AaronCapenBanner
Lloyd Bacon directed this prison drama that stars Humphrey Bogart as Joe 'Red' Kennedy, who is a new convict at San Quentin now run by new Captain of the guards Jameson(played by Pat O' Brian) who wants to institute reforms to help rehabilitation. By coincidence, he is also romancing Joe's sister May(played by Ann Sheridan). When Joe is misinformed about Jameson's intentions, he foolishly breaks out to stop him, but after realizing his mistake, tries desperately to make amends... OK drama has good performances from the cast compensating for the thin and unoriginal story, which is still entertaining enough to succeed, though not one of Bogart's best.
Frank G.
When Bogie once said he made more stinkers than any other actor in Hollywood, one can laugh, but sadly San Quentin can also be one of those stinkers.With an all star cat of O'Brien, Sheridan, and Bogart; it's hard to really think of this film being a let down.In a prison drama with Pat O'Brien taking over, and Bogart's typical 1930's gangster role being thrown in the pen, it's not the actors fault in this movie. Red (Bogart) is as all other gangsters he played in most films from these days, a bad seed. O'Brien is the officer in charge of the prison but really not a bad guy, while dating Red's sister (Ann Sheridan), Red is slowly planning an escape from the prison.Surely it's not one you can remember Bogie by as he was not given much to work with from the start, and Ann Sheridan was in many gangster related pictures, San Quentin falls in the category of the forgettable ones from the classic Hollywood era. I give this movie a 5 out of 10 just for the strong cast. It has a good outline plot but it's poorly executed and serves as a missed opportunity of things that could have worked in this film. Overall if you're collecting Bogart's movies, this is one you can watch and line up on the shelf.
stevenfallonnyc
"San Quentin" is definitely nothing special. Nothing so horrible, but nothing that stands out.The main attraction here is simply to watch Bogie do his thing. He plays the punk brother of the girl (Ann Sheridan) who the new prison yard top guy (Pat O'Brien) falls for. So O'Brien has a soft spot for Bogie despite him (O'Brian) being a tough as nails no-nonsense guy.Ann Sheridan is one of the most beautiful actresses of the 30's so she is always fun to watch. Seeing O'Brien act a bit tough is always fun because he's so low-key most of the time, when he actually gets mad and shouts he's kinda funny, in a good way. And Bogie is Bogie, acting tough and being cool.Definitely worth watching to see these three old pros, nothing much else here otherwise.
Neil Doyle
If you're looking for top flight work from BOGART, SHERIDAN and O'BRIEN, don't look here. It's strictly a routine drama with a rather implausible resolution, and yet, because of its three stars it's still quite watchable.Sheridan is a nightclub singer who catches the eye of Pat O'Brien. He's present when Sheridan's brother HUMPHREY BOGART shows up at the club like a bad penny and sets the plot in motion when he's busted for a robbery rap. Turns out O'Brien is the tough warden at San Quentin and Bogart becomes his chief adversary in no time at all. You can almost guess the rest of the plot.It's fun recognizing the usual Warner stock players in supporting roles, especially BARTON MacLANE, JOE SAWYER and MARC LAWRENCE. GARY OWEN is the mentally unhinged bible man. VEDA ANN BORG is on hand as Joe Sawyer's conspiring sister in on a road gang break.Just don't expect anything out of the ordinary. Bogart's feisty and stubborn, as only he can muster, and Ann Sheridan at least gets to warble an unmemorable song number. Pat O'Brien plays it straight, tough and determined, all the way.Bogart seems to be enjoying his tin horn hoodlum role, and that's all that really matters. Ann Sheridan is mighty pretty in her pre-big time stardom days, but you have to overlook the improbable ending with Bogart crawling back to prison.
AD
