Copyright 17 February 1940 by Warner Bros Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Globe: 3 March 1940. U.S. release: 15 July 1940. Australian release: 18 April 1940 (sic). 77 minutes. Censored to 58 minutes in Australia.U.K. and Australian release title: YEARS WITHOUT DAYS.SYNOPSIS: Mobster Tommy Gordon is not worried about being sentenced to Sing Sing because he believes his political pals will get him a fast parole. He tells his girlfriend, Kay, not to worry. He makes no effort to reform in prison, and after causing a near-riot is given three months in solitary confinement by Warden Long, a dedicated prison reformer. After the ninety days in solitary, Tommy concedes that his friends have deserted him, and he joins a group of convicts planning to escape. NOTES: A re-make of 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932). John Garfield was extremely popular in Australia when this film was released, but close to 20 minutes of censor cuts put paid to any hopes that Warner Bros entertained for big money at Oz ticket windows. Instead the movie had to be released at flat rates as a "B"-grade support. COMMENT: It's hard to believe that Anatole Litvak had anything to do with this limp re-make, let alone direct it. Great cast too. But despite forceful playing by the charismatic Garfield and personable Sheridan, the characters never really come across. As a result, the story has little impact. Weak support playing by Pat O'Brien (especially) and Jerome Cowan doesn't help. True, part of the problem lies in the script. O'Brien's role is not built up sufficiently to make him a sympathetic figure. He's always just a minor character. This lack of audience empathy with Warden Long robs the climax of much of its drama. Of the big support cast, only Burgess Meredith really makes an impression, though Guinn Williams has some effective moments. Technical credits are smooth, but undistinguished. Like the script, the film editing tends to be flaccid, with scenes held too long and then faded out in a somewhat old-fashioned way that militates against the realism so vital to this story. Production values do not impress half as much as Twenty Thousand Years

L.W. Lawes wrote the original story, which has been made over a couple times. Garfield had only been in Hollywood a couple years when he made this. Garfield and Sheridan star as Tommy and Kay, with their trials and tribulations, as Tommy is in and out of jail. Pat O'Brien is the warden, his antagonist. Grant Mitchell and Burgess Meredith are in here with minor roles. The usual prison flick capers. Escape attempts. Prisoner scuffles. Pretty well done. Volume goes up and down, but the picture quality is quite good. Must have been restored. Directed by Litvak.. he and Garfield also made "Out of the Fog" together. Sadly, Garfield croaked pretty young at 39, of heart issues. He had been caught up in the communist scare of the 1940s. For a really Great Garfield film, see "Postman Always Rings Twice". Much better all around. Postman shows on Turner and may other channels pretty often.

John Garfield was at his best here in this 1940 prison drama. He is a cocky individual, too sure of himself due to political ties, who soon finds himself in prison for robbery.He thinks he can play the system but soon finds out otherwise by Warden Pat O'Brien. Garfield is tough, but also quite realistic.Burgess Meredith plays a college graduate also in prison who leads an ill-fated escape attempt which the Garfield character refuses to participate in due to his fear that bad things always befall him on Saturday.Ann Sheridan plays the faithful girlfriend, and pulls out all the stops in the death scene with Garfield.This film subtly is anti-death penalty. It brings out how a dimwitted person was executed for a police killing during the attempted breakout. It also showed how Garfield paid the ultimate price for a murder he didn't do. He just wouldn't be believed as circumstances warranted that.

This film is a remake of 20,000 YEARS IN SING SING and while it is not bad at all (in fact, perhaps better than the original), the movie really has a couple lame-brained moments that you must be able to ignore in order to enjoy the movie. Without these dopey moments, the film merits a 7 or even 8 on IMDb, but come on,...these problems are pretty severe! For the first 80% of the film, the movie is pretty good fare. John Garfield is an ego-centric hood that thinks he's just too smart and important to ever go to prison. But, to his utter surprise, he gets sent to the "big house" and he has MAJOR problems adapting--after, he thinks he merits special favors and treatment. Well, all this is pretty exciting and fun to watch. BUT, the big plot twist is total cornball! When Garfield's girlfriend is almost killed, the warden feels sorry for him and lets him go for an unescorted pass--even though he was convicted of armed robbery, assault and attempted murder of a cop!!!! Talk about a hair-brained idea! Plus, at times, the girlfriend (Ann Sheridan) is pretty annoying since she seems to have absolutely no self-esteem or common sense.However, despite these serious problems, the film is indeed entertaining. Since I am a major fan of 1930s Warner Brothers films, I can overlook this. Many probably cannot and so there are certainly much better prison or gangster movies out there that are more likely to please.