20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932) on Netflix
Tommy Connors is sentenced to Sing Sing for robbery and for assault with a deadly weapon. Joe Finn promises to use his influence to free Connors, and his girlfriend Fay Wilson visits.
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- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb6.8/103,235 votes
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Plot summary
A robbery and a deadly assault bring Tommy Connors a sentence of up to thirty years at Sing Sing. His associate Joe Finn says his contacts and influence can win Connors his freedom, but warden Paul Long refuses the bribe Finn offers for special treatment. Connors makes trouble from the start, and the long hours alone in his cell begin to change his attitude; he is glad to take on honest work on the rockpile. He still intends to escape.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Lewis E. Lawes, who wrote the book the film is based on, was still warden of Sing Sing while it was being filmed; he approved the screenplay, suggested changes, and verified that every scene followed the prison's actual procedures.
- Lawes supervised the executions of more than 300 men at Sing Sing yet opposed capital punishment, and wrote the prologue of his book, which the film's electric chair scenes reflect, as an argument against it.
- Two separate crews worked on the film: Ray Enright led one on location at Sing Sing, where Lawes let them shoot inside the prison including mob scenes, while Michael Curtiz directed another in Hollywood and got sole credit. It was shot in 30 days for $215,000.
- Spencer Tracy, then under contract to Fox, was lent to Warner Bros. for a role originally intended for James Cagney, who was in a dispute with Jack L. Warner at the time.
- The film was the only screen pairing of Bette Davis and Spencer Tracy; the two wanted to make another film together but never got the chance, though both appeared in a 1940 radio version of Dark Victory.
