Noir Alley - House of Numbers (1957) outro 20260531

Ajouté : 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]House of Numbers was adapted from the novel of the same name written by Jack Finney, who's primarily known for sci-fi classics like Time and Again and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

[00:00:12]The premise of this film is just as outlandish, to say the least, but the motivations of the Judd Law brothers are actually based in fact. At the time of the film's release, assaulting a prison guard was a severely punishable offense.

[00:00:27]Even if the prisoner in question was serving time for a relatively minor offense, fighting with a guard could result in a life sentence. And nothing has changed. Jack Palance references the California Penal Code at one point, and the section detailing assault remains virtually identical today.

[00:00:46]So, you could say the picture has aged well, at least in that regard.

[00:00:51]Fellow animal lovers may have noticed the cat strolling by Palance's prison cell, and that was no goof. San Quentin has a long history of feral cats roaming loose on the grounds, and the guards like having them around to control the rodent population. So, that feline cameo actually lent authenticity to the proceedings.

[00:01:12]Another aspect of the film that's aged well is the supporting cast. Palance, of course, makes a meal out of his dual roles, but he often gets overshadowed by his fellow inmates.

[00:01:24]Joe Turkel bolstered his noir resume as Bradville, and the always inexplicable Timothy Carey pretty much walks away with the movie as Frenchy. Carey was a monster at scene stealing, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a performance of his as bewildering as this one. He's like a Dick Tracy villain come to life.

[00:01:47]Although I've watched this film multiple times, I still cannot make out half of his dialogue.

[00:01:53]Turkel and Carey had appeared together a year earlier in Stanley Kubrick's The Killing, and a few months after the release of House of Numbers, they would again appear together in Kubrick's anti-war masterpiece, Paths of Glory.

[00:02:07]Turkel also memorably played Lloyd, the bartender at the Overlook Hotel, in Kubrick's The Shining.

[00:02:15]Harold J. Stone chewed up some of the sparse scenery as a crooked prison guard. He often played guys too stern for their own good, so it's fun to see him drop all the pretense and dominate both versions of Palance, a real rarity.

[00:02:31]Once his Hollywood star had waned, Palance spent years mugging through lots of Euro trash, but he had one of the biggest comebacks of all time in the late '80s, culminating with his Oscar-winning performance in City Slickers, released in 1991.

[00:02:48]It's not noir, but it's worth mentioning here because when Palance returned 3 years later for the sequel, City Slickers 2: The Legend of Curly's Gold, he played the twin brother of his original character. See?

[00:03:02]It all comes full circle.

[00:03:04]The rest of the House of Numbers crew did similarly well for themselves.

[00:03:08]Russell Rouse went on to win an Oscar for co-screenwriting the story for the 1959 comedy Pillow Talk.

[00:03:15]André Previn eventually took home four Oscars and was only the second person to win Best Original Score in back-to-back years, and he did that twice.

[00:03:26]Poor George Folsey never got his cinematography Oscar, but he did get an Emmy for shooting the 1968 TV special, Here's Peggy Fleming.

[00:03:37]Any of you remember Peggy Fleming?

[00:03:40]Despite all the collective talent involved, House of Numbers absolutely bombed on release, losing substantial dough for MGM. The New New Times ripped it to shreds, claiming that anyone who believed the plot would quote believe anything.

[00:03:58]Given our current state of affairs, such criticism doesn't have the same sting today.

[00:04:04]I also think it's an uncharitable assessment. Yeah, the plot is absurd, but the film has so much talent on both sides of the camera that it's hard not to be won over by its conviction.

[00:04:16]Everything in it is slightly off-kilter and the cumulative effect sticks with you longer than any specific characters or scenes. Hundreds of prison noirs have been made over the years, but I can confidently say none of them are quite like House of Numbers.

[00:04:34]Next week I'll be back right here at Bar 355 with a film featuring the most popular crime duo of the 1940s.

[00:04:42]Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake star in The Blue Dahlia, the only original story Raymond Chandler wrote for the movies.

[00:04:50]Until then, see you in the shadows.