If "The Front Page" had been written by the boys at Warner Brothers instead of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur; and if Howard Hawks going over it with his script girl and converting it into "His Girl Friday" had been Briny Foy's boys and girls in the B unit at Warner Brothers; and if it had starred Faye Emerson and Van Johnson in his debut as a leading man, instead of Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, it might have turned out pretty much like this movie, a decent locked room mystery with great visuals by cinematographer Ted McCord.Unfortunately for this movie, none of that stuff is true and this might be worth a look to see Miss Emerson in a role with some snap in it. Alas, that's for the guys like me who will look at dental x-rays. Go look at the Hawks version again.

I watched this smart little B film on TCM in Australia and was agreeably impressed. I was reminded somewhat of "His Girl Friday" with the newspaper setting, the theme of corruption and the hard-boiled dialogue though needless to say "Murder in the Big House" is not in the same league as the Howard Hawks classic. Incidentally, the version I watched was called "Born for Trouble", a title which makes no sense at all.If you ignore the occasional plot hole in a movie lasting only an hour this is good entertainment with some very black humour concerning the electric chair. A street newspaper seller calls out "Mile-Away Gordon gets the hot squat tonight" and a potential execution witness declares "I like to see 'em sizzle" I've always found Van Johnson a little insipid for serious roles but perhaps that's just a personal prejudice; Faye Emerson, who I was unaware of, is a Rosalind Russell type ("His Girl Friday" again!) and the rest of the cast of mainly older unknowns perform competently."Murder in the Big House" was made and set in the era when hats for men were compulsory wear; a room full of reporters all sport felt hats and Van's fedora remains firmly in place after a fast and furious fist fight with much wrestling on the floor! I couldn't find a mention of this film in any of my reference books but I assure you they cover plenty that are worse. Have a look if you get a chance, you won't be sorry.