6,000 Enemies (1939)

There's a prison scene in the film Cool Hand Luke (1967) in which George Kennedy beats up and continually knocks down new inmate and wise guy Paul Newman in a sanctioned boxing match. Newman keeps getting up until he can do so no more and, in so doing, earns the respect of Kennedy's character and the others in the prison. At the end of the fight, Newman's character is even assisted by the man who delivered the punishment. That scene might have been lifted, almost in its entirety, from this pretty good B movie starring Walter Pidgeon, who plays a district attorney that's framed and sent to jail to be among his 6,000 enemies, two thousand of which his character estimates were 'sent up' by him. Nat Pendleton plays tough guy 'Socks' Martin, who's responsible for the beating that Pidgeon's Steve Donegan receives.Directed by George B. Seitz, with a screenplay by Bertram Millhauser that was based on a story by Wilmon Menard and Leo L. Stanley, this crime and punishment drama also features (among others) Rita Johnson as Ann Barry, a woman who'd been framed (initially, by persons unknown) and then prosecuted by Donegan, only a deputy trial prosecutor at the time; Paul Kelly as the prison's Dr. Malcolm Scott, Harold Huber as the notorious 'gangster' Joe Silenus, Grant Mitchell as Warden Alvin Parkhurst, John Arledge as Donegan's younger brother Phil, J.M. Kerrigan as Donegan's assistant Dan Barrett, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams as a member of Silenus's gang, Esther Dale as a prison matron, and Raymond Hatton & Willie Fung as prisoners. Selmer Jackson, as a judge, and Ernest Whitman, as a prisoner, are among those who appear uncredited.A pretty standard prison drama, really, easily viewed, digested, and enjoyed in just more than an hour. With more than 500 convictions to his name, Donegan is successful in his bid to become the D.A.. However, he's made a lot of enemies, chief among them is Silenus who uses a gambling debt owed to him by the prosecutor's former assistant Dan Barrett to (pressure him into helping) frame Donegan on a phony bribery charge. This is ironic because Donegan had said that a frame-up was almost impossible while prosecuting Ms. Barry. Of course, once inside the prison, run by a somewhat detached and certainly naive warden, Donegan is quickly a target of those he'd sent there (virtually everyone). He's befriended and protected by the kindly, clued-in doctor, who assigns Donegan to the ward that contains the older and crazy inmates.Silenus doesn't want to take any chances that Donegan makes it through his year long sentence on good behavior, so he tells Maxie (Williams) to get word to Socks to bump off the former D.A., which leads to the aforementioned bout. Actually, Dr. Scott, who knew of Donegan's former ring experience, setup the match with Socks, rightly thinking that the ex-prosecutor could hold his own and/or gain the respect of the others in the process. Socks then warns Donegan of the pending Silenus hit. Meanwhile, Donegan had befriended Ann and had employed his brother to assist with clearing her in that case. But against Donegan's warnings, Phil had also been following Silenus and his gang, which leads to a predictable ending (including his death) that begins with the requisite failed prison break and ends with the expected exonerations.

I was surprised how many positive reviews I found online about this film. Not because it isn't good mind you; on the contrary, it is very good-- in fact it may almost be too good for a "B" crime flick of this type. Usually a prison drama that clocks in at 60 minutes about a man who has been unjustly framed is no frills. It is often a poverty row product made with a low budget. But here, it's an MGM production with handsome production values and a lot more attention to detail than we might expect to see.Walter Pidgeon is cast as a ruthless attorney whose tough views on crime come back to haunt him when he's framed by a gangster and sent to the clink for something he didn't do. When he gets there, he is befriended by a doctor (Paul Kelly, who had a real-life prison term) and must deal with other inmates who have it out for him. Many of the situations are not too original, and the characters are glorified stereotypes at best, but Pidgeon and most of the cast do a credible job with the material. Meanwhile, Rita Johnson plays a female inmate with her own simultaneous false conviction; and chances are, she will end up as Pidgeon's wife before the final fadeout. She does a nice job portraying the anguish that her character experiences.What I like about 6,000 ENEMIES is that it gives the lead actor something tougher to play than MGM usually assigned him. Normally, Walter Pidgeon played Greer Garson's suave husband, or he had an honorable role in support of other stars in lavish studio productions. But in this film, he gets a chance to be a bit less than debonair and a lot more rough around the edges. I thought he was very much up to the challenge, especially in a boxing match where his character is pummeled by an opponent (Nat Pendleton). In a way, it's a shame Pidgeon didn't get more of these parts at MGM or other studios. Another thing I like about 6,000 ENEMIES is the way the editor advances the story by literally speeding up the film during some scenes. Also, chunks of material have been spliced together as montages that quickly and efficiently show us key plot points and get us on to the next piece of business. As a result, we have an action-packed film and something that seems to imprint its own style as it goes.

***SPOILERS*** With him targeting top New York City mobster Joe Silenus, Harold Huber, the hard hitting just elected city District Attorney Steve Donegan, Walter Pidgeon, gets framed in an elaborate scheme involving his horse playing assistant Don Barrett, J.M Kerrigan who's in hock to Silenus for $3,000.00.Found guilty and sent to Sing Sing Prison on a 1 to 10 year sentence Donegan is determined to get the evidence, even behind bars, to prove his innocence. Silenus knowing how far Donegan is willing to go to get him puts a hit out on him with 6,000 more then willing inmates, many that Donegan sent there, to take up Silenus' offer.The movie has Donegan become a marked man with everyone there trying to take a crack shot at him with the harebrained prison Warden Alvin Parkhust, Grant Mitchell, more interested in the freshness of his delivered , by the inmates, fruits & vegetables then the safety and welfare of the inmates he's in charge of. It's when Donegan is attacked from behind that his life is saved when woman inmate Anne Barry, Rita Johnson, screamed alerting him and a prison guard who gunned down his attacker. As it turned out Barry was sent up the river, like almost everyone else in Sing Sing, by District Attorney Donegan in him not believing her that she was framed! Now with him behind bars for a crime he didn't commit Donegan could see just how right she was! Even more telling it was non other then mob boss Silenus who,like he did to him, framed her!Lots of action with a wild food fight in the prison mess-hall as well as a massive prison break to keep the audience entertained but the highlight of the movie was a boxing match between former prize fighter Donegan and Sing Sing heavyweight champ Socks Martin, Nat Pendleton. Socks together with all the other prison inmates gains Donegan's respect in him being able to stand up to his wild and mostly illegal,like rabbit and kidney, punches for 10 long and grueling rounds.****SPOILERS**** It's when Donegan's kid brother Phil, John Arledge, who came to visit him with evidence of his innocence was gunned down by Silenus' hoods right outside of Sing Sing Prison that the prison break that was put on hold swung into action. Donegan trying to get the inmates back in their cells in order to prevent them from being gunned down is helped by Anne in backing them off with a spray of live steam from the laundry room's plumbing system. With everything now under control it's found out, from his dead brother's stack of evidence, who was responsible for framing Donegan and Anne Barry as well as murdering Phil mob Boss Joe Silenus! Indited convicted and sentenced Silenus ends up getting everything that's coming to him: A one way ticket to the Sing Sing hot seat! Freed and now engaged both Donegan & Anne check out their new house in the country and make sure that it doesn't have, after what they've been through in their stay in prison, a laundry room!P.S Two actors in this prison movie Paul Kelly as as prison doctor Malcolm Scott and prison inmate Ransom played by Tom Neal actually served time behind bars, Kelly before and Neal after they were in the film, for manslaughter!

MGM'S 6000 ENEMIES (1939) bears a passing resemblance to Warner Brothers EACH DAWN I DIE (1939) without the star power of James Cagney and George Raft. Stalwart crime fighting citizen is unjustly framed and put behind bars. Proves himself to the "Cons", gets the goods on the guilty and brings them to justice, wins the girl, fade out. Oh, forgives the society that imprisoned him destroyed his career that leads to the death of his brother. Does not even give a thought to filing a lawsuit. Did I mention that this is also a fantasy.The most interesting thing about this film is seeing the way MGM handles such a subject. Or how differently they handled it nine (9) years earlier. THE BIG HOUSE (1930) is a gritty, realistic and tough depiction of prison life. THE BIG HOUSE is a dirty and very unpleasant place to be in. The inhabitants of this prison are scum with little or no saving graces. They will turn on you with the least provocation and on the flimsiest of motives.By the time of 6000 ENEMIES things had changed. The 1934 Production Code was being enforced and at MGM Irving Thalberg was gone and with him the driving force of creativity and risk. L. B. Mayer preferred every picture to be as clean and sanitized as Dr. Kildare's instruments. No studio embraced 'The Code' more then MGM. If you were looking to stretch the envelope it better be at another studio and this film is a perfect example of that. Even the dirt looks clean and as for the gangsters you get the feeling all they need is career counseling. Even when they brought in a hi-powered actor like Edward G. Robinson (for other films) who knew how to play gangsters the results were still tepid. So there is little that Walter Pidgeon could do but fulfill his contract in a pedestrian role. Thankfully for him better days were ahead.