A unique entry among the golden age of westerns, this is a combination of dark comedy with classic prison drama. In fact, this could be called the "Grand Hotel of Prison Movies" with its eclectic group of characters in a desert prison where bandit Kirk Douglas ends up after he robs a respectable house during their respectable dinner. You know you're going down a different territory when you see the black cook (veteran actress Virginia Capers) quietly bemoaning the fact that she has to work for snooty white folks then putting on airs when she brings their supper into the dining room. Douglas is soon caught and sent to prison where a sudden change brings in new warden Henry Fonda who wants to establish prison reform. Fonda is actually out to discover where Douglas hid the loot he stole (in a pair of bloomers) and befriends him in order to gain some clues. One thing leads to another, the prisoners plan an escape attempt, and the stage is set for Fonda to follow Douglas in order to find out what he's been hired for.
This starts off on just the right note (with the robbery) and never lets up, following Douglas to a brothel (with "The Young and the Restless's" Jeanne Cooper as a hooker!), then to prison where the variety of fellow prisoners are introduced. There's the ancient Missouri Kid (Burgess Meredith), a grizzled con (Warren Oates), a young hot-head (Michael Blodgett), a mute giant (C.K. Yang), and most memorably, an obvious gay couple (Hume Cronyn and John Randolph) who argue like an old married couple. Then, there's "the skipper" (Alan Hale Jr.) as one of the guards, a jovial type who gets a surprisingly gruesome ending.
This is a bawdy comedy with tons of sexual overtones that at first seem gratuitous but really fill out the cheek that some writer's tongue was obviously in. Not only is there the brothel sequence, but a beautiful visitor to the prison (veteran actress Barbara Rhodes) literally gets her dress blown off of her when an explosion in the prison occurs. The violence of the prison is not at all pretty, and Douglas's character is a villain you can't help but like, even though he's about as trustworthy as a rattle snake.
As for Fonda, there's a crooked smile to his supposedly law abiding citizen that is quite a contrast to the sparkle in Douglas's eye. It says to the audience that these two opposites are more alike than they think, and even if they are on the opposite sides of the law, three's an unspoken respect that indicates they knew there's more to each other than what really meets the eye. There's also an ironic conclusion that is truly sardonic and extremely amusing. Some exciting cameos by Arthur O'Connell and Ann Doran (as the robbed white folks in the opening), Martin Gabel (as the original warden) and Lee Grant fill out the cast. Veteran director Joseph L. Mankiewicz provides an exciting atmosphere that never lets up, with excellent photography and outstanding production values. Especially because of its cynicism, this holds up just as well today as it did back in 1970.
This starts off on just the right note (with the robbery) and never lets up, following Douglas to a brothel (with "The Young and the Restless's" Jeanne Cooper as a hooker!), then to prison where the variety of fellow prisoners are introduced. There's the ancient Missouri Kid (Burgess Meredith), a grizzled con (Warren Oates), a young hot-head (Michael Blodgett), a mute giant (C.K. Yang), and most memorably, an obvious gay couple (Hume Cronyn and John Randolph) who argue like an old married couple. Then, there's "the skipper" (Alan Hale Jr.) as one of the guards, a jovial type who gets a surprisingly gruesome ending.
This is a bawdy comedy with tons of sexual overtones that at first seem gratuitous but really fill out the cheek that some writer's tongue was obviously in. Not only is there the brothel sequence, but a beautiful visitor to the prison (veteran actress Barbara Rhodes) literally gets her dress blown off of her when an explosion in the prison occurs. The violence of the prison is not at all pretty, and Douglas's character is a villain you can't help but like, even though he's about as trustworthy as a rattle snake.
As for Fonda, there's a crooked smile to his supposedly law abiding citizen that is quite a contrast to the sparkle in Douglas's eye. It says to the audience that these two opposites are more alike than they think, and even if they are on the opposite sides of the law, three's an unspoken respect that indicates they knew there's more to each other than what really meets the eye. There's also an ironic conclusion that is truly sardonic and extremely amusing. Some exciting cameos by Arthur O'Connell and Ann Doran (as the robbed white folks in the opening), Martin Gabel (as the original warden) and Lee Grant fill out the cast. Veteran director Joseph L. Mankiewicz provides an exciting atmosphere that never lets up, with excellent photography and outstanding production values. Especially because of its cynicism, this holds up just as well today as it did back in 1970.