User reviews

This is the story of convicted murderer David Marshall Williams who invented the M-1 carbine rifle that was used in WW11. This is James Stewart at his laid back, laconic best.However he injects a darker side to his role as a moonshiner,wrongly or rightly accused of killing a federal Marshall.His innocence or lack of it was neatly sidestepped as this is the story of his invention not of his crime. For modern films viewers the prison scenes may seem slightly twee and a bit too clean cut compared to modern prison classics such as The Shawshank Redemption and the Green Mile but some scenes really pack a punch they include a man being whipped and James Stewert in solitary confinement for differences with the prison warden. Jean Hagen does well in a supporting role as his wife who promises to wait for her husband till he completes his 30 year prison sentence. This film also has moments of great beauty the foremost being David M Williams being let out of jail for 24 hours to visit his wife.He is trying to get his wife to divorce him and she says, "without you I am only half a person,you are my other half".Priceless. This may not be considered by many to be a classic movie but it is certainly a very satisfying one that gives you a warm feeling inside at the end. Thank you TCM for showing another golden oldie.8/10

"Graceful" is not a word one would use in the same sentence with "Jimmy Stewart." Gangly, awkward, and with a reedy, high-pitched voice, he seems to have none of the things that we think an actor should have, and yet he was truly one of the great ones. His presence in this true story of David Marshall Williams, designer of the M-1 rifle, lifts what is a fascinating human story to begin with by a quantum notch. Stewart's portrayal of the character transformation of this angry, troubled man is one of the finest things I have seen from him. Abetted by Wendell Corey in the essential role of his prison warden and an excellent script, this movie is truly an underrated gem. They just don't make 'em like Jimmy anymore.

... and definitely a change from the more affable fellows he had been playing.

Marsh Willliams (James Stewart) is a guy with a chip on his shoulder, running a still during Prohibition. He is doing this for economic reasons, and also, like most people, thought that the 18th amendment was ridiculous. When his still is surrounded by federal agents. Marsh, along with the others working the still, run but first return fire with the agents, and one agent is killed. Convinced by his wife (Jean Hagen) to surrender, his murder trial ends in a mistrial - it could not be determined who fired the fatal shot - and Williams decides to plead guilty to second degree murder rather than have his father sell some of his land to pay for a second trial. He is sentenced to thirty years hard labor and unsuccessfully tries to convince his wife to divorce him so she can remarry somebody who can be with her.

On one level the film is a pseudo biography of Williams in prison and how he develops a semi-automatic rifle using just the tools he has in the prison blacksmith shop, and how focusing on that task literally changes his personality for the better. On another level it is a scathing indictment of the prison system and its brutality as it existed in the US until the middle of the twentieth century.

Jean Hagen plays Marsh's devoted and loyal wife, and Wendell Corey is good as H. T. Peoples, the warden of the prison farm Williams lands at after spending time in some horrendous places such as the chain gain and the rock pile. Peoples wants to know what makes Williams tick, but Williams keeps testing his authority in front of the other prisoners, creating a dangerous situation for himself should he just let these incidents go. When Williams ends up lasting 30 days in "the hole" when no other prisoner could endure a week he wants to know why, and the answer is intriguing.

At its core, Carbine Williams is a story of resilience, innovation, and redemption. Carbine's determination to develop a safer and more efficient firearm mechanism while serving time in prison is both inspirational and a testament to the human spirit's capacity for growth and change. The film does an excellent job of highlighting the importance of second chances and the potential for individuals to make positive contributions to society, even after making grave mistakes.

Jimmy Stewart plays real-life inventor Marsh "Carbine" Williams, a not-so-very-nice guy, really. Which is mostly the reason why Stewart wanted to take the part. Marsh Williams is convicted of murder although there was really never any proof. He is a bitter man, proud, trying to spare his family the heartache of seeing him in prison, but they stick by him anyway.

I enjoyed this movie; my favorite part probably being the friendship that slowly develops between inmate Williams and Captain Peoples ("Cap"). Watch for a good scene towards the end where Cap makes his friendship for Williams loud and clear - a true symbol of the trust he had in the alleged killer.

The story of the man, his family, and his friends, is the real story here. The fact that he invented a new kind of gun is a side-note. Interesting, though, the ability he had to build things with bare essentials and his own two hands.

Good movie. Not the typical "everyman" Stewart, but he does a great job in the part.

Jean Hagen (perhaps best known for her role as the ditzy silent-movie star opposite Gene Kelly in "Singin' in the Rain") plays Stewart's wife in the movie.

As an actor, James Stewart seems to have hit his stride in the fifteen years or so after the Second World War. Known up to this point as a gee-whiz, gulp-and-golly, boy-next-door Everyman type, Stewart took on roles of increasing complexity, most notably in the psychological "adult" westerns of Anthony Mann. Even his famous and much loved role as George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life" contains a dark brooding undercurrent which belies its sunny reputation as a feel-good family Holiday film. All of which goes to show that Stewart could bring something unexpected to even the "corniest" movies.

In "Carbine Williams", Stewart plays the title role, a moonshiner who is convicted of murdering a Federal agent, and who then gets sent to a chain gang after being implicated in a prison murder. His rebellious nature brings him into conflict with the warden at the prison farm, Captain Peoples (Dracut MA's own Wendell Corey), until he discovers a means of channelling his anger and bitterness.

The real-life David Marshall Williams did indeed invent the improvements in firearms which led directly to the development to the M-1 carbine, the weapon which helped to win World War II. And he did it while serving a long prison sentence for murder. The story is interesting enough on its own, but Stewart brings an intensity and heart to the role which makes it even more fascinating than a mere telling of the facts would be.

One of many excellent films James Stewart made during the 1950's, this one is somewhat obscure, not particularly well-remembered today. But it deserves to be.

From a 1951 Reader's Digest article, Marsh Williams (James Stewart) works at the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in New Haven, Connecticut. His son David gets into a fight and Marsh brings him to prison warden Capt. H.T. Peoples to scare straight. Peoples recounts the story of Marsh's life from moonshining to incarceration where he handmakes a rifle which would be incorporated into the M1 Carbine.

It's a straight and narrow biopic. Jimmy Stewart delivers all the rooting interest from inner personal charms. Mostly, there isn't much drama in the way that this is told. It needs to heighten the danger when he's in the prison. In the end, this is a movie for Jimmy Stewart fans or maybe gun fans...

As other reviewers mention, this is a very good portrayal of one of the most interesting and talented men to ever serve time for murder. Unlike "Birdman of Alcatraz," which portrayed one of the most revolting murderers in history as some sort of a saintly scientist, this film accurately describes Carbine Williams' transformation from a rebellious moonshiner (who may or may not have killed a Fed in self-defense) into an admirable and very valuable citizen.

Williams' brilliant innovations in weapons design made a significant contribution to the Allied victory in WW2. I carried an M-1 carbine (essentially his design) in the Army and still own several of them -- perhaps the best all-purpose firearm in history.

This movie isn't shown often and most people are unaware of it, but it deserves a wider audience.

Ten years before Burt Lancaster came out with the acclaimed Birdman of Alcatraz, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced this neglected gem of a film starring a dark and brooding James Stewart as David Marshall Williams who invented the M-1 carbine rifle while in prison.

Before writing this review I took a look at the wikipedia article on Marsh Williams and found that MGM had stuck pretty close to telling the real story about Williams. For the farmer the Great Depression began after the Armistice was signed and the food they produced was no longer needed to feed troops. Many like Marsh Williams turned to making moonshine, not just as a way of distilling spirits for personal use, but for economic survival. That fact cannot be emphasized enough in telling the Carbine Williams story.

The federal men were seen as taking the bread out of the farmer's mouths in the North Carolina hills and other such places and the rural folk reacted accordingly. Williams was convicted of murdering a federal agent during a raid. He didn't get the death penalty because no one could tell who really fired the fatal shot, but as he was part of the group he shared responsibility. He got thirty years.

Williams was a skilled machinist and after he got over the bitterness of his incarceration with the help of a friendly warden he worked out the design of the weapon that later became the M-1 carbine rifle used by our armed forces in World War II.

James Stewart in developing his character as Marsh Williams borrowed a whole lot from some of the characters in his Anthony Mann westerns. This is not the 'aw shucks' Jimmy we all identify him with, but a very bitter man, as bitter even as George Bailey when he thinks the world's deserted him in It's A Wonderful Life.

Jean Hagen plays the Donna Reed like wife here who with a man incarcerated has a lot more troubles than Ms. Reed dealt with. The third major role is that of Wendell Corey's warden whose belief in Stewart is sustained.

Carbine Williams tread earlier along the same lines that Birdman of Alcatraz did. And in depicting the moonshining community, Carbine Williams shows folks that could have been the ancestors of the family Robert Mitchum was part of in Thunder Road. It's a good story about a man who found his soul and his work in the oddest of places.

Though the overall script is a tad weak - as you can totally imagine the magazine article upon which it was based - the opening sequence of Carbine Williams is riveting. James Stewart starts the film as an old man; he's called away from his work at Winchester headquarters to deal with a problem at home. His son, Bobby Hyatt, has gotten into a fight at school. Jimmy and his wife, Jean Hagen, decide that it's time he learned the truth; so Jimmy drives Bobby to a prison run by Wendell Corey. He introduces Wendell as his best friend and leaves them alone together in the warden's office. It was great parenting for Jimmy to allow his story to be told by a friend. If he told it himself, his son might not have believed it.

Wendell sits Bobby down and tells him that his father spent years in prison for murder before he was born. Then the movie goes back in time and the story starts - riveting, isn't it? You know what else is riveting: James Stewart as a bad guy. Until recently, I'd always thought James Stewart played exclusively goody-goodies like George Bailey. But you can find lots of movies where he plays someone incredibly unlikable - sometimes a downright jerk. In this movie, he runs an illegal bootleg still, then starts shooting at the police when they try to arrest him. Not very bright, and not very admirable. It's no wonder he winds up in jail. Once there, though, he portrays the original Cool Hand Luke and is bad and stubborn to the bone.

Jimmy gives a great performance, though, even when he's not someone you can root for. Before this movie, I couldn't picture him as convict on the chain gang. He's George Bailey, for goodness sake! But he's got quite the chip on his shoulder as this brand-new character, and his gruffness is quite startling. If it hadn't been such a contentious year at the Hot Toasty Rags for 1952, he would have scored a nomination. If you can't imagine seeing such a different side to James Stewart, check out this forgotten drama.

I joined the Navy in 1951. I saw Carbine Williams before I joined in Tacoma, Wa. I saw it in San Diego ,Ca. before I left for Korea Then it was shown aboard the carrier Kearsarge while in the Sea of Japan.I cant remember where I saw it the next few times but I remember I saw it a total of eight times and enjoyed it more each time I saw it. I was especially happy when Marsh was pardoned for his crime.They didn't know for sure if he shot the government man ,but since he was considered the best shot in the group he was blamed and convicted. It was just a movie with a lot of heart.I would watch it again if I could find a copy. If anyone knows where I can get a copy of this movie I would be very happy.

A sort of biopic of the famed gun maker starring James Stewart from 1952. Williams was a war veteran who upon returning home couldn't wait to get married but when he comes collecting for his piece of land from his father, who demands he put in time before getting his, decides to give up his claim & make his way while working as a manual laborer but when he hears he can make more money servicing moonshine stills (he's something of a mechanical savant) he jumps at the chance becoming so successful he opens more stills along the way. This is the time of prohibition however so when the feds come w/rifles drawn, a gun fight erupts w/one of the agents getting killed. Williams is brought to trial for the death & ever the kind of man he is who accepts his fate, he takes the sentence willingly, spending the bulk of his time in forced labor (he gained an infraction for having a knife). During his down time he begins working on a rifle (w/parts scored from the prison's workshop) which will become his legacy, w/at first skeptical support from the warden which becomes full throated seeing the revolutionary design & possible applications, which gains him an early release. The film works as a profile of a man whose determination can stand against all comers but as a study of someone who is a tinkerer (the rifle's construction is more of an internal coping mechanism after he spends time in solitary) the film is lacking but Stewart, the consummate every man, can do no wrong so the film is worth a peek just for that. Also starring Wendell Corey as the tough but fair warden, James Arness as one of Williams' brothers & Paul Stewart (he played Kane's butler in Citizen Kane) as a thug always looking to break out of prison.

Famously likeable James Stewart did his share of dramatic roles, although most were of simple, everyday fellas, so in CARBINE WILLIAMS he gets to play a determined, insanely stubborn loser...

Although he starts out nice enough in a frame story about the titular gun-maker whose backstory begins with a perfect marriage contrasting a secret, very illegal and dangerous moonshine gig...

But CARBINE is mostly a hard-line prison flick, initially of the chain-gang nature, and Stewart does a pretty good job as a convict who refuses to give in, even to logic when there's a nice-enough warden (Wendell Corey) on the last stretch...

As Stewart remains an edgy, sullen wishbone between token rebel Paul Stewart, always planning an escape, while avoiding perfectly-patient wife Jean Hagen in a nifty biopic with a little more run-time than the usual time-filling programmer.

This movie is a great movie for those who are into guns. Weather it be gun collecting, or just history. This movie portrays the actual real life story of how the winchester carbine was brought about. It is correct in it's history, and very interesting. Jimmy Stewart does an excellent job of portraying the feelings of a prisoner who may be wrongly convicted. It was never determined who actually killed the agent. This man made a rifle to help the American fighting man of the armed forces. Lighter, faster and more reliable than anything up to it's time. This was done inside a prison, with nothing but a file. When it was found out what he was doing, the warden of the prison eventually stands behind him and helps him in his efforts. If you are not interested in guns it is still a informative movie with a great human interest story!

This is one of my favorite Jimmy Stewart movies and I feel it's also one of his most under-appreciated. It's a biopic of David Marshall Williams, the inventor of the M1 carbine rifle. Williams was a moonshiner who went to prison for killing a federal agent (a deputy sheriff in reality but changed to a fed here for some reason). While in prison, he works on a new kind of repeating rifle that would be the basis for the carbine invented later.

Stewart dominates the movie and his performance keeps you interested throughout. Jean Hagen and Wendell Corey offer fine support. This is a pretty straightforward and simple biographical movie. There are no bells and whistles. But there's something about it that always appealed to me. Jimmy Stewart fans will love it, I'm sure.

This is a great story about David Marshall Williams - an independent spirited man who rightfully or wrongfully gets accused of killing a law enforcement officer during a moonshine distillery raid and goes to prison. The twist is that he's not a career criminal but a strait forward man, and also an inventor who comes across wrong during the trial for speaking the event as he believes it, and gets the unfair blame for the death. Williams (Jimmy Stuart) is an honest man who says things as he believes it - which doesn't win him charm points with the prison warden, but has a principle he believes in. Some of his integrity shines through, and although seen as a trouble maker, he is entrusted to be in the machine shop of the prison. There he puts his mind to work and starts working on a new rifle design. During one altercation, he's thrown into solitary confinement where he uses the time to invent the new gas action loading mechanism for his rifle. By this time prison warden Capt. H.T. Peoples (Wendell Corey) is sympathetic with Williams and allows him to develop his idea. He even allows Williams to have time out of prison to spend with his wife. Marshall could have escaped during this time, but he returns to prison again showing his strait forward integrity. On the day Williams completes the design, to test fire the rifle, Capt. Peoples hands Williams the bullet - warden is giving his prisoner a bullet to fire a rifle ! The design works, and Williams applies for patent. Colt fire arms is interested in his design, and visits him in prison to license his design. The design becomes none other than the M1 rifle which became the staple fire arms during WW II for the U.S. military.

This is a great story told by great actors about a man who despite his odds achieved something no short of a miracle. It also tells a story about human heart, that there are good men who can be understanding, generous, and develop friendship despite situations they are placed under. James Stuart play the role of Carbine Williams character perfectly. An honest man of few words, but lives by a principle he believes in. He's an anti-hero of a sorts in this movie, but is my most favorite part he's ever played in a movie. Wendell Corey plays somewhat of a protective role to Williams who he understands is living life too honestly for his own good. Their muted but genuine friendship shines through in this film.

One of the few unknown classic of Hollywood. A marvelous movie to watch.

I saw this movie when I was 15 and just saw it again tonight on TV. In the Army I used the M-1 Carbine, won a rapid fire competition with 7 our of 8 bulls eyes at 200 yards, and was given the Expert Marksman medal. I was so impressed with the Carbine I own one now with a 30 round clip.

James Stewart is one of my favorite movie stars and did a great job in this movie. Marsh Williams made a significant contributions to our war efforts and probably was responsible for helping to save thousands of American soldiers. He surely earned his forgiveness for the situation that put him in prison. This was a true American story and I am happy I got to see it again after 56 years.

Some how I just seemed to have missed this great film of James Stewart and his great acting and a very entertaining film. James Stewart,(David Marshall,'Marsh',Williams),"Bell Book & Candle",'58, winds up in a prison camp with nice stripe uniforms and a very bad attitude towards writing home to his wife, and his prison warden, Wendell Corey,(Capt. H.T. Peoples),"The Big Knife",'55. Capt. Peoples tries to break Marsh down to his way of thinking and as a result, he starts making automatic weapons. Jean Hagen,(Maggie Williams),"The Big Knife",'55, gave an outstanding supporting role as the wife of Marsh. If you want to see a young Stewart and a very entertaining story, watch this great CLASSIC!

Are there any other prison movies where the warden is a good-guy? He is, in this one.

Oh, I guess the warden is the good-guy in BRUBAKER, but he's also the main character. I meant: are there any other prisoner's-point-of-view prison movies where the warden is a good-guy?