Excellent "prison" movie , with several extremely suspenseful scene,particulary the death of convict (informer) Ponti (Frank Feylen ) in a terrifying atmosphere ,with the crowd of cons "yammering" and this clock (featured in almost all the shots of the scene) the hands of which seem stopped on 1:25.

In its first part,it's pure film noir,devoid of sentimentality: one is spared the trial with the interminable pleas (it lasts barely one minute) ,and the scene of the telegram avoids pathos and melodrama.

But the most interesting thing in the rapport con Joe has with his ex-prosecutor turned jail director :"I was your prosecutor, I won't be your persecutor ";as the movie progresses,their relationship almost becomes a father/son one ; and one can go as far as to say that he suffers as much as him when he sends him to the solitary ;Knowland can't refrain from admiring -in spite of his disapproval- his protégé's honor code .Glenn Ford and Broderick Crawford ,sparing of gestures and words ,are extremely convincing. Knowland's daughter is a more conventional character, but Dorothy Malone (who would shine in Sirk's movies) makes all her scenes count .

Glenn Ford is "Convicted" in this 1950 film that also stars Broderick Crawford, Dorothy Malone, Frank Faylen, Ed Begley, Carl Benton Reid, Will Geer, and Millard Mitchell. Ford plays Joe Hufford, a war veteran who gets into a bar fight in which a man is killed. Though the DA, Knowland (Crawford) takes pity on him and wishes he had a better attorney, Hufford is sentenced from 1-10 years. Ultimately it's decided he'll serve 5 years, and come up for parole in 3. He's desperate to see his elderly father again, so when some of the other prisoners plan a break, Joe begs to be part of it. Just before his parole hearing, he receives a telegram that his father died. When a guard yells at him for not doing his work in the laundry room, Hufford punches him and winds up in solitary. He misses the escape, which ends up in death for the escapees. Ponti (Faylen) is the snitch who tipped off the guards.

When Hufford is released from solitary, there's a new warden - Knowland, the sympathetic DA. He makes Hufford a trustee, chauffeuring his daughter (Malone). When Ponti is killed, Hufford is in the warden's office, but won't reveal who did it, causing him to lose his trustee status and threatening his parole.

There's good acting throughout, and a sympathetic portrayal by Ford in this film, which moves quickly. Crawford is excellent as a tough but fair warden. Among the prisoners, veteran actor Faylen, who did such a terrific job as Dobie Gillis' father, does a bang-up job here in a dramatic, showy role. Everyone, though, is very good.

As an actor, boyish Glenn Ford didn't have much range, but he was so likable and attractive, it never mattered. His performances are always natural and underplayed, more on the style of today's actors. However, he was much more of a presence than many working today.

Good film.

Joe Hufford (Glenn Ford) gets sent to prison after a bar fight results in a death. His attorney is inexperienced in criminal law. Prosecutor George Knowland tries to help to no avail. The sentence grows more excessive. When Knowland becomes the warden, he again tries to help by taking on Joe as his driver.

The movie should start with the bar fight. It needs to show his relative innocence so that the audience can come to the same conclusion as the prosecutor. Glenn Ford is playing him a little too tough at the start. He should have a more pronounced character arc. This role may be better with a fresh faced matinee idol. It's a 50's prison drama and it's fine. It's not breaking down any walls and it's not shocking anyone with its prison scenes.