Cell 2455, Death Row

The picture goes on to answer the question posed by Whit Whittier (William Campbell) in my summary line above. Whittier is the name assigned to the principal character in the film, a stand in for real life criminal Caryl Chessman who's autobiography formed the basis for this movie. The picture briefly traces Whittier's impoverished youth with an eye toward trying to answer his unspoken thoughts on how he landed on Death Row. It's almost a standard narrative on how a young punk starts out by taking up with similar minded thugs, gradually moving up to the gangster life via exposure to harsher forms of incarceration - "The tougher it gets, the better I like it" he proclaims at one point. A lot of the dialog in the early part of the picture is rather atrocious, though actor William Campbell exudes the kind of punk malice one would expect in a film of this sort. James Dean might have been well suited for the Whittier role however he died the same year this movie was released. A modern remake of the story might be well suited for somebody like Charlie Sheen who Campbell appeared to resemble in a handful of scenes, though Sheen is probably too old now for a role like this. But he's got the bad boy part pretty well down pat. By the time the picture's over it's not too much of a mystery why Whittier's on Death Row, even if he couldn't figure it out himself. Considering how resourceful he turned out to be in prison by learning the law and using it to his advantage, one wonders why he couldn't have used the opportunity earlier in life to make something more of himself. It's one of those imponderable questions life sometimes presents that has no defining answer.

In today's system of justice, Caryl Chessman would've been given 5-10 years maximum for his crimes. Unfortunately for him, back in the 1950s in California, rape was a capital offense and Governor Pat Brown (Jerry's father) turned down Chessman's appeals and sent him to the gas chamber. "Cell 2455 Death Row" is based on Chessman's best-selling book and first hand account of his life behind bars leading up to his execution. In this film, William Campbell plays him as "Whit Whittier." Campbell was a very capable actor in his day who ended up playing mostly heavies mainly because he possessed one of the best "sneers" in Hollywood. The film is fast-paced, like the real Chessman's typing skills, and has a distinct aura of sensationalism and exploitation attached to it. But that's not a bad thing. It was merely the standard style of director Fred F. Sears who specialized in low-budget westerns and film noir. He put his directorial abilities to good use in this film and made a lasting impression for many viewers. In the end, Caryl Chessman became the poster boy for the anti-Death Penalty movement, but his status of infamy didn't last long. As others followed him, the public soon put his story on the back-burner and returned to the more pressing issues of the day. As for Campbell, he's still around and does some occasional acting. He's even played a few "good guys" during the latter stages of his career. The Boston-born Sears suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 44 and died much too young. The late Vince Edwards ("Ben Casey") can be seen in a small role if one takes the time to notice. "Cell 2455 Death Row" was a minor hit in its day, but it didn't catapult William Campbell to stardom despite his very good performance.

Lurid account of Caryl Chessman's criminal career at a time when his book was big on newstands. One thing for sure—there's no attempt in the film to glamorize or soft-peddle what appears to be a thoroughly nasty personality. Rarely, in fact, has any movie of the period made its leading man so dislikable. Campbell is quite good as the cocky young punk who goes from thievery to penny-ante stick-ups to ripping off organized crime to lover's lane rapist. The movie itself is so uncompromisingly grim as to be off-putting. There's no effort at relieving the cheap criminality with character development or snatches of humor. The screenplay does have more fast car chases and shenanigans than a NASCAR rally, while some are darn near hair-raising. Look early on for a young Kathryn Grant and before she started up the Hollywood ladder. All in all, the movie's little more than a cheap exploitation flick with few redeeming features outside of being fast-paced. (In passing-- Chessman's appeals luck finally ran out in May, 1960, but not before attracting support from a number of celebrities ,e.g. Steve Allen, impressed by Chessman's literary talents. Then too as incorrigible as he was, he hadn't killed anyone. Nonetheless, I don't recall much public concern when he finally got a whiff of San Quentin's lethal fumes.)

I saw this for the first time recently n was pleasantly surprised. This movie is fast paced, with good amount of car chases, lottuva robberies, suspense n an amazing sub plot of that of a kidnapper/rapist.

I am always amazed at how well hidden small jewels like Cell 2455 Death Row are. This is an important film, not only because it was based on the prison autobiography of Caryl Chessman, the notorious Red-Light Bandit who briefly haunted lovers lanes in post-war L.A but because he became the cause-celebre of the anti-death penalty movement. It's also a high-octane film that attempts to fairly portray the prison system of the day. William Campbell brings a measure of intelligence to the role of the condemned killer. We bear witness to his evolution as crook and (if you believe the crimes that led to the death sentence were his) sex fiend. All in all a snappy little effort.

William Campbell plays and narrates this movie with a sneer. He isn't a bad actor. He looks like Elvis Presley -- and I note he played his brother in an early Elvis vehicle. I don't think he looks much like Caryl Chessman. But that's Irrelevant: What disappointed me is that Chessan's story is sold short by the screenwriter and by director Sears. Fred 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. I'm not saying a "Birdman of Alcatraz" approach would have been better. And probably there was trouble with the rights to the actual story. Still, this doesn't convey the importance of Chessman's role in criminal law. It's not a boring movie. But it falls far short of what it could have been.

Simply told, unsentimental tale inspired by the book, and real-life story, of Caryl Chessman. Having seen his father unable to cope with poverty, he grows up into a sneering punk, defiant of all authority. The incorrigible boy soon becomes a career criminal, spending time in and out of prison. Then he is accused of a series of "red light" sex crimes, and earns the death penalty for two of them. He then spends his time on death row reading up on the law, and trying to put off the inevitable with his various appeals. This is a good B level treatment of this story which benefits from not really trying to make Whit Whittier (as he is named in the movie) sympathetic. Rather, it doesn't shy away from the utter ruthlessness and brazenness of his crimes. The point of the story is, did he in fact commit these sex crimes of which he was accused? And did he not have a right to exhaust every legal avenue available to him? Actor William Campbell, a veteran of both A and B features, does well in this starring vehicle, displaying some charisma and screen presence. His real life younger brother R. Wright Campbell (who, in the subsequent years, embarked upon a successful career as a screenwriter) plays Whit as a younger man. The cast is quite good, overall: Marian Carr, the luscious Kathryn Grant, Harvey Stephens, Vince Edwards, Bart Braverman, Paul Dubov, Buck Kartalian, and others. The short running time (77 minutes) gives evidence to storytelling (screenplay by Jack DeWitt, direction by Fred F. Sears) that is efficient and to the point. There are some good action scenes, and the atmosphere is potent. Chessmans' tale was ongoing at the time of the movies' release, although his luck would finally run out several years later. Alan Alda later played the character in a 1977 TV movie, 'Kill Me if You Can'. Seven out of 10.

True story of Caryl Chessman, here under the name "Whit" Whittier (Whittier being Chessman's real middle name), played by William Campbell, a juvenile delinquent who got worse and worse and worse... He eventually ends up in death row, where we are introduced to him, and his life up to that point is recounted. Campbell does a nice job here, if not a little hammy at times. (but that's just the way he is naturally, it seems) There are other familiar faces and everyone does well, but this is really Campbell's time to shine. Knowing the events were real, the movie being based on Chessman's book of the same name, it was interesting to follow, especially knowing his became his own lawyer and basically added years to his life by studying law books. Interestingly, this movie came out while he was on death row and is based on the first of four books he'd write, so things were still very much up in the air in the end! His wiki article is worth a look if you want to know how things turned out for him. Overall, this was pretty good. Definitely engaging. Certainly not one of those movies where you kinda secretly cheer for the fictional bad guy inside (know what I mean?), though, as he was a real, really bad guy.

William Campbell plays it snarky, sneaky, cocky and blocky enough to be a young James Cagney in a homage of those 1930's gangster biopics... And Campbell, as real life death row inmate/author Caryl Chessman changed to fictional Whit Whittier, has the perfect casting in his younger reckless youth in actual little brother Robert Campbell in some of the best scenes, setting up a life of adult crime with teenage car theft in that there's full-lipped hot rod moll Kathryn Grant with short yet important screen time, eventually switching dame-gears to Marian Carr, waiting for her grown-up career criminal Whittier to come home. The action packed bravado flows nicely from one set of scores to the next, and eventually includes future star Vince Edwards as one of the many partners-in-crime (also including Joe Turkel, Jonathan Haze and Paul Dubov)... Sometimes b-movie director Fred F. Sears rushes through what should be more fleshed-out, like a stint at Folsom using stock footage, but what the future death rower does on the outside (narrated as he speaks to the warden) is what matters... Too bad the 11th hour enigmatically-shot sequences of a Lover's Lane Killer, who may or may not be our likeable yet completely no-good lowlife, only adds to the now oblivious agenda to get the real guy (who'd die five years later in 1960) from the gas chamber... Basically, CELL 2455, DEATH ROW was a better action-packed Film Noir than biopic melodrama.

**SPOILERS** Based on the book with the same name "Cell 2455 Death Row" has to do with career criminal and self-thought lawyer Caryl Chessman known in the movie as Whit Whittier played by a Tony Curtis looking William Campbell. It's July 30, 1954 and Whittier has less then 24 hours to live as he's scheduled to be strapped into San Quentin's infamous gas chamber at exactly 9:30 AM the next morning. It's then that Whittier reflects back on his life and especially the notorious "Red Light Bandit" crimes that put him on death row. We get to see the story of a young man growing up in the Great Depression who turned to crime because he felt that was the only thing that he excels in. As it turned out Whittier's career in crime was anything but spectacular in him ending up behind bars for longer periods of time then he was a free man. It was in early 1948 while Whittier was out on parole that he was arrested for a series of robberies in L.A that shocked not only the state of California but the entire nation: The Red Light Bandit Crimes. Whittier was not only accused of robbing couples who were smooching in local L.A lovers lanes but also abducting the young women and then raping and sodomizing them! If Whittier was just tried for what the law demanded for the crimes he committed he would have been long forgotten about. What made the case so unusual was that the D.A who indited Whittier used the obscure technicality of the Little Lindbergh Law, a person being injured during a kidnapping, to have him given the death sentence if he were convicted! Not trusting any attorney to defend him Whittier choose to defend himself which, with his brash and arrogant attitude, very probably lead to his conviction. It was while on death row that Whittier educated himself in the law and thus used the law to his advantage! In fact better then any of the top and highest paid criminal lawyers in the United States! As Whittier fought off execution date after execution date behind bars he became a Cause Caleb against the death penalty not only in the United States but the entire Western Industrialized World! The film "Cell 2455 Death Row" concentrated mostly on Whittier life before he was sent to death row which were a number of petty robberies and, which I feel were put into the movie just to spice it up, shootouts with the police. We also see that Whittier was a very smooth operator when it came to the fairer sex in having girlfriends who were more then willing to put up with him despite his abusive attitude and actions towards them. The film ends with a big question mark in Whittier getting another one of his many stays of execution just moments before he was supposed to be executed by the State of California. In real life Whittier or Caryl Chessman whom he actually was in the film held on for six more years on death row until his luck finally ran out on the morning of May 2, 1960 when he was finally, after eight failed attempts by the courts, executed in San Quentin's gas chamber. Even then Chessman, at the last moment, was granted another stay of execution by the courts but it came in just has the cyanide pills were being dropped making it impossible for him to be saved without a number of those witnessing his execution from being gassed along with him. P.S Even though the makers of "Cell 2455 Death Row" substituted the name Whittier for Chassman in the film his name was seen in the opening credits as the author of the book-Cell 2455 Death Row-that the film was based on. It's also interesting to note that Whittier was actually Caryl Chessman's middle name! Something that the makers of the movie obviously knew while most of those watching it didn't!