Prison stuff. In prison movies.
The French have something of a history of making high quality, gritty prison films – the magnificent Le Trou (1960) and the more celebrated Un Prophète (2009) as just two examples. This might not be in the same league, but it’s gritty and authentic and has the classic prison movie feel. (more…)
Posted on November 2nd, 2010 at 8:21 pm. Updated on November 2nd, 2010 at 8:25 pm.
It might not be the best recommendation to say that this wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I had expected. One review had it marked down as ‘hideous’ and another* concluded that it was so beset with problems that it ‘should stay in lock-up, with no eligibility for parole.’ And it’s true; the ending is an absolute shocker, and the 20-second Jerry Seinfeld-Paul Reiser cameo is terrible. But the rest of the film is on a par with lots of other pretty average prison comedies – amongst them Stir Crazy (1980), with which this shares quite a lot. Not the rodeo, thankfully. (more…)
Posted on October 25th, 2010 at 10:22 pm. Updated on October 25th, 2010 at 10:22 pm.
Some films would be better if they’d been left on the cutting room floor. This is one of ’em. (more…)
Posted on October 19th, 2010 at 5:10 pm. Updated on May 8th, 2020 at 10:21 pm.
Pittsburgh, 1901; splendidly cold and bleak. Two brothers are on Death Row for 90 robberies in 90 days, including one crucial one in which a grocer was shot and killed. One brother, Jack Biddle (Matthew Modine), is almost certainly innocent of the murder; his brother Ed (Mel Gibson), might be as well. They are bad boys but charismatic enough, apparently, to make women swoon and jealous men doubly intent on seeing them hang. (more…)
Posted on October 12th, 2010 at 2:14 pm. Updated on October 12th, 2010 at 2:14 pm.
With much of Europe at war, what was clearly needed from Hollywood was an escapist prison drama; an attractive, wrongly accused heroine opposed by an even more beautiful top dog, and a reformist Superintendent with a strong belief in the inherent goodness of the women under her control. It’s a close cousin to 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932, and its variants), with the honor system coming through unscathed after a very big test. (more…)
Posted on October 3rd, 2010 at 7:28 pm. Updated on March 9th, 2016 at 7:37 pm.
There are quite a number of prison films where a prisoner falls in love with the Warden’s daughter. There are not so many where the prisoner falls in love with the Warden’s wife – other than this one and Mrs. Soffel (1984). And, no doubt, a number of others that you will tell me about. (more…)
Posted on September 26th, 2010 at 6:12 pm. Updated on October 12th, 2010 at 2:20 pm.
The Bowery Boys made 48 movies, apparently, at a rate of 4 or 5 offerings a year in their heyday. This was their 19th. Maybe the formula was getting a bit tired, or maybe this was a mere blip and the other 47 are full of noirish, humour-tinged drama or straight-out effervescent wit. Whatever the problem, the word ‘lame’ was invented just for films such as this. (more…)
Posted on September 24th, 2010 at 8:38 pm. Updated on June 17th, 2020 at 4:07 pm.
On 30 December 1947 twelve prisoners escaped from the Colorado State Prison in Cañon City. Now, some prisons might be embarrassed that their security systems were so comprehensively overwhelmed and defeated. Not this one. By 30 June 1948 this film was showing in the cinemas, celebrating the event, with the prison’s Warden, Roy Best, even taking a starring role, playing himself. (more…)
Posted on August 28th, 2010 at 11:57 pm. Updated on August 30th, 2010 at 10:43 pm.
An HIV-AIDS diagnosis. A prison sentence. These men are lumbered with both, held doubly captive. Doubly reviled. Life sentences, and not much of a life at that. (more…)
Posted on August 24th, 2010 at 10:52 pm. Updated on August 25th, 2010 at 6:43 am.
The final credits contain the normal disclaimer about the events depicted being fictitious and not representing any actual persons, living or dead. Really, in a story about a young man who takes on the job of executioner at the jail in which his brother is on Death Row, and who falls in love with (and then impregnates) his brother’s ex-girlfriend who is also on Death Row, it’s a bit unnecessary. One would hope. (more…)
Posted on August 19th, 2010 at 10:25 pm. Updated on August 19th, 2010 at 10:25 pm.