You’re not seeing double. That’s Jack Palance as identical twins in House Of Numbers. It’s a prison break-in drama. That’s right I said break-in, not breakout. The movie is an oddity that Eddie Muller showed last weekend. I try not to track Noir Alley this closely but this is such a quirky film that I couldn’t resist. Besides, it’s the Summer Of Darkness at TCM.

The Palance played twins are Arnie and Bill Judlow. Arnie is in prison on a second degree murder rap. He’s potentially facing a charge for attempting to murder a guard, a capital crime then and now. That leads Bill to plan a break-in leading to a breakout.

The movie was filmed at California’s San Quentin Penitentiary. The 1950’s are often derided as a boring decade sandwiched between the ’40’s and ’60’s. I call bullshit: the civil rights movement was ramping up and the prison reform movement was in full swing. That’s why the Q allowed House Of Numbers to be filmed there. But did they ask the prison cat’s permission?

House Of Numbers requires more suspension of disbelief than I’m usually willing to go along with. In this case, the movie is so well-executed that the preposterous plot becomes a footnote to the festivities. The motivations of the twins are strong and some of the details work but we’re expected to believe that San Quentin has an under patrolled soft spot that will allow the Palance pair to hide out as they perfect the escape plan. If security is that lax, why do they search prisoners every time they go in and out of the cell block?

House Of Numbers has four main characters and many extras, some of whom are played by guards and inmates. Jack Palance is superb as the Judlow twins. He endows the twins with different voices and mannerisms. Barbara Lang makes her screen debut as the imprisoned twin’s blonde bombshell wife. Edward Platt, best known to me as the Chief in Get Smart, plays the reform minded warden.

Harold J. Stone, who usually plays morally upright and stern characters, is cast against type as a lecherous and corrupt prison guard who nearly spoils the twins’ scheme.

That’s all of this convoluted story I’m willing to share. This feature is called pulp fiction not pulp spoilers, after all. Suffice it to say that the talent involved makes this movie worth 90 minutes of your time.

House Of Numbers is directed by noir veteran Russell Rouse. I’m unsure if he’s related to the grocery store Rouses of South Louisiana but you never know. George J. Folsey was an A-List cinematographer and composer Andre Previn was one of the best of his era. They all did first rate work keeping House Of Numbers moving and as convincing as the weirdo plot allows.

The screenplay was written by director Rouse and Ben Mankiewicz’s uncle Don. It’s based on a novel by Jack Finney best known for The Body Snatchers, Time and Again, and other sci-fi yarns.

Holy dogeared paperback, Jack. Batman took the day off.

Grading Time: I give House Of Numbers 3 stars and an Adrastos Grade of B-. The execution trumps the plot as long as you suspend disbelief. It’s worth it just for Jack Palance’s great performance.

It’s posterpalooza time. We begin with a side-by-side image of the U.S. and Italian long sheets.

Quad time is on my side. I dig both the English and Spanish language taglines.

The Judlow twins are anything but identical on that second quad.

I’m feeling confined after pondering this prison picture. Let’s all go to the lobby and stretch our legs.

It’s not a stretch to say I feel better. Let’s check out the lobby cards:

Time to escape the lobby and hide on the trailer or some such shit.

The last word goes to Eddie Muller with his Noir Alley intro and outro: