utgard14 Relentless prosecutor (Walter Pidgeon) is framed for bribery and sent to prison. Once there, he is faced with thousands (!) of criminals he put away. He finds unlikely help from a woman (Rita Johnson) he prosecuted. Pidgeon discovers she, too, was framed and has to face that the justice system is more flawed than he originally believed.Excellent 'B' movie from MGM. A fast-paced, tough crime drama with a colorful cast backing up Pidgeon that includes Grant Mitchell, Nat Pendleton, Harold Huber, Guinn Williams, and Paul Kelly (no stranger to prison). Arthur Aylesworth is fun as a creepy old lunatic Pidegon is forced to sleep next to. It's one of those movies where convicts are mostly an alright bunch of guys and, even if they hate your guts, they will learn to respect you if you show how tough you are. Yeah, it's far-fetched but still entertaining. It's barely over an hour so there's no excuse not to check it out.

MartinHafer B-movies were inexpensively made films that lasted about an hour. They were intended as the 2nd, or 'B' film, for a double-feature. There is a perception that Bs were always bad films or that they were always made by cut-rate studios but neither is true. In the case of "6000 Enemies", it is not a bad film AND it was made by MGM--the richest and most prestigious studio at that time. While I think the film easily could have been better, it still hold up pretty well with other Bs.Walter Pidgeon plays a district attorney who is a decent and honest man. As a result, organized crime hates him and they frame him for a crime he did not commit--and he's sent to prison. Naturally, many of his fellow prisoners hate him and want to kill him. With the help of a woman he sent to prison (she, too, was framed) and a nice prison doctor (Paul Kelly) he hopes to prove his innocence. However, and this REALLY is dumb, Pidgeon undergoes a magical transformation near the end that really undoes all the good writing and acting before this--and the film is, unfortunately, wrapped up way too quickly and perfectly to make it anything other than an average time-passer. High points for the film is the acting of Pidgeon and some interesting plot ideas--and they are able to carry the film further than it should have been.By the way, it's ironic that Kelly was cast as the nice prison doctor, as he actually served time in prison for killing a man. He's one of the very few actors I can think of that had left acting due to prison and was able to make a successful return once released.

Michael_Elliott 6,000 Enemies (1939) *** (out of 4) Good "B" picture from MGM about a tough-as-nails D.A. (Walter Pidgeon) who sends everyone to the big house and he takes pleasure in making sure that the streets are clear of any scum. His luck eventually runs out when a gangster frames his and soon the D.A. gets sent to the same prison where he's sent thousands of people. Once inside his life is in danger but he plans on making it through and along the way he meets a woman (Rita Johnson) he sent up who might just have been innocent as well as hold a clue to his own case. 6,000 ENEMIES is without question MGM's attempt to try and capture the mood and spirit of a Warner crime picture and for the most part it succeeds. At just 62-minutes there's really no time for any character development or any type of plot growth as everything happens without much reason for thought. The first five-minutes pretty much covers Pidgeon's rise to the top and then the next two-minutes covers his fall from grace and yet the way he's framed makes no sense and probably could have been defeated inside any court room. With that said, there's really no point in making fun of the plot too much because the movie was made to be simple entertainment and that's exactly what it manages to be. I thought the prison stuff was a lot of fun as we get a lot of familiar situations yet director Seitz really makes them seem fresh and original. One of the highlights is a scene where the D.A. wants to be put in with the regular guys instead of the safe haven so they send him to the cafeteria where a full riot breaks out. Another very good sequence has him having to fight 'Socks' Martin (Nat Pendleton) who just happens to be one of the men sent to kill him. There's another good subplot between the D.A. and a doctor (Paul Kelly) inside the prison. In a film like this it's always good to have a strong group of actors and they all do fine work here with Pidgeon fitting the role of the tough guy with ease. He has no problem making you believe he's this brilliant D.A. and he is good at showing off his toughness as well. I thought both Kelly and Pendleton added a lot of entertainment and both are strong as usual. Johnson was also very good in her role and you'll certainly be wishing you could see more of her. Character actor Grant Mitchell plays the dimwitted warden and we even get Guinn Williams in a brief part. Fans of "B" crime pictures are going to get a real kick out of this one. It's certainly far from a masterpiece but then again it wasn't trying to be GONE WITH THE WIND.

TxMike For a 1939 movie, not too bad. A bonus is that it runs just barely one hour, so tells the story fairly crisply. Walter Pigeon is one of those 'names' that stuck with me, but I don't recall seeing any of his movies before I saw this one. Here (early 40s) he is Steve Donegan, very tough New York prosecutor, who has put away thousands of criminals. The movie opens with the trial of a pretty young lady Ann Barry (Rita Johnson, about 25), accused of embezzle money. She claims it was a frame-up, and part of his closing arguments Steve states with authority that in their system it would be highly unlikely that someone could be framed successfully. She is convicted and sent upstate for a long time.Meanwhile the local crime boss wants to neutralize the active and successful prosecutor, so sets Steve up for a frame, taking bribes. Steve's words come back to haunt him, when he claims he was being framed. He is convicted, and sent to the same prison where he had 6000 Enemies (title of the movie). Many are out to get him, most of the prisoners are portrayed as either crazy or worthless hardened criminals.Come to think of it, if he sent away an average of 2 criminals a week, 50 weeks a year, it would take 60 years to put away 6000 criminals, and many would have died during that period of time. Maybe they should have called it '1500 Enemies.'SPOILERS. Eventually Steve and Ann Barry become allies, he realizes that she is not guilty, and when the mob boss fails to have Steve killed via an inside job, they drive by and gun down Steve's brother, walking to go visit Steve. The shooters are taken down by guard machine guns, the mob boss is exposed, Steve and Ann are exonerated. Not a very good movie overall, but fun to watch as an old classic.