BB17-132 — BEHIND THE HIGH WALL
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YEAR: 1956
FILM STUDIO / PRODUCTION: Universal-International Pictures
TAGLINE: “The untold story of the Big House prison break!”
DIRECTOR: Abner Biberman
CAST: Tom Tully, Sylvia Sidney, Betty Lynn, John Gavin, John Larch, Barney Phillips
SCREENPLAY: Harold Jack Bloom
PRODUCER: Stanley Rubin
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Maury Gertsman
GENRE: Film Noir / Crime / Drama / Prison Film
POSTER PRINTER: F. Cunningham & Co. Pty. Ltd.
FORMAT: Australian Daybill

Behind the High Wall is a 1956 Universal-International film noir centred on a violent prison break, a corrupt warden and an innocent prisoner who becomes caught in the aftermath.

POSTER DESIGN FEATURES: Classic 1950s Australian Daybill printed predominantly in brown against an off-white background. The artwork depicts three escaping prisoners running from the prison walls, with a getaway car and illustrated portrait of Sylvia Sidney below. The hand-drawn imagery and huge block BEHIND THE HIGH WALL title give it a strong pulp crime/noir appearance.

COLLECTOR'S NOTE: Particularly interesting as an early John Gavin film. The AFI records Behind the High Wall as Gavin's film debut and notes that Universal publicity still referred to him by his birth surname, Golenor. The film was partly shot at the Sheriff's Wayside Honor Rancho in California and was based on the same story previously adapted by Universal as The Big Guy in 1939.

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