The Big House (1930) - George W. Hill

Not the first of the prison pictures, but the one that truly put the genre on the map. After a manslaughter conviction from drunk driving, nice but foolish Kent is sent to a prison over-crowded and unable to properly deal with it's inmates. There he meets veteran criminals like Morgan and his hardened pal Butch. And the system punishes them all, turning them against each other and bringing out the worst.

The Big House established the prison drama as a motion picture genre, as it set new standards in realistic sound recording. Frances Marion garnered a Best Writing Oscar for her screenplay, making her the first woman to receive an Academy Award outside of the Best Actress category.