Drama

The Last Mile

- The Season's Dramatic Thunderbolt! From the Play that Rocked the Nation!

Richard Walters is condemned to death for a murder he claims not to have committed. He arrives on death row just before a brutal inmate leads the other convicts in a violent uprising. Walters gets caught up in the riot, while on the outside his friends are trying to find evidence of his innocence.

Release Date : 1932-08-17

Language :

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Sono Art-World Wide Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : John 'Killer' Mears, Cell 4

Original Name : Preston Foster

Gender : Male

Character Name : Richard 'Dick' Walters, Cell 5

Original Name : Howard Phillips

Gender : Male

Character Name : Joe Berg, Cell 1

Original Name : George E. Stone

Gender : Male

Character Name : D'Amoro, Cell 6

Original Name : Noel Madison

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kirby... Cell 7 (as Allan Roscoe)

Original Name : Alan Roscoe

Gender : Male

Character Name : Eddie Werner... Cell 8

Original Name : Paul Fix

Gender : Male

Character Name : Father O'Connor

Original Name : Alec B. Francis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Drake, Guard

Original Name : Albert J. Smith

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fred Mayer... Cell 3

Original Name : Al Hill

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sonny Jackson... Cell 2

Original Name : Daniel L. Haynes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rabbi

Original Name : Edward Van Sloan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Walters

Original Name : Louise Carter

Gender : Female

Character Name : Pat Callahan... Principal Keeper

Original Name : Ralph Theodore

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mike O'Flaherty, Guard

Original Name : Jack Kennedy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Peddie... Guard

Original Name : William Scott

Gender : Male

Character Name : Harris... Guard

Original Name : Kenneth MacDonald

Gender : Male

Character Name : Warden Frank Lewis

Original Name : Frank Sheridan

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

We are all just numbers here. The Last Mile is directed by Samuel Bischoff and adapted to screenplay by Seton Miller from the John Wexley play of the same name. It stars Preston Foster, Howard Phillips, George Stone, Noel Madison and Adam Roscoe. Music is by Val Burton and cinematography by Arthur Edeson. Interesting watching this pic these days to note just how much set in stone the formula is even today. All of the staples of the prison based dramas are right here in 1932, and of course the thematic beats of anti capital punishment still bang loud as much today as they did back then. Reprieve! Reprieve! The Last Mile in production is very much of its time, the stage origins not really leaving us as this is essentially a one set production. The acting ranges from excitable overacting to non credible characterisations. It's also a touch irritating that the key element for our main man Dick Walters (Phillips), the flashback to why he was sentenced to death, is played too early in the piece. And yet there's a power in the drama that lures you in, keeps you right there in the confines of death row. From a photographic stand point it looks terrific, Edeson's (They Drive by Night/Casablanca/The Maltese Falcon) monochrome lensing is perfectly moody. Holding court in the acting stakes is Foster, who is right at home playing the angry alpha male, it's the plum role and the one with the dramatic swagger. It was a busy year for Foster with 7 releases! Including the brilliant I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang. Not a great film but it's above average, and important in a number of ways as regards the history of genre cinema. While as a time capsule it remains a fascinating venture. 6/10