Hell's House

Rating:
Summary: OK fare
Review: Bette Davis gets the star-billing in this film, although she only appears in about five scenes and has little dialogue.

The film belongs to Junior Coghlan, who plays an orphan who takes the blame for a bootlegging operation, run by Davis' boyfriend (Pat O'Brien). He is sent to a corrupt reform school, where the boys are forced to work in a brickyard and are treated like animals.

The film, made in 1932, with a running time of 72 minutes, is in poor condition, with sound terribly muffled, and it really shows its age. However, for Bette Davis fans, its a curio.

Rating:
Summary: Poor Sound
Review: Story OK. Main complaint is the quality of the print (purchased from Amazon). Casette labeled "Hell House, 1934" which is incorrect: It is "Hell's House" and it was produced in 1932. Print had numerous scratches and the soundtrack was very poor.

Rating:
Summary: Poor Sound
Review: Story OK. Main complaint is the quality of the print (purchased from Amazon). Casette labeled "Hell House, 1934" which is incorrect: It is "Hell's House" and it was produced in 1932. Print had numerous scratches and the soundtrack was very poor.

Rating:
Summary: Young Bette Davis in a 1932 film indicting reform schools
Review: Teenager Jimmy Mason (Junior Durkin) can use a job, and when his idol, bootlegger Matt Kelly (Pat O'Brien) gives him a job answering his telephone the kid is too happy to notice the bootlegger is really interested in his girl, Peggy Gardner (Bette Davis). When the cops raid the hideout, Jimmy is arrested and sent to reform school for three years after he refuses to rat out Kelly. In the reform school we find the usual cast of characters: the crooked superintendent (James Marcus), the sadistic guard (Hooper Atchley), and the good kid with the heart problem (Junior Coughlan) that Jimmy befriends before the kid croaks. A crusading newspaper publisher (Morgan Wallace) wants to clean up the joint, but of course the bad guys are tipped off about the inspection. When Jimmy aunt (Emma Dunn) visits and tells him Peggy is seeing a lot of Kelly, Jimmy finally wises up and escapes to confront the pair.

Today "Hell's House" is notable for the small but pivotal part played by Bette Davis in her sixth film role. The attempt to cast a light on what was happening in reform schools is certainly admirable, but the evils depicted are so cartoonish and the whole thing takes a back seat to the "love triangle" in the end. O'Brien seems uncomfortable with his role but Davis and Durkin are certainly belieavable. This 1932 film was directed by Howard Higgns, whose original story was the basis for the screenplay.