20,000 Years in Sing Sing

"MEN without WOMEN...MEN without HOPE! smash their lives to pieces against their STEEL CHAINS!"

1932 1h 18m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 47

CrimeDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Brash hoodlum Tom Connors enters Sing Sing cocksure of himself and disrespectful toward authority, but his tough but compassionate warden changes him.

“MEN without WOMEN...MEN without HOPE! smash their lives to pieces against their STEEL CHAINS!”

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Cast

Spencer Tracy
Tommy Connors
Bette Davis
Fay Wilson
Arthur Byron
Warden Paul Long
Lyle Talbot
Bud Saunders
Warren Hymer
Hype
Louis Calhern
Joe Finn
Spencer Charters
Officer Daniels (uncredited)
G. Pat Collins
Death Row Convict Mike (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Curtiz
Writers: Brown Holmes, Wilson Mizner
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 78-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

94 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Curtiz, shot by Barney McGill. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bernhard Kaun. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor George Amy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis and Arthur Byron carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "MEN without WOMEN...MEN without HOPE! smash their lives to pieces against their STEEL CHAINS!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0023731 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Curtiz directs. Barney McGill behind the camera. Bernhard Kaun scores. George Amy cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 78-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
294 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Michael Curtiz, shot by Barney McGill. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Bernhard Kaun. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor George Amy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis and Arthur Byron carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "MEN without WOMEN...MEN without HOPE! smash their lives to pieces against their STEEL CHAINS!".
8IMDB entry: tt0023731 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 47 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 15 themes, including "prison", "based on novel or book", "gangster", "death row".

The technical file

Cinematography: Barney McGill
Original score: Bernhard Kaun
Editing: George Amy
Costume design: Orry-Kelly
Runtime: 78 min · 1h 18m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)

Also by

Michael Curtiz

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2020-02-09
★ 7/10
Warden, I never broke my word, see - not even to a rat, and I won't break it now to a square guy. 20,000 Years in Sing Sing is directed by Michael Curtiz and adapted to screenplay by Wilson Mizner, Brown Holmes, Courtney Terrett and Robert Lord from the book written by Warden Lewis E. Lawes. It stars Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis, Lyle Talbot, Arthur Byron, Grant Mitchell and Warren Hymer. Music is by Bernhard Kaun and cinematography by Barney McGill. Cocksure hoodlum Tom Connors (Tracy) enters Sing Sing and is instantly disrespectful towards those in authority. Could it be that the tough - but compassionate for reform - warden can put Connors on the right road?. Out of Warner Brothers, this crime/prison melodrama manages to rise above its social conscience heart to become gutsy entertainment. This is due in most part to a committed turn from Tracy, the real location photography, the use of real prisoners for key prison scenes and the sense of realism brought about by the adaption from real life Sing Sing Warden Lawes' literature source. Curtiz manages to keep it from being a torrid "message" movie, even keeping a grim feel to proceedings, though his one failing is not to rein in the sometimes over the top perf from Davis as Tom's love interest moll. 7/10

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