Today I watched this movie I recorded last week. 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (I mistyped 20,000 Tears in Sing Sing which would be a good title.)
20,000 Years is memorable for being the only film pairing of Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis. James Cagney was originally set to star, but he was fighting with the studio and replaced by Tracy. (Cagney, Davis and Olivia deHavilland fought Warners for better parts throughout their contracts.)
Davis doesn't appear until 20 minutes into the film. She has only four scenes as Tracy's girlfriend--three are prison visits. The other scene is key--Bette shoots Louis Calhern to save Tracy, but it ends up sending him to the electric chair.
20,000 Years is one of the first Warner Brothers prison social drama pictures. (I think 1932's I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang was the first.) It's not a great film; but it has a good story. As much as I love the short running times of old films, this film could have benefited from additional time to develop the story.
The performances were great: Tracy and Davis, of course, also Arthur Byron as the warden, Warren Hymer as a man who plays harmonica on his way to the electric chair, and the criminally underrated Lyle Talbot.
All-in-all, a nice pre-Code treat for a Sunday afternoon.
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