Hell's House

1932 | 72 minutes | 5.3 ★ (25)

Hell's House

Videos

User Reviews

See more
CS

CinemaSerf

08 January 2023

Despite the fact that Bette Davis takes top billing here, she rarely features in this rather effective tale of a young boy "Jimmy" (Junior Durkin), who does the right thing and ends up taking the rap for bootlegger "Kelly" (Pat O'Brien). His integrity now sees him in Reform School for three years. There he befriends "Shorty" (Frank Coghlan Jr.) and together we experience the hardships faced by these young men as they are essentially incarcerated, used and forgotten about. Meantime, newspaper man "Gebhardt" (Morgan Wallace) is set on exposing the truth about this place and improving the standards for the boys. Can he do it before tragedy ensues? The film belongs to the charming and decent "Jimmy", and Durkin turns in an engaging performance in the role as the young, naive and optimistic young man ill-equipped for his new life in city where he is ripe for exploitation. It builds slowly, but well until a denouement that is maybe a bit late in the day, but fitting nonetheless. The production is all a bit basic, but I still quite enjoyed this.

More Like This

Freaks

Freaks

A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him...

See more
Attorney for the Defense

Attorney for the Defense

A lawyer is haunted by a previous case in which he manipulated evidence and convicted an innocent man.

See more
Ann Carver's Profession

Ann Carver's Profession

Newlyweds experience marital problems when the wife's highly successful job as an attorney overshadows her husband's stagnant career.

See more
Blondie of the Follies

Blondie of the Follies

New York City tenement dwelling neighbors Blondie and Lottie are longtime best friends. When Lottie makes the cast of the Follies and moves up in...

See more
Blondie Johnson

Blondie Johnson

A Depression-downtrodden waif uses her brains instead of her body to rise from tyro con artist to crime boss.

See more
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Dr. Henry Jekyll believes that there are two distinct sides to men - a good and an evil side. He believes that by separating the two, man can...

See more
Frankenstein

Frankenstein

Tampering with life and death, Henry Frankenstein pieces together salvaged body parts to bring a human monster to life; the mad scientist's dreams...

See more
42nd Street

42nd Street

A producer puts on what may be his last Broadway show, and at the last moment a chorus girl has to replace the star.

See more
Are These Our Children?

Are These Our Children?

A tale of juvenile delinquency, about a high-school student neglecting his studies, partying hard, falling in with the wrong crowd and finally...

See more
The Gay Diplomat

The Gay Diplomat

Captain Orloff is sent to Bucharest to capture a Mata Hari type of spy, but many different women fit the bill and are attractive enough to make one...

See more
The Blue Angel

The Blue Angel

Prim professor Immanuel Rath finds some of his students ogling racy photos of cabaret performer Lola Lola and visits a local club, The Blue Angel...

See more
The Big Timer

The Big Timer

Loud-mouth hamburger flipper, Cooky, thinks he can box. His big chance comes when everyone else quits the gym when it is inherited by a dame.

See more
Play Girl

Play Girl

A young innocent falls for a compulsive gambler.

See more
Unashamed

Unashamed

A debutante's (Helen Twelvetrees) brother (Robert Young) stands trial for killing her no-good lover.

See more
The Fall Guy

The Fall Guy

Johnny Quinlan is so desperate for a job that he takes a gig as a "bag man" for the mob. Meanwhile, his beleaguered wife has to deal with her...

See more
Lazy River

Lazy River

Ex-convicts try to stop a Chinese smuggling ring.

See more
The Narrow Corner

The Narrow Corner

An Englishman sought for murder, tries to escape fate to South Seas island.

See more
Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton

The founding father has an extramarital affair and meets with the likes of Thomas Jefferson.

See more
The Wiser Sex

The Wiser Sex

A young woman goes undercover to gather evidence to free her boyfriend, an attorney who has been framed for a murder he didn't commit.

See more
Sporting Blood

Sporting Blood

A horse with great potential is reluctantly sold by the breeder and by chance passes through multiple hands who do not treat him well.

See more