Outside the Wall (1950)

Directed by Crane Wilbur; produced by Aaron Rosenberg

After 15 years as a convict, Larry Nelson (Richard Basehart) has been pardoned. All he knows about life outside his prison’s walls is what other inmates have told him. He finds knowing who to trust, how to behave and where to go, puzzling and unnerving, though his intelligence and instincts guide him. But when it comes to criminals trying to involve him in their desperate schemes, Nelson may not have as many options.

Outside the Wall features another very good performance by Basehart, a solid leading man from the late 1940s and ‘50s. The writing and direction are not quite up to his level but nonetheless contribute to an entertaining and thoughtful movie.

The concept is interesting. Nelson, in and out of reform schools as a boy, was convicted of manslaughter at fourteen: defending himself against an abusive guard, he accidentally killed the man. Transferred to an adult prison, he seems to have grown into an easy-going, model prisoner, well-liked by the other inmates as well as by the guards and the warden. This is reflected in his character once released: he is adequately friendly but aloof, unwilling to make trouble but ready to fight back if necessary.

Such a character takes both good acting and persuasive writing. Very telling is the contrast between the uneasy manner in which Nelson behaves among the ordinary citizens of the outside world, and the way he acts when confronted by crooks or former prisoners. Meeting an acquaintance from prison (now escaped and running from the law), Nelson immediately becomes self-assured and strong; with this sort, he knows exactly what’s up.

The story initially features Nelson’s apprehensive and conflicting involvement in the world at large, but then shifts into a more routine crime story. This isn’t a bad change, and the tale that follows it has both satisfying action and suspense. Even so, the story is less interesting than the script itself. There are one or two unexplained aspects that are not very important to the movie, such as why Nelson is pardoned, rather than paroled.

The direction is admirably subtle at times. There is an amusing scene when Nelson obtains a job at a sanitarium; room and board are included. He paces across his new bedroom and then smiles. Nothing refers to that sequence again, but one can guess that his new quarters are about the size of a jail-cell. At another moment, he stumbles upon a robbery, and notes how he’s met would-be crooks like these before, and how they are always scared; he is meanwhile hugging himself, scared on his own account, yet ready for a fight.

Outside the Wall is weighed down a little by a fairly average crime-plot in its later two thirds but Basehart carries the film, assisted admirably by good directing, decent writing, and capable supporting players (On that subject, Joe Besser, one of the later Three Stooges, plays a cook.)