House of Numbers ** (1957, Jack Palance, Barbara Lang) – Classic Movie Review 12,237

Jack Palance stars in the 1957 film noir House of Numbers, in which twin brothers — one jailed for murder, the other law-abiding — embark on a risky scheme to swap places and engineer an escape from San Quentin.

Director Russell Rouse’s 1957 American film noir movie House of Numbers is based on Jack Finney’s 1957 novel, and stars Jack Palance and Barbara Lang.

Jack Palance plays two lookalike brothers, Bill Judlow and his younger brother Arnie Judlow. Good citizen Bill is trying to help his ex-professional boxer gangster brother Arnie, convicted of murder, escape from San Quentin State Prison and return to his wife Ruth (Barbara Lang).

During a visit to the prison, Bill swaps places with Arnie, getting jailed as Arnie walks free to Ruth, who then wavers in her loyalties.

MGM studios have a good plan: two plots for the price of one as the jailbreak film mixes with the twins-style movie or lookalike movie. Then they have two other good ideas: cast Palance and film in San Quentin.

However, thanks to an underpowered, somewhat sluggish movie, the results are moderate, though acceptable enough: a rather unengaged-seeming Jack Palance could have had more fun with it. However, Edward Platt has a good time as the jail warden and the then new star Barbara Lang relishes playing Palance’s wife.

It has interest and possibilities, and is offbeat and creative enough, but it isn’t very fascinating, with not enough about it to lift it above the routine, though the prison break plot adds something to the plot device cliché of the lookalike brothers. Of special note is that it is is shot in black and white and CinemaScope widescreen by George J Folsey and is scored by André Previn.

Russell Rouse and Don M Mankiewicz’s screenplay is taken from Jack Finney’s novel The House of Numbers (Dell Publishing, 1957) about a good brother trying to take his lookalike younger brother’s place in jail.

Also in the cast are Harold J Stone, Edward Platt, Timothy Carey, Richard H Cutting, Joe Turkel.

The movie is set in San Quentin and Mill Valley, California, then the home city of author Jack Finney, and it is actually filmed on location in San Quentin.

Release date: September 12, 1957 (US).

It didn’t exactly set the box office alight. MGM declared a worldwide total income of $1.100,000 against a budget of $1,008,000, resulting in a loss of $92,000

House of Numbers is directed by Russell Rouse, runs 90 minutes, is made and released by MGM, is written by Russell Rouse and Don M Mankiewicz, is shot in black and white and CinemaScope widescreen by George J Folsey, is produced by Charles Schnee, and is scored by André Previn.

The cast

The cast are Jack Palance as Arnie Judlow / Bill Judlow, Harold J Stone as Prison Guard Henry Nova, Edward Platt as The Warden, Barbara Lang as Mrs Ruth Judlow, Frank Watkins as Brother, Joe Conley as convict in line, Timothy Carey as Frenchy, Richard H Cutting as Assistant Warden, and Joe Turkel as convict Bradville, Joel Fluellen as convict Ashlow, Bill Erwin as Bank Teller, Donna Martell as Lois. with art direction by Edward C Carfagno and William A Horning.

Films directed by Russell Rouse

The Well (1951), The Thief (1952), Wicked Woman (1953), New York Confidential (1955), The Fastest Gun Alive (1956), House of Numbers (1957), Thunder in the Sun (1959), A House Is Not a Home (1964), The Oscar (1966), The Caper of the Golden Bulls (1967).

In 1955, Rouse married the actress Beverly Michaels after directing her in the 1953 American film noir cult movie Wicked Woman. Their film editor son Christopher Rouse won an Oscar in editing for The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,237

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