

Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?
Direction
Dassin's shadows make concrete walls feel like a coffin
Acting
Hume Cronyn's Munsey: a little man drunk on absolute power
Cinematography
That climactic pan across the yard—unforgettable

Director
Jules Dassin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Producer Mark Hellinger fought the Hays Office to keep the prison brutality; he died of a heart attack before release, making this his dark swan song.
The prison riot was shot at a real abandoned prison in New Jersey; some 'extras' were actual former inmates Dassin recruited locally.