Black Tuesday

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