Todeszelle 2455 (1955)

Todeszelle 2455: Directed by Fred F. Sears. With William Campbell, R. Wright Campbell, Marian Carr, Kathryn Grant. Whit, condemned and awaiting execution, reviews the events of his life that has brought him to Cell 2455 on San Quentin’s Death Row, a story he had told in a autobiography that became a sensational best-seller. As a boy, the young Whit stole groceries to help feed his impoverished family, later moving on into major crime to impress a young gang moll, Jo-Anne, and turns into a cold-blooded thug when he is repudiated by the girl he loves, Doll. And by his own lawyer when he is arrested and tried as the infamous Lover’s Lane Bandit. In cell 2455, he studies law to the point where he wins stay after stay, twice within minutes of his scheduled execution.

“William Campbell plays and narrates this movie with a sneer. He isnu0026#39;t a bad actor. He looks like Elvis Presley — and I note he played his brother in an early Elvis vehicle. I donu0026#39;t think he looks much like Caryl Chessman. But thatu0026#39;s Irrelevant: What disappointed me is that Chessanu0026#39;s story is sold short by the screenwriter and by director Sears.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFred F. Sears had no equal in grinding out down and dirty little films noir in the fifties. I think the problem is that the topic required more than that: Chessman was a lightning rod. Everyone knew his story. Iu0026#39;m not saying a u0026quot;Birdman of Alcatrazu0026quot; approach would have been better. And probably there was trouble with the rights to the actual story.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStill, this doesnu0026#39;t convey the importance of Chessmanu0026#39;s role in criminal law. Itu0026#39;s not a boring movie. But it falls far short of what it could have been.”