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Format: VHS
Not Rated
Recording Mode: (unknown)
80 min. |
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Details
Movie Description
Don Siegel's classic B picture stars Neville Brand as prison inmate Dunn. A group of prison convicts are fed up with the conditions they are forced to endure, which include terrible overcrowding, enforced idleness, wretched food, and the billeting of prisoners suffering from severe mental illnesses with the relatively normal. They elect Dunn, the most intelligent of the bunch, to lead them in a revolt for better conditions. The prisoners' efficient plan unfolds with military precision, from the first ambush of an unsuspecting guard to the deafening crescendo of a full-blown prison riot. As the violence progresses, Dunn uses the available media outlets, hoping to gain public sympathy for the prisoners' cause. The warden (Emile Meyer), surprisingly enough, is in full sympathy with the convicts' demands, having futilely called for the same reforms himself--yet he's obliged to suppress the riot. Made almost in the style of a documentary, this highly intelligent drama benefited greatly from producer Walter Wanger's intimate knowledge of life behind bars. Eschewing the good guy/bad guy formula of most prison movies, it explores the difficulties of incarceration for both sides, investing even minor characters with considerable complexity. Meyer is outstanding as the warden, and Brand, Frank Faylen, Paul Freed, and Whit Bissell also give fine performances. Russell Harlan's gritty camerwork also contributes greatly to the overall power of the film.
Film Notes
Shooting location: Folsom State Prison, Folsom, CA.
Sam Peckinpah was the dialogue director.
The film was made in 16 days.
Producer Walter Wanger knew a great deal about prison because he had just been released from one for shooting the lover of his wife, actress Joan Bennett.
Director Robert Bresson cited the film as an influence on his A MAN ESCAPED.
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