Main Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Peter Graves, Jean Parker, Milburn Stone, Warren Stevens
Release Year: 1954
Country: US
Run Time: 80 minutes
Plot
On the eve of his execution, killer Edward G. Robinson busts out of prison with the help of his girlfriend (Jean Parker) and a crook posing as a reporter (Warren Stevens). Robinson takes along five hostages, including the daughter of the murdered head guard (Sylvia Findley), a real reporter (Jack Kelly), and a priest (Milburn Stone). Escaping with Robinson is a murderous bank robber (Peter Graves), who is wounded while evading the law. The bleeding robber heads for the safety deposit box where he keeps his ill-gotten gains, allowing the Law to follow the trail of blood to Robinson's hideout. Robinson threatens to kill his hostages if he's not given safe passage, then murders the priest just to prove his point. Appalled at this action, the bank robber kills Robinson, allows the surviving hostages to escape, and gives himself up. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Edward G. Robinson plays a mean psychopath who barely has a heart in Black Tuesday, a very black film that exposes some of the intricacies of the death penalty before it turns into a grisly siege story with Vincent Canelli (Robinson) and his gang facing off against the police. Canelli's escape from prison is dramatic stuff and the film rarely lets up from the action. Canelli metes out his violence on a bunch of innocents from the kindly, elderly guard at the prison, John Norris (James Bell), to an unlucky rookie reporter, Frank Carson (Jack Kelly). Robinson's performance is at the center of the film, outshining the mostly nice people who have to go up against his cruelty. Peter Graves is also good as a fellow crook, Peter Manning, who is taken along in the breakout because Canelli is dying to get his hands on Manning's stash from a previous robbery. Manning is not as cold-hearted as Canelli and this difference between them leads up to Black Tuesday's finale. ~ Adam Bregman, All Movie Guide
Hilyard M. Brown - Art Director, Hugo Fregonese - Director, Robert Golden - Editor, Paul Dunlap - Composer (Music Score), Robert Parrish - Songwriter, Stanley Cortez - Cinematographer, Leonard Goldstein - Producer, Robert Goldstein - Producer, Sydney Boehm - Screenwriter
