaces who resents him, Humphrey Bogart plays the small time hoodlum who "only needs a break" to reform and Ann Sheridan plays his sister who O'Brien falls for. Joe Sawyer plays the hardened criminal. All of the actors are typecast although Bogart's role is more sympathetic than usual at this time and accordingly offers him a bit more range. The film is fast moving in typical Warner's fashion but the script and direction are not sharp enough to arise above the cliches. The film's scenes of prison life are cursory with no real sense of desperation or monotony, so well depicted in better films like "20,000 Years in Sing Sing". The melodramatics of the routine plot bog the film down. This probably was the first film which gave Ann Sheridan a leg up the ladder and she introduces a good song "How Could You" in a nightclub scene. She has a warm contralto and puts the song over with great charm and personality.

The quality of the film print is first rate and the DVD comes with many extras including a documentary about the advent of the prison fim, a worthwhile commentary about the film itself, not that it really warrants it, an excellent Porky Pig cartoon satirising the gangster and a Warner Brother's blooper reel from 1937. The blooper reels are always interesting if you know your Warner's films.

If the DVD is purchased as part of the Warner's Tough Guy Collection, it is good value but otherwise, there are better films in this genre available.

Good B-movie,typical Warners prison yarn,only thing strange was Bogart playing a guy whose nick name is Red! Bogie hardly looks Irish,his name in the movie is Joe Kennedy,I wonder if there is a inside joke there?

Crime was on everyone's mind in the 1930s, as witnessed by Warner Brothers' films with Robinson, Cagney, Bogart, and Raft. In addition to the popular gangster films, there was a subgenre that dealt with the other side of the picture - prison films. "The Big House" (1930) was the first film to gain wide critical and popular acclaim. Films like "20,000 Years in Sing Sing" (1932), "Hell's House" (1932), Hell's Highway" (1932) and "The Mayor from Hell" (1933) followed, as well as the chain gang films, the most famous of which was "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" (1932).

Here in 1937 we have a prison reform film with a little love story mixed in.

Pat O'Brien (1899-1983) plays a newly hired prison official. He was part of the Irish Mafia that included Jimmy Cagney and Frank McHugh. He made more than 100 films between 1930 and 1981, although his peak period was in the 30s and 40s with films like "The Front Page" (1931), "Angels with Dirty Faces" (1939), "Knute Rockne" (1940).

Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) usually played second fiddle to Edward G. Robinson ("Kid Galahad", "Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse") and James Cagney ("The Roaring Twenties", "The Oklahoma Kid", "Angels with Dirty Faces", "Dead End"), and here he gets to play second fiddle to Pat O'Brien. Bogie plays an inmate. Four years later, in 1941 Bogart starred in "High Sierra" and "The Maltese Falcon" and he became a big name star, eventually surpassing all other Warner stars in 1943 on the tail of his performance in "Casablanca". Here he is still under the radar, although he is billed second as a result of his performance in "The Petrified Forest" (1936). Only a year earlier, he had been billed fourth ("Ballots or Bullets") behind Barton MacLane who is billed fourth in this film.

Barton MacLane (1902-69) plays a prison guard in this one, which was a change of pace from his usual gangster role ("Bullets or Ballots"), but he is a sadistic guard. MacLane is best remembered as the General from "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965-70). He starred in several B films in the 30s and 40s and gave memorable performances in films like "The Maltese Falcon", "High Sierra", "All Through the Night", and "Treasure of the Sierra Madre".

FWIW - "San Quentin" is also the name of a 1946 film about the prison and MacLane is the only actor to appear in both.

Ann Sheridan (1915-67) plays Bogart's sister who becomes O'Brien's love interest. Sheridan appeared in more than 50 films, mostly in the late 30s and 40s, where she earned the nickname "Oomph Girl", before she made a move to TV. She appeared with Jimmy Cagney in "Angels with Dirty Faces" (1938), with Bogart in "They Drive By Night" (1940), with Ronald Reagan in "Kings Row" (1942), and with Cary Grant in "I Was a Male War Bride" (1949).

FWIW - Bogart is supposed to be Sheridan's kid brother, but he is 16 years older and looks it.

This was the second teaming of O'Brien, Bogart, and Sheridan. Their first was "The Great O'Malley" (1937) and their last was their best - "Angels with Dirty Faces" (1939).

Joe Sawyer (1906-82) plays a hardened inmate who helps Bogart escape. We know him best as Sgt. O'Hara from the TV series "Rin Tin Tin" (1954-9), but he appeared in more than 100 films, usually as a bad guy.

FWIW - The same year as this film, Sawyer, Sheridan, and Bogart appeared together in "Black Legion"

The film is directed by Lloyd Bacon (1889-1955) who directed more than 100 films between 1922 and 1954. He was part of the Warners production team that cranked out a half dozen films a year, most of them B films. Among his notable films were "The Singing Fool" (1928), "Knute Rockne All American" (1940) and "The Fighting Sullivans" (1944). He was one of Cagney's favorite directors and they made nearly a dozen films together.

1937 was a pretty meager year in films. The top grossing films were "Snow White", "Saratoga", "One Hundred Men and a Girl", "Topper", and "Wee Willie Winkie". The Oscars went to "The Life of Emile Zola" (Picture), "The Awful Truth" (Director), "The Good Earth" (Actress) and "Captains Courageous" (Actor). Other notable releases that year were "Dead End", "The Prince and the Pauper", the Marx Brothers "A Day at the Races", and "A Star is Born". Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland made their first film together ("Thoroughbreds Don't Cry") and 17 year old Lana Turner appeared in "They Won't Forget" and became "the Sweater girl". Clark Gable and Myrna Loy were voted the King and Queen of Hollywood.

For me, the best prison break films are "Cool Hand Luke" (1967), "Each Dawn I Die" (1939), "Papillion" (1973), "Midnight Express" (1978), "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994), "The Escapist" (2008), "I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang" (1932) and "Escape from New York" (1981).

Bottom line - the film is OK but everyone concerned did better work elsewhere, and there are far better prison films to watch and better films from this era.

San Quentin has a plot that moves along briskly; great acting; good choreography; a tight script; excellent cinematography and a great script. It's one of the better 1930s prison dramas with thanks as well to pros like director Lloyd Bacon.

When the film starts we quickly meet Joe "Red" Kennedy (Bogart) and his sister May Kennedy (Ann Sheridan). Joe tries to make an escape after a robbery but gets caught in the nightclub where his sister May works as a singer. Police take Joe away and May is very upset; but she does meet Capt. Stephen Jameson (Pat O'Brien) and sparks start to fly almost instantly. May finds out that her brother "Red" has been sent to San Quentin--but what she doesn't know is that Stephen is holding information back from her--he's the new big boss running San Quentin. Stephen has good reason to hold this back from May as May hates prison guards and staff and he's afraid of rejection if she knew he was the boss running San Quentin where "Red" is serving time.

Eventually May gets caught passing some money to her brother "Red" so that he can buy cigarettes and chocolate inside prison. It is then that May is sent to see the Captain--and that's when May finds out that the boss of the prison is the very man she's been seeing! May chooses to break it off with Stephen; and Stephen continues to run the prison his way, as best he knows how, laying down strict law and order without using excessively cruel methods that so many other prison chiefs used.

Of course, many things happen both good and bad as the plot unfolds. May, Stephen, "Red," and a few other inmates find themselves in circumstances that create good drama; I was on the edge of my seat all the way through! Look also for a fine performance by Joseph Sawyer as 'Sailor Boy' Hansen.

The DVD has some nice extra features. There's "Warner Night at the Movies" which includes a vintage newsreel, the theatrical trailer for the movie Kid Galahad and even more; and there's a commentary by Patricia King Hanson. "Welcome to the Bighouse" is a good featurette about prison dramas and "Breakdowns of 1937" has funny bloopers cut out of vintage movies!

San Quentin is a relatively early prison drama that I highly recommend for fans of the actors in this movie; and of course classic movie fans would do well to add this to their collections.

SAN QUENTIN(1937)---Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Sheridan, Barton MacLane
One of the lesser entries in the Warner Bros. "gangster film" cycle of the 30's. Pat O'Brien plays the new Yard Captain at San Quentin who believes in trying to rehabilitate the inmates instead of just "punishing" them. Bogart plays inmate, Red Kennedy; to Kennedy, O'Brien is, "Just another copper!". Barton MacLane plays a prison guard who isn't buying any of O'Brien's "rehabilitation" ideas and believes in handling the prisoners the "old-fashioned" way---with a billy club "upside the head". Naturally, O'Brien is in love with Bogart's sister, played by Ann Sheridan. IMO, this film is definitely "below par" in the Warner Bros. "gangster canon". To be fair, part of my distaste for this film is Pat O'Brien---I can't stand the guy. I've never thought he was a very good actor and I just don't care for him---especially in a lead role. Bogart turns in his usual "journeyman" performance as a hood and MacClane is good as the "old fashioned" prison guard. IMO, a so-so film.

In "San Quentin," Bogart returns quickly to a life of crime... Trying without success to add some depth and meaning to a role which offered little of either, Bogart is a convicted robber sent to San Quentin and assigned to a road gang as a rehabilitated step instituted by the prison yard captain, Pat O'Brien...

When Bogart is maliciously informed, through the efforts of the bad Barton MacLane, that O'Brien has less than honorable intentions toward his sister, Ann Sheridan, he breaks out and shoots O'Brien, though not seriously...

When he finds that he has made a mistake, he decides to give himself up, but...

"San Quentin," though far from one of Bogart's best roles, is almost always included in his film retrospectives as a favorite choice of his fans...