Straight Time (1978) User Reviews

Quite Good

[jhph12 · 8/10 · 29 January 2005]

This movie creeps up on you, gets a kind of emotional hold on you and digs in through the end. Really, a terrific 70s style film (should have been made in 1973). Dustin Hoffman is outstanding. He gives an understated performance that fits the atmosphere of the movie, the story and himself perfectly. It is one of his best performances. Theresa Russell, and Harry Dean Stanton also deliver excellent performances. A very good example of how story, and acting that is true to the story, matter so much in making a good film. Urls Grosbard does a good job of establishing the mood of the film and carrying it all the way through, without hitting you over the head with unnecessarily forced dialog or drawn-out action sequences, etc.

Excellent Film!!!

[xlp · 8/10 · 29 January 2005]

I wasn't expecting much from this film especially since it's only 6.9 on IMDb, and barely any posts about it, but don't let that fool you, this is probably one of the most under-appreciated movies i've ever seen in my life.

I really see why Dustin Hoffman is sometimes regarded as one of the best actors of all-time.. he had such a strong performance, so congruent and alpha. It's really a movie where you just GOT to keep watching to see what happens next, and it's well worth watching, you'll love it. I think if more people see it, it's going to be a "cult favorite".

8.5/10 GO SEE IT!

Portrait of a criminal - but it's complicated

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 30 July 2023]

We meet Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman) as he is getting out of prison on parole after six years. He has an arrogant condescending parole officer (M. Emmett Walsh) but yet he seems determined to go straight. He is supposed to go to a halfway house, but the parole officer gives him one week to find a place to live and get a job. He does that - modest ones for sure, but they qualify. He also meets a girl at the employment office in whom he gets interested, a very young Theresa Russell as Jenny Mercer. Jenny seems intrigued with Max, given that he is upfront about his criminal past.

The parole officer puts Max back in jail for suspicion of drug abuse, and after his urine test comes back clean he is released, but he has lost his job and his room. Max decides to get even with this guy and, on the way to the halfway house, commandeers the car, drags out the parole officer, and handcuffs him to a fence next to the highway with his pants around his ankles. Max takes off in his car and it is clear LA hasn't changed that much in 45 years as nobody comes to the officer's immediate aid. Max is now forced to go back to a life of crime, but it doesn't seem like he needs that much prodding. Complications ensue.

You're not sure who the real Max Dembo is. You meet all of his friends, ex-cons themselves, and they are as complex as Max is. They have working class lives with kids, wives, and cookouts, but don't need the hard sell to decide to go back to crime. It's not a hard decision for any of them. And you can see how they all got apprehended in the past - they all have their rash, greedy, and violent sides.

You never meet any of Max's family of origin. Being in his 30s you have no idea if he ever had enough time on the outside to make some kind of family of his own. Neither is ever mentioned. So he is a complete enigma, known only by what we see in this film and his criminal history, which is shown in the end credits. It's a very gritty crime film and character study, and a good example of what kind of films could be made after the production code completely collapsed that would have been hard to make just ten years before when it had only recently been disposed of.

One of the best 70's movies.

[mbuchwal · 9 February 2005]

This modest movie captured the blown out angst of the 70's better than any other film and is a worthy addition to the great tradition of noir gangster dramas that began with High Sierra (starring Bogart). It is also a high point in Dustin Hoffman's career, perhaps his greatest performance. Unlike pictures such as "Rambo," it does not so much romanticize the violence as make the viewer pity the protagonist for his tragic choice. I wonder if any parolees who saw this movie decided to go straight rather than risk the dangers of returning to a life of crime. I also wonder if any parole officers who saw it were persuaded to be more humane in their treatment of ex-cons. Haven't seen one this good in a long long time!

How Impossible Is to a Smalltime Thief to Regenerate and Begin a Straight Life

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 7 May 2011]

After many juvenile detentions and six years in prison, the small time thief and burglar Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman) is released on parole. Max has an initial friction with his nasty parole officer Earl Frank (M. Emmet Walsh), but the officer agrees to let him live in a hotel room if he gets a job within a week. Max goes to an employment agency and the attendant Jenny Mercer (Theresa Russell) helps him to get a job in a can industry. Max is decided to begin a new life straight and visits his old pal Willy Darin (Gary Busey) and his family. When Willy brings Max home, he injects heroin and leaves his spoon under Max's bed. Max dates Jenny and on the next day after hours, he finds Frank waiting for him snooping around his room. Frank finds the spoon and sends Max to prison for tests to prove whether he had a fix or not. Despite the negative result, Frank leaves Max for a week imprisoned. When Max is released again, Franks gives a ride and presses him to tell who had a fix in his room. Max hits Frank, steals his car and seeks out his former friends to restart his life of crime. Jenny lodges Max at her place and has a love affair with him. Max and his best friend Jerry Schue (Harry Dean Stanton) successfully rob a bank; but after a jewelry heist in Beverly Hills, where Max loses Jerry and Willy, he leaves California and Jenny and heads alone elsewhere.

"Straight Time" is a small gangster film that shows how impossible is to a smalltime thief to regenerate and begin a straight life in insensitive the American correctional system with abusive parole officers and no assistance to the ex-cons. Dustin Hoffman performs a criminal that is trapped in the underworld, supported by an excellent cast of veterans and promising stars. The twenty-one year-old Theresa Russell in her second movie is incredibly beautiful. I have always been a fan of this talented but underrated actress that has an adorable voice and today I have recalled how gorgeous she was in the beginning of her career. M. Emmet Walsh performs his usual role of a despicable police officer. Gary Busey (with his son Jake), Kathy Bates and Harry Dean Stanton complete the great cast of this quite unknown film that has been just released on DVD in Brazil. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Liberdade Condicional" ("Parole")

Searing Character Study...Not To Be Missed

[secragt · 10/10 · 10 October 2003]

Whatever the weaknesses of STRAIGHT TIME, the strengths render them meaningless. This is at the center a small story about a small man of no consequence in the world. Dustin Hoffman's character is never going to do Great Things with his life. He's probably never going to hold a meaningful job thanks to his criminal record. Whether it's due to the inequities of the system or his own character's weaknesses, it doesn't matter. He'll never have a family or make a contribution to society. But we still care about him. Hoffman's amazing performance makes us care and gives him meaning that few actors could imbue.

The storyline is slow and downbeat. Nothing good is going to come to the inhabitants of this movie. However, that is the unrepentant message of STRAIGHT TIME and it is delivered with amazing power and stark desperation. I can see why this sad premise was a commercial flop but there is not a single false note in the entire heartbreaking two hours. The stellar supporting cast features early roles for Gary Busey, Kathy Bates and M. Emmett Walsh. One of the great noirs of the seventies and a must see for anyone who is a fan of Hoffman or film noir in general.

A powerful film with some flaws...

[dexter-3 · 7/10 · 30 August 1999]

Gritty, seemingly realistic drama about the life of an ex-con trying to go straight. Hoffman is great in the lead role of new parolee Max Dembo trying to succeed in the outside world despite some strong barriers (Walsh). The supporting performances are quite good, particularly those of Harry Dean, Walsh and Theresa Russell. Look for Kathy Bates as Gary Busey's wife. The settings (seedy Los Angeles in 1977) are good, as are the clothes (!). My issues with the film are 1) Max gets a good setup very quickly (job and hot girlfriend), and 2) his descent into almost psychotically violent and foolish behavior happens quickly. Perhaps he leaves a clue that this metamorphosis will occur when he's having dinner with Russell. I also found the editing to be a bit rough in spots, as scenes unfold with no resolution to certain issues (e.g. Sandy Baron showing up late for a job and disappearing from the film).

Overall, "Straight Time" is a hard-hitting drama with a great performance by Hoffman in a "real" role that was overshadowed by his less fulfilling later roles ("Rainman," "Outbreak," "Sphere"). The film's final scene is quite good, and perhaps answers some questions raised earlier in the film. A "7."

N.B. One would believe that an ex-con who reveals easily verifiable info. about his new girlfriend to his parole officer, then beats up the parole officer, would be foolish to shack up at her place while on the lam. How does the criminal mind work?

An absolutely wonderful sleeper.

[Skip McCoy · 10/10 · 17 August 1999]

This is such a great film. The cast is so excellent. You've got Dustin Hoffman, who turns in one of his best performances, but it only gets better from there. Gary Busey plays Hoffman's buddy and husband to Kathy Bates-both excellent. Harry Dean Stanton (probably one of my favorite actors) plays one of Hoffman's partners in heist. His performance is right on the money as always. M. Emmet Walsh plays Hoffman's nearly inhumanly sleazy parole officer. Walsh does such a good job here too(I read somewhere that the Coens saw him in this movie and that was what led them to cast him in Blood Simple). Theresa Russell does a nice job as Hoffman's girlfriend. Eddie Bunker himself shows up as a bartender. It's no one wonder Tarantino would want to study this film-it's remarkable.

Excellent character study goes a little cockeyed near the end...

[moonspinner55 · 7/10 · 29 April 2008]

Dustin Hoffman is surprisingly serious, surprisingly gritty playing a recently paroled thief named Max Dembo who can't seem to straighten out his life. After meeting a new lady who is very supportive of him, Dembo reverts back to the only thing he really knows: robbery. Tough and vivid character study based on real-life convict Edward Bunker's novel "No Beast So Fierce" gives Hoffman a wonderful chance as an actor to stretch some technical muscles (he hadn't been this focused in years). Ulu Grosbard's atmospheric direction aids in Hoffman's triumph, as well as some flavorful dialogue (worked on by several writers). Theresa Russell is lovely as the smitten secretary in Max's life, supporting work from M. Emmet Walsh also good. The picture is marred by gaps of logic or credibility, not to mention by a tepid finale, but otherwise it's quite gripping. *** from ****

unseen gem

[pswanson00 · 9/10 · 24 April 2004]

My wife and I saw this in the theater at the time of its release, and I've never talked to anyone else who's seen it. This is among Dustin Hoffman's grittiest work, and he is superb (I've read that this is his favorite of his own films). Gary Busey, a gorgeous 20-year old Theresa Russell,and the old pro Harry Dean Stanton are all excellent. This film is among my all-time favorites, and I recommend it wholeheartedly. Since reviews are required to be at least ten lines long, I'll add that it took me several minutes to recognize the young, skinny Kathy Bates, who was spot-on as Busey's justifiably concerned wife. I'm a fan of character actors, and M. Emmett Walsh is great as the asshole parole officer. I hope that this film will someday be re-released, ala Taxi Driver, and get a chance to prove itself to a new generation of audiences.

Max the Mushroom Cloud

[view_and_review · 7/10 · 18 November 2019]

Although there are many things that could be discussed, there are two things I want to focus on from this movie: the parole officer and the girlfriend.

The parole officer Earl Frank (M. Emmet Walsh) was the worse kind of PO. His underhanded and heavy handed tactics all but ensured that Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman) would go back to prison. The PO should be aiding and assisting a parolee as much as possible to merge back into regular society. By being overly strict to the point of locking Max up again while his urine test went through, he hurt him as bad as one could imagine. His self-respect was snatched away, he probably lost his job due to being a no-show, and he could see the writing on the wall that he was going to violate his parole one way or another with the PO he had.

It was sweet justice when Max handcuffed Earl to the fence on the side of the freeway with his pants down. The direction Earl went afterwards was extremely self-destructive, but the impetus was the parole officer.

The girl Max met is a different story. Jenny Mercer (Theresa Russell) was a young simple girl just working a normal job. One could say that her most critical mistake was saying yes to a date with a man she knew was a convicted felon. She said yes to a date not knowing him as a person and not knowing what he was arrested for. Were his eyes that kind, was she that bored, or that desperate?

What was more egregious than her accepting the date was her getting further involved with him once it was clear he was not going to abandon his life of crime. There was no happy ending to that entire scenario. She open her arms and her bed to him as though they were long time lovers finally reunited. What was her story that made her so risky or such a bad judge of character?

Max Dembo was bad news. And as much as I sided with him when his PO was on his case, I pitied him thereafter. He leapt from one bad decision to another and did so very recklessly. Max was a mercurial character that grew unlikeable as the movie went on. He seemed destined to destroy himself and take others down with him. That's a mushroom cloud you don't want to be around.

A Great Piece Of 70s' Cinema

[seymourblack-1 · 9/10 · 11 September 2016]

Although this gritty crime drama garnered a great deal of critical recognition at the time of its release, it never achieved the box office success that it deserved and probably this is the reason why it's remained so under-appreciated ever since. Its story about a criminal who tries to go straight, illustrates brilliantly the many factors that make such an undertaking so difficult and also does so in a way that never glorifies the criminal or condemns the institutions that make rehabilitation such a huge challenge.

One of the movie's strong points is its appearance of absolute realism and this is, no doubt, attributable to the involvement of career criminal, bank robber and long-term convict Edward Bunker whose novel "No Beast So Fierce" provided the raw material for the plot. His additional contributions as a screenwriter, technical adviser and bit-part player must also have been critical to achieving the level of authenticity that makes "Straight Time" so compelling to watch from start to finish.

After serving a six-year sentence at San Quentin for armed robbery, Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman) has to report to his parole officer Earl Frank (M Emmet Walsh). Their relationship gets off to a bad start because Max had failed to report to the halfway house he was supposed to go to on his first night out of prison and Frank, who's obviously a man who likes abusing his power, treats his newest parolee with utter contempt. Max says he wants to leave his life of crime behind and initially makes good progress by getting a job in a can factory, getting himself somewhere to live and starting to date Jenny Mercer (Theresa Russell), a young clerk he'd met at the employment agency where he's found his job.

Max makes contact with his old friend Willy Darin (Gary Busey)an ex-con who's now married with a young son but his enjoyment of the evening he spends at Willy's home is spoiled when Willy's wife makes it clear that she doesn't approve of the two men renewing their acquaintance. Willy subsequently visits Max's room and when they're talking, casually cooks up some heroin. Later, when Frank turns up unexpectedly at Max's place and finds the book of matches that Willy had used, he takes Max to the county jail to be checked for drug-taking. Although the tests confirm that Max hadn't taken any drugs, he's kept in prison for some days before he gets picked up by Frank who intends to drive him to his halfway house. As they travel along the freeway, Frank tries to get Max to tell him who'd been using drugs in his room and when he becomes increasingly insistent, Max flips and beats Frank repeatedly before taking a spectacular form of revenge on him for all the humiliation he'd suffered at his hands.

This incident leads to Max losing his job and deciding that his only chance of survival is to go back to the life that he knows best. After renewing his friendship with Jerry Schue (Harry Dean Stanton), an apparently reformed ex-con who soon makes it known that he's bored by the straight life, Max's downward spiral goes into overdrive as they go on to carry out a couple of high-value robberies together.

"Straight Time" was originally scheduled to provide Dustin Hoffman with his directorial debut but soon after shooting began, it became clear that helming the piece as well as starring in it was going to be too onerous and so Ulu Grosbard was recruited. His style of direction proved to be particularly effective both in the context of providing the required level of focus on the characters and also for the ways in which he filmed the various heists.

Hoffman's performance is exceptional, especially for the completely natural way in which he makes his character seem so believable. Harry Dean Stanton and Gary Busey are terrific as Max's associates, M Emmet Walsh is marvellous as the sadistic parole officer and in one of her earliest roles, Theresa Russell expresses the full range of (mostly negative) emotions that the naïve Jenny goes through with all the skill of someone considerably more experienced. "Straight Time" is a great piece of 70s' cinema and really deserves a much higher profile.

good crime story

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 9 January 2016]

In Los Angeles, Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman) is released from prison on parole reporting to strict parole officer Earl (M. Emmet Walsh). He's trying to go straight after a lifetime of thieving. At the employment agency, Jenny Mercer (Theresa Russell) gets him factory work. They go out on a date. Then Earl sends him back to jail. Blood test proves that he's clean and he's released. Earl picks him up to drive him to the halfway house. He hits Earl and escapes. With no way to go straight, he returns to his criminal past.

Dustin Hoffman started as the director but had to hire Ulu Grosbard to take over. It allows to concentrate more on the acting. It does meander for the first half. It's a slow jog with some tense action later on. The directing is functional. It does have some interesting acting talents beside Hoffman. Theresa Russell is a fresh-faced newbie in this. A little tighter would make this even better.

Something wrong with this one.

[jparker-985-769124 · 3/10 · 18 April 2011]

Wow, I am reading all the glowing reviews and I am completely flummoxed. This film just did not take me to the place. Try as I did, I just couldn't imagine Hoffman as a true 'tough guy'. Maybe it's my familiarity with his person but all I could see was a soft spoken, intellectual type of guy trying to act tough. Didn't work. The parole officer M. Emmet Walsh, who typically comes across as cartoonish in films, ends up tied to a fence sans pants. Really? The scene is so unreal in a film that tries desperately to be real. Two key roles, friend Jerry and friend Willy never really get developed. Why is a fellow criminal such as Willy so incompetent. And why would Jerry risk so much when Max is also time and again shown to be incompetent at crime. Hoffman is miscast. Screenplay is porous and predictable.

Great acting

[bgbacardi · 23 May 2005]

"Straight Time," hoisted high by a brilliant and dexterous performance by Dustin Hoffman, pulls off a very unusual trick: It's one of the only movies in memory where a character we fully identify with turns out to not be such a good guy - and stays that way. "Straight Time" begins on Max's (Hoffman) side and shows us what appears to be a handsome, wounded soul suffering at the hands of an injustice legal system. But Max turns out to be no angel, and yet through the very end, we care about his fortunes and want things to work out for him. It's a brave and gritty role, and Hoffman, on screen the entire film, embodies it. Compare "Straight Time" to "Monster," and see that Lee Wuornos and Max Deblor are cousins. Both characters are labyrinthine in their depth, and both actors find the perfect pitch.

Straight Time

[DJJOEINC · 7/10 · 13 June 2007]

Straight Time- Solid Dustin Hoffman movie from the 70s- new out on DVD. Hoffman plays Max Dembo an ex-con struggling to go straight and deal with his parole officer(played perfectly M. Emmet Walsh).Dembo manages to snag a straight job with help from Theresa Russell(who becomes a love interest).The movie manages to capture the frustration of being an ex-con.Based on No Beast So Fierce a book by ex-con Edward Bunker- we see the un-ending cycle of jail time and bad schemes.Gary Busey,Kathy Bates and Harry Dean Stanton all do well in their roles in Dembo's universe.The DVD has a commentary track by Dustin Hoffman and the director and a vintage featurette.Good mix of action and location shooting.Worth a rental for fans of gritty realistic drama. B+

Superbly gritty 70's crime drama with a first-rate Dustin Hoffman performance

[Woodyanders · 10/10 · 3 April 2006]

Dustin Hoffman gives one of his finest, scrappiest and least sappy performances as Max Dembo, a cagey, scuzzy, ferociously self-reliant sociopathic ex-con who gets sprung from the joint and makes a game, albeit futile attempt at going legit, only to wind up resorting to his old criminal ways after his browbeating, grossly unfair and overzealous parole officer (a superbly slimy M. Emmet Walsh) fouls up his chances at becoming a decent, law-abiding citizen with some trumped-up bulls**t drug charge.

Under Ulu Grosbard's tight, no-frills, naturalistic direction, this marvelously gritty and hard-hitting semi-verite crime drama makes for a terrifically tough-minded adaptation of real-life reformed hoodlum Edward Bunker's exceptional semi-autobiographical novel "No Beast So Fierce" (Bunker co-wrote the rough, resolutely unromantic no-nonsense script and has a funny bit part as one of Max's connected underworld pals) as well as a savagely trenchant indictment of our society's cruelly ineffectual prison reformation system and a provocative meditation on the struggle for redemption. The supporting cast makes the grade with flying colors: the gorgeous Theresa Russell as a guileless, but headstrong welfare worker who gets more than she bargained for when she hooks up with Max; Gary Busey as a deplorably craven, heroin-addicted wheelman with a backbone of jello, a then unknown Kathy Bates as Busey's loving wife, and, best of all, the ever-awesome Harry Dean Stanton as an uncomfortably mellowed-out erstwhile jailbird who gladly chucks away his hideously banal suburbanite existence in order to embark on an exciting robbing spree with Max. Further strengthened by David Shire's sprightly blues score, Owen Roizman's agile, but scruffy cinematography, a suitably harsh and unglamorous depiction of brutish low-life crooks and the grimy, seedy, and dangerous down'n'dirty milieu they inhibit, a lively, adrenaline-pumping jewelry store heist sequence, and a rigorously grim, downbeat, unsentimental tone that stays bleakly true to itself to the literal bitter end, this extremely powerful knock-out undeservedly tanked at the box office, but has rightfully amassed a sizable cult following which correctly proclaims it as one of the single most remarkable and shamefully underrated sleepers from the 70's.

Fantastic cast

[gbill-74877 · 7/10 · 7 April 2021]

Amazing cast! Dustin Hoffman, M. Emmett Walsh, Harry Dean Stanton, Gary Busey, Kathy Bates, and Theresa Russell are all superb. I think I would have liked the film a little more had it been more about the parole officer (Walsh) sadistically trying to exert his power of the ex-con (Hoffman) while the latter was making a stronger effort to go straight. There is some of that early on, and I think it was when the film was at its best. Otherwise, there is unapologetic honesty in the portrayal which has its merits, but the character was a hard guy to like, or feel empathy for. Plus, as Stanton's character puts it, he's so unprofessional.

I got stomach trouble... no guts.

[hitchcockthelegend · 9/10 · 31 July 2016]

Based on ex-convict Eddie Bunker's novel, No Beast So Fierce, pic pitches Dustin Hoffman as ex-con Max Dembo, who after being released from prison has every intention to go straight. Easier said than done, though...

It's hard to believe that Straight Time is often thought of as under seen, a hidden gem of the 1970s, this given that it stars Dustin Hoffman and the advent of the internet years has seen it garner votes and reviews aplenty. Yet it does seem to be a pic that doesn't get its due credit, annoying since it's one of Hoffman's greatest performances.

Hoffman loved the material and heavily sought to direct and star in it. Something which proved too hard for him to do. He was humble enough to recognise this fact and brought in friend Ulu Grosbard to direct while he concentrated on the acting side of things - result!

There is absolutely no glamour on show here, Max is surrounded by weasels, slime balls, junkies and perpetual thieves, while his own mental fortitude is suspect at best. It's both gripping and disturbing, this world he inhabits, no excuses are put forward, no "woe is me" tales, he ultimately accepts his lot.

Hoffman is backed by superb performances from Harry Dean Stanton, M. Emmet Walsh and Gary Busey, and Theresa Russell gives quality turn as the naive woman in Max's life - no token here, she's in the grip of a homme career criminal and not merely here to look pretty and doe eyed.

As a character study it positively bristles with brains and foolish brawn, and Grosbard directs with unfussy skill whilst showing a very good eye for a dramatic action scene. Studio interference would hurt the pic upon release, but now this can be seen as a film of great worth. 9/10

A Touchstone Movie

[disinterested_spectator · 6/10 · 5 February 2016]

"Straight Time" is a movie that can function as a political touchstone, distinguishing the bleeding-heart liberals from the law-and-order conservatives, depending on one's reaction to it. For example, consider the first two sentences of the plot summary here on IMDb: "After being released on parole, a burglar attempts to go straight, get a regular job, and just go by the rules. He soon finds himself back in jail at the hands of a power-hungry parole officer." Well, I take exception to two parts of that summary, that Max attempts to "just go by the rules," and that the parole officer is "power-hungry." That is a bleeding-heart liberal interpretation.

The first thing we see Max do is order a hot dog and then "forget" to pay for it. We make excuses for him, since he is not used to paying for food, having spent six years in prison. But if you are a law-and-order conservative, you quickly stop making excuses for him. He shows up late for his meeting with his parole officer, who wants to know where he stayed the night before, because he did not show up at the halfway house, which was required as one of the conditions of his parole, something Max agreed to upon his release from prison. Max says, "Because I just spent six years in prison. I just wanted to look at the lights. I wanted to feel free. I wanted to walk around and not have somebody tell me that I gotta get in bed at ten."

Well, isn't that nice. Max believes that what he wants is more important than the rules. Of course, that's why he has such a long rap sheet in the first place, because he thought that the fact that he wanted something that belonged to someone else was more important than the rule that prohibits stealing. The rest of us know that we have to try to satisfy our wants while complying with the rules, but apparently six years in prison was not enough to teach Max that lesson.

If I were parole officer Earl Frank, by this time I would be disgusted. He tells Max he has an attitude problem, which he most certainly does. But Max is either dense or purposely acting that way, because he asks what kind of attitude he is supposed to have. Frank patiently explains the facts of life to Max: "Well, you don't decide whether or not you go to a halfway house. I mean, you come to me, we discuss it, then I decide." Sounds reasonable to me, but I guess this is what the critic who summarized the plot meant by saying that Frank was a "power-hungry parole officer." I would have told Max to get his butt over to the halfway house, and that once he had checked in there, he could come back to my office and we could start talking about his finding a job. But Frank is more generous than I would have been, saying, "I'll make a deal with you, Max. If you find a place to sleep today and a job by the end of the week, you don't have to go to a halfway house. Fair?" More than fair, as far as I'm concerned.

At the employment agency, Max is given some tests, one of which is typing. The employment agent who is testing him is Jenny. She tells Max three times that his time is up, for him to stop typing, but you know how Max is about the rules. He doesn't want to stop typing, so he figures that entitles him to keep going. Jenny finally has to rip the paper out of the typewriter.

Max goes to visit his friend Willy, who has apparently also done time. After Willy leaves the room for a minute, his wife Selma tells Max that it would be best for him not to come around, because Willy has been doing well going straight, and she is afraid that Max might not be a good influence on him. And then she makes a further observation: "You're on parole now, Max. Well, you really shouldn't even be seen with Willy, right?" So here we are again. A condition of Max's parole is that he not associate with convicted felons like Willy, but I guess Max wanted to see Willy, and as we know, what he wants always trumps the rules.

If Max had gone to the halfway house and not visited Willy in accordance with the terms of his parole, he could have made a go of it at the National Can Company, and everything would have been fine. And the proof of that, at least within the terms of the movie, is that Willy and Jerry have succeeded in holding down jobs and going straight. But Willy and Jerry don't want to work for a living and have an ordinary life like the rest of us. They throw it all away so they can become criminals again, just as Max throws his chance away by refusing to follow some simple rules.

Put me down as a law-and-order conservative.

An excellent film. Hoffman at his apex.

[jjm71 · 9/10 · 24 March 2005]

A great film. Dustin Hoffman is at his peak here, and shows why he's one of the five greatest actors of his generation as he inhabits the character of Max Dembo, a career criminal who's just been released on parole. The movie is brilliant in it's pacing, as we see the layers of Dembo slowly revealed. We want to believe he's a good guy who just made a mistake ("I just want the same things everyone else wants..."), but as the film goes on we see one transgression after another that ultimately reveal to us that he may not be the man we thought he was in the beginning. An excellent portrayal by Hoffman is at the center of the movie, but there is also fine work on display from M. Emmett Walsh (maybe the greatest character actor of all time) as his parole officer, and Theresa Russell (looking like she's about 18) as his naive love interest. Hoffman is brilliant in his interpretation of a prison lifer. Check out the scene where his P.O. throws him back in jail on a petty bust just so he can show Dembo who's in charge. Walsh nails his part as the small man who compensates for his shortcomings by abusing what little authority he has (in other words, a dead on portrayal of almost all law officers), but Hoffman is absolutely perfect as he goes into his thousand yard stare mode while going through the jail house routine of frisking and delousing. The look on his face says "You can't hurt me because I'm numb". Very few flaws in this film. Hell, even the Randy Newmanesque music that plays throughout is perfectly suited. I was enthralled from the opening scene to the last, which is, fittingly, a series of mugshots of Hoffman's Dembo over the years. Highly recommend.

crime just might have to pay sometimes

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 8 August 2006]

Dustin Hoffman gives as intense a performance as we can expect from him as ex-con Max Dembo, who might have a harder than expected time ditching his past. "Straight Time" hits you like a kick in the gut, and they pull no punches. Maybe it's not the greatest movie ever, but it's definitely worth seeing. I would certainly say that whenever Ulu Grosbard directed Dustin Hoffman, there was always a good result (the previous time was "Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying All Those Terrible Things About Me?").

So, this is one that you should see. Also starring Theresa Russell, Gary Busey, Harry Dean Stanton, M. Emmett Walsh and Kathy Bates.

Dustin Destined for Crime

[frankwiener · 8/10 · 21 October 2018]

Or...how to humiliate your detestable creep of a parole officer like no one else in only a matter of seconds.

Beginning with "The Graduate", I have seen many Dustin Hoffman movies in which he excels as an actor playing a very wide range of roles, but there is something about this part as lifetime criminal Max Dembo that stands out in my mind. Contrary to what some reviewers write, this is a grossly underrated film, and I am very surprised that it was never even nominated for an Oscar in any category. When I examine the names of productions that actually won in that year, I am even more disappointed.

What truly strikes me is how passionate Mr. Hoffman was in making this movie. At some point, he realized that he could not fully develop as Dembo if he directed himself at the same time. That was a good decision, and choosing his friend Ulu Grosbard was an even better one. I have only seen Grosbard's "The Subject Was Roses", a stage play that was very successfully brought to the screen with the assistance of a stellar three person cast. The direction here was brilliant as well, especially the handling of the dramatic heist scenes, the escape sequences, the captivating ending, and much that transpired in between. As a viewer, I was engrossed by the action from start to finish. Hoffman also wisely chose David Shire to compose the mood setting, melancholic musical score.

The entire supporting cast, without exception, was first-rate as well. How M. Emmett Walsh missed at least an Oscar nomination for his extraordinary portrayal of Earl Frank, the sleazy scoundrel of a parole officer, is totally beyond my comprehension.

I've read many overly simplistic interpretations of Max Dembo's character on this page. Unlike other reviewers, I believe that Dembo does at first demonstrate a good attitude to his parole officer, often pushing the limits of his ability, but he may be incapable of handling his prison release, with or without an extremely abusive, sadistic parole officer. At times I wondered whether "Dembo" was a play on "Dumbo", the baby elephant who was treated so cruelly by the world from the very start. Even if Max weren't assigned to a creep like Frank, how long would it have been before he became restless on the assembly line of a can factory and in urgent need of a daring, dramatic caper or two? Aside from the seriously flawed criminal system, Max Dembo seems to be destined for a life of crime.

The typing test, early in the film, is a critical sign to the viewers of at least one very damaging flaw in Max's personality--the inability to abide by social parameters of any kind. This leads to disastrous consequences along the road. By the way, Jenny, the employment counselor who becomes his lover, is obviously dissatisfied with her unfulfilled life at the personnel agency, and, yes, even good looking people get lonely and bored. Why would so many reviewers believe that looks alone automatically guarantee satisfaction with life? The list of tragic celebrity examples alone is very long and sad. Jenny is more than ready for action and even appears lost when the excitement abruptly comes to a close.

This is a gritty and often depressing view of a man who seems to be destined to lead a life of crime, regardless of the specific circumstances. The compelling story, the fine script, the wonderful acting, the skillful direction, and the stirring musical composition combine to create a fascinating film.

Great acting...OK movie

[JasparLamarCrabb · 6/10 · 21 February 2006]

Somehow STRAIGHT TIME is one of the least known movies of the '70s despite the fact that it features a brilliant performance by Dustin Hoffman. He's extremely believable as a con on probation trying --- not very hard --- to go straight. His probation officer, M. Emmett Walsh, is not much help...he'd like nothing better than to get Hoffman back in the joint. Ulu Grosbard's low key direction hampers things a bit, but the cast is excellent. In addition to Hoffman and Walsh, the film features Kathy Bates, Theresa Russell as a sympathetic placement specialist and Harry Dean Stanton as one of Hoffman's cronies. Gary Busey appears as the "nervous getaway!"

Strong cast meanders through subpar getaway script

[buonoart · 5/10 · 29 July 2023]

This film did not meet with much commercial success on release and this is down to a script that just doesn't get any buy in from me. The tale is stale and oft-told: ex-con beset by a mean parole officer meets a beautiful and caring young woman who turns out to not only not care that the ex-con is an ex-con, but adoringly and otherwise inexplicably follows along with him even after learning that he's shot a police officer.

This conceit has been done better many times before and since, with Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw's "The Getaway" coming immediately to mind. Dustin Hoffman is miscast, and then plays his part in a far too nice guy vibe; even then it's again inexplicable that he would commit not one but two murders.

The story is authored by a real ex-con, who also co-wrote the screenplay, and it reads a lot like a boyhood fantasy in which fate shapes events that throw the girl of one's dreams into one's lap.

Good performances by Gary Busey and Harry Dean Stanton, some gritty mid-1970s vibe, but neither a compelling nor rewarding watch.