Music from the Big House

The Big House is a Louisiana penitentiary that has been in operation since the Civil War. Today it houses a range of inmates, including murderers and rapists, some of whom have proved to be capable musicians. Keen to explore their talents and provide them with some kind of self esteem, blues singer Rita Chiarelli visits the prison with a view to creating a one-off blues band. Shot in black-and-white, McDonald's film ultimately boils down to being just another competent but slightly dull prison doc, albeit a toe-tapping one.