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The Steel Cage

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Director
  
Walter Doniger

Distributor
  
United Artists

Country
  
United States

6.4/10
IMDb

Genres
  
Drama film, Crime Fiction

Duration
  

Language
  
English

The Steel Cage movie poster

Release date
  
December 1954 (1954-12)

Based on
  
The San Quentin Story  by Clinton T. Duffy Dean Jennings

Writer
  
Oliver Crawford (segment), Walter Doniger (story), Clinton T. Duffy (book), Dean Jennings (book), Scott Littleton (story), Berman Swarttz (story), Guy Trosper (segment)

Cinematography
  
John Alton, Joseph F. Biroc

Cast
  
Paul Kelly
(Warden Clinton T. Duffy),
Maureen O'Sullivan
(Gladys Duffy),
Walter Slezak
(Louis, the Prison Chef, segment "The Chef"),
John Ireland
(Al, a Ringleader, segment "The Hostages"),
Lawrence Tierney
(Chet Harmon, a Ringleader, segment "The Hostages"),
Arthur Franz
(Chaplain Harvey, segment "The Face")

Similar movies
  
Jurassic World
,
The Maze Runner
,
Mad Max: Fury Road
,
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
,
The Shawshank Redemption
,
Barbed Wire Dolls

The Steel Cage is a 1954 American drama film directed by Walter Doniger and written by Oliver Crawford, Walter Doniger, Scott Littleton, Berman Swarttz and Guy Trosper. The film stars Paul Kelly, Maureen O'Sullivan, Walter Slezak, John Ireland, Lawrence Tierney and Arthur Franz. The film was released in December 1954, by United Artists.

Contents

The Steel Cage wwwgstaticcomtvthumbmovieposters91950p91950

Plot

In three separate stories, San Quentin warden Duffy must contend with a crisis at the prison.

Louis, a prison cook, is about to be paroled, upsetting fellow inmate Brenner, who loves Louis's food so much that he tries to bribe him to stay behind bars. After that plan fails, a customer comes to a restaurant where Louis has been hired as chef. His insults about the dishes are so insulting, Louis smashes a plate over his head, breaking his parole. Behind prison walls again, Louis learns that Brenner's the one who sent the customer, Lee Filbert, who is now a San Quentin prisoner himself.

Ruthless convict Chet Harmon plans a breakout with help from brothers Al and Frank. A gun is planted and Chet is almost successful, taking Warden Duffy hostage, but Al has second thoughts after his brother is seriously wounded.

A mural of The Last Supper needs repair in the prison's chapel, so chaplain Harvey asks an artistically inclined inmate named Steinberg to do the restoration. Two other prisoners are sneaking in liquor through the chapel, so Steinberg demands a piece of their action. They end up taking the priest hostage as Duffy deals with a deadly confrontation.

Cast

  • Paul Kelly as Warden Clinton T. Duffy
  • Maureen O'Sullivan as Gladys Duffy
  • Walter Slezak as Louis
  • John Ireland as Al
  • Lawrence Tierney as Chet Harmon
  • Arthur Franz as Chaplain Harvey
  • Kenneth Tobey as Steinberg
  • George Cooper as Charlie Rivers
  • Alan Mowbray as Lee Filbert
  • George E. Stone as Solly
  • Lyle Talbot as Square
  • Elisabeth Fraser as Marie
  • Stanley Andrews as Roy
  • Morris Ankrum as Prison Board Member Garvey
  • Don Beddoe as Prison Board Member Alan Ferness
  • Robert Bice as Convict in Mess Hall
  • George Chandler as Shorty Lanning
  • Ned Glass as Pete
  • Herb Jacobs as Convict
  • Henry Kulky as George
  • Charles Nolte as Frank
  • Gene Roth as Billy Brenner
  • James Seay as Dr. Perry
  • Charles Tannen as Convict Patient
  • Ben Welden as Mike

    • References

    The Steel Cage Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA

    The Steel Cage IMDb The Steel Cage themoviedb.org