Murder in the Big House

When a condemned killer gets fried ahead of schedule thanks to a freak bolt of lightning, a trio of intrepid reporters want to know who's cheating the chair. Crime reporter Scoop Conner's suspicions are raised when he witnesses high society shyster Bill Burgen (Douglas Wood) promising condemned killer Dapper Dan Malloy (Michael Ames) a reprieve from the governor after Dapper Dan threatens to name names. After Scoop helps Dan get wise, he takes a swan dive into a bottle, leaving news gal Gladys Wayne (Faye Emerson) to grab new guy Bert Bell (Van Johnson, in his first leading role) and head to the pen to cover Dapper Dan's execution. But a lightning strike on death row saves the state the trouble, and all three reporters smell something rotten at work in the Big House. After Van Johnson broke out as a big star, Warner Bros. capitalized on his new celebrity and re-released the picture as Born for Trouble.