House of Numbers (1957)

Sadly Over-hyped

Pretty Good

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

The main point of interest, personally, of 'House of Numbers' was Jack Palance, an always watchable actor, despite his resume being a very mixed bag, who specialised in playing villains and intense characters.Palance, in a dual role as two brothers, is also by far the best thing about 'House of Numbers'. He does fare better as Arnie, the role is meatier and plays to his strengths far more, allowing him to show some menace and intensity without ever going overboard. He does however do a good job too as Bill, the more sympathetic role which sees Palance more appreciatively understated than usual but in comparison Bill is a little underwritten though still easy to identify with. Overall though, he is incredibly effective at differentiating between the two brothers, a demanding task and he does excellently.It's not just Palance that makes 'House of Numbers' worth seeing though. The rest of the performances are also very good, with Barbara Lang beautiful and poignantly subdued and Harold J. Stone effectively cunning. You would be hard pressed to find a nicer prison warden than the one played by Edward Platt here, and Timothy Carey is very memorable and quite a breath of fresh air. 'House of Numbers' is very nicely made, with beautiful moody photography that never looks jagged or blurry and the prison is an imposing character on its own. André Previn's music score is ominous but also subtle and composed and placed cleverly.While the story is less than perfect, there are some twists that keep it from being a standard thriller and there is some low-key suspense. The prison escape scheme is at times pretty ingenious. The characters maintain interest and the chemistry between the actors is continually good. 'House of Numbers' also could have been much more. It did need more pace and excitement than what Russell Rouse managed to provide, especially the ending which was rather too sedate for my tastes. The script is underdeveloped and confused, and while it is not dull by all means the story is less than perfect in execution, too often falling into implausibility. Overall, definitely worth watching for particularly the cast (notably Palance) though with better direction, scripting and more even storytelling 'House of Numbers' also could have been much more. 6.5- 7/10 Bethany Cox

I saw this film when it first came out, in 1957. I was a child then, but this movie still stays with me. One unique thing about the movie is in the non-dialogue scenes. SHOWING the audience something. In this case, Jack Palance goes to the hardware store and buys all the materials he needs to make his own grappling hooks--rope, plywood and duct tape. We watch him doing this, as he marks the pattern onto the wood, and starts cutting. But we don't know what he's doing--what's going on--until he's done. --Masterful filmmaking!As far as the rest of the story goes--a guy breaking in to prison to help his brother break out--that seemed original enough, although I'm pretty sure TV has used this idea since then--what was that series a couple years back?--Prison Break or something.

Jack Palance plays look-alike brothers in "House of Numbers," a 1957 film also starring Barbara Lang and Harold Stone.A "B" movie didn't mean a film wasn't good, and "House of Numbers" is proof of that. Palance plays a man who is desperate to get his brother out of San Quentin. He enlists the help of his sister-in-law, played by Barbara Lang. Harold Stone is on hand as a nosy prison guard.Palance is fantastic in the two roles. They're not twins, so there's a makeup change, and Palance creates two different characters. One is gentle and shy; the other is older-looking, tough, and speaks in a somewhat hoarse voice. One is shorter than the other, too.Barbara Lang was one of the many Marilyn Monroe types who was around in the 1950s. Young, quite slender with overly blond hair that's too big for her, her speech is reminiscent of Monroe's, and facially, she looks like Natalie Wood. She went on to have an enormous career on Broadway in many musicals and did other theater as well. She doesn't have much to do in this film except heat up the male characters, which she accomplishes with little effort."House of Numbers" will have you on the edge of your seat. Highly recommended.

This was the very first motion picture I can remember seeing on television. It must have been in 59 or 60 on the old NBC Saturday Night at The Movies and I was either three or four. It has stuck with me all these years and I have never seen it since. I do remember the Jack Palance character attempting to switch places with his twin brother in California's San Quentin penitentiary and a washing machine agitator being used as some type of grappling hook device. I'd love to see it again after all these years.