20,000 Years in Sing Sing (Warner Bros.) (1932)

| a, se ica = AUTHENTIC JAIL-BREAK STORY shivers of dread in the one most concerned. In a majority of the attempts at ! escape, the man hides out in the yards. Usually he is quickly nabbed. If there is a delay in finding him it is because a little food has been provided, but in these instances hunger and thirst soon does its work, and the victim voluntarily gives himself up. In the few cases where an inmate does get clear of the prison, his former home is his goal. The call of a sweetheart is potent; he seeks ; her out—is caught—and back he comes to Sing Sing’s confines, with increased penalties. They are not all alike—these escapes or attempts. As quickly as one is discovered, the method is ferreted out, and there canbe no repetition, in just that way. Pe Clever Dummy (‘S Warden Lawes describes an escape from Sing Sing, before he a came to Sing Sing. The prisoner— an artist—made a dummy, which he placed in his cell. It was so cleverly done, even to the carefully plantSe ted hair on the head, that it was not discovered until the next day. Meanwhile the man had made good his getaway. Since then every man is required to stand at his door and be counted. Climatic scene from First National’s punch-packed drama “Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing” as portrayed by those capable performers Spencer Tracy, Bette Davis and Arthur Byron. Out No. 9 Out 45c Mat 15c SSS SSS (Current Story) Escapes and Attempted membered * e ie eee ae me gape ances Getaways at Sing Sing Gradually this nervousness wore the first few days of their work inside the prison walls, especially when they noted some of the faces about them, and remembered that no The waterfront of Sing Sing was the scene of an unusual escape. An inmate devised a system of breathing under the water, by affixing rubber tubing to a pair of wooden duck decoys. The guards saw nothing unusual in two ducks casually floating along. The man got away, but eventually, he was brought back. away. : Even though the guards, inside Prison Guards Must Be Ever On the Alert to Cir-| *® ?*8°", are not armed, there is armament enough at Sing Sing to cumvent the Incredible Cunning of Inmates _|ewip 4 young army, in the case of an emergency. The walls are well guarded, night and day, andeach man within its many towers is Another attempt, not so successful, was essayed by three young prisoners, who found an o~ der the wall leading ° = aa at Q-: Twenty-five hun cells! The evening count begins. . checking their charges. g . dred prisoners are locked in their narro y Sing Prison! . . Stern faced officials and guards Suddenly a short staccato command—a bark into the prison telephone! Office... The alarm rings furiously in the Administration A prisoner is missing! Unaccounted for! AN ESCAPE! A hoarse bellow shatters the air. The prison siren—Sing Sing Prison’s ‘‘Big Ben’’ roars out its strident warning. To the countryside! To the world at large! All is efficient bustle within the ——————_________—_ prison limits! Guards alert at their posts! Guards in their homes within hearing of the roaring siren report on the double quick! Towns-people look askance! Pedestrians stare furtively at each other as they pass! Motors sputter and take on new power as their occupants throttle their cars to more speed... faster! FASTER! AN ESCAPE! There have been sensational escapes and attempts at escape at Sing Sing Prison, and a few “scares” and rumors. When the director of “Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing,” a First National picture now showing at-thes ae oe Theatre with Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis playing the leads arrived at the prison, with his assistants, actors and camera equipment, naturally he was nervous—not only because he was loose with a couple of thousand, more or less, desperate men, but because he was certain that if there were any escapes or attempts at escape while he and his company were on the job, he and his men would be responsible to some degree. The director realized, of course, that every precaution had been taken by Warden Lawes, but even so, something unexpected might happen. Desperate criminals, however, are credited with cunning, and they do not work that way. It was not the obvious thing they would attempt. Far from it. Rather, Sing Sing’s officials are always looking for the unexpected. And they kitow that an inmate seeking his way out from Sing Sing’s bounds is not going to try to walk out, disguised as an actor. Nor would any one of them essay the part of the up-and-doing director, or the alert young assistant, or even a beretted camera man. Movie Men Nervous One of the Warner picture men had read that previous to a disastrous riot in another New York state prison the warden of that prison had received an anonymous communication, forewarning him of an attempt to escape with outside aid. Something of this was mentioned to Warden Lawes when the picture men were consulting in his office in the Administration Building. It was his reply that became confused in the mind of one of the men in the company. As the picture man heard it, Warden Lawes had received a letter the purport of which was that dynamite was to be used in an attempt to blow down Sing Sing’s walls. The Warden really did say that he had received such a letter. But it was a year or so before, and -undoubtedly was the work of a crank. However, the nervous Warner man immediately became afflicted with the heebie-jeebies, and communicated some of his nervousness to his fellow workers. The result was, a few severely tried picture men for ‘pped with effective t liar “laughing gas,” are along with other preventatives. It is Warden Lawes’ contention that the most desperate man in his charge would be helpless if he were doubled up with laughter while trying to make a get-away. Big Ben Roars The very instant it becomes apparent that a prisoner is missing— there is a bellow from the prison’s pa aE Se NE Ses Se a EES Watch This Man! It is our Prophecy that Lyle Talbot who scores handsomely in First National’s “Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing,’ will be one of the screen’s brightest luminaries in a year’s time. Due to his sterling performance in this stirring cinema, he has been awarded the male lead opposite Loretta Young in her next picture. Out No.6 Outise Mat be —————_—=—=sesesesesss—=—————_—_— — “Big Ben.” It fairly roars its message to the world in general and the surrounding country in particular. And its strident voice must send + power plant in pro = de th a pecu | : provided, and dove into the wat ner of doing this was thésir m tune, for if they had taken ~ off all their garments, they might | have passed unnoticed. But a man wuv>. = idly watched them, saw that they “a eee did not take off their under-clotha A ing. This he thought suspicious, and he telephoned the prison. Boats were put out and the escaping pris oners were ingloriously pulled aboard. While the general public is permitted to witness the baseball and football contests, or the annual christmas show, extra care is taken that each spectator is counted and checked, both coming in and going out. No contact with inmates is permitted. It would be difficult for anyone to slip away with the visitors. However, it was tried once, but the fellow made a mess of it. He dropped to the tracks running under and through the prison grounds, was discovered, and soon found himself in the prison hospital with several bullets in his body, attesting to the unerring aim of the guards on the walls. A Desperate Attempt As Warden Lawes says in his book, “To the average person, it would seem that an escape from within the walls would be impossible. However, there is always a weakest spot somewhere, and sooner or later some one of the hundreds who are trying to locate it, will find it.” The ingenuity and resourcefulness of prisoners require not only vigilance, but honesty on the part of their guards—and this, fortunately, is assured. Warden Lawes himself, supplied all the details of the most desperate, frustrated escapes that actually took place within the walls of Sing Sing prison, and which is shown with stark realism in the picture, “20,000 Years in Sing Sing.”