McCORMICK'S QUICK TAKES ON PRISON FILMS.I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (Warner Brothers, 1932). Based on Robert Burns' autobiography, this gritty narrative about the brutality of prison life on a Southern chain gang is part muckraking muck·rake intr.v. muck·raked, muck·rak·ing, muck·rakes To search for and expose misconduct in public life. [From the man with the muckrake, assault and part film noir. Tracing the slow, inevitable descent of a hapless and largely innocent WWI WWI abbr. World War I WWI World War One veteran-turned-hobo, the film casts Paul Muni as a man whose single misstep ensnares him in a sadistic "corrections" system with an insatiable appetite for its pound of flesh. Even after a daring escape, Muni is unable to find true peace--and is eventually re-ensnared. In the film's stark finale, he has become the very sort of criminal prison life was supposed to prevent. **** Birdman of Alcatraz Birdman of Alcatraz (Robert Stroud, 1890–1963) from jailbird to famous ornithologist. [Am. Hist.: Worth, 28] See : Birds Birdman of Alcatraz Robert F. (United Artists, 1962). John Frankenheimer's fictionalized account of double murderer Robert Stroud's jailhouse transformation offers a long meditative look at the very sort of rehabilitation penitentiaries are supposed to effect, but hardly ever do. Burt Lancaster, whose athletic grace often reminds one of a caged tiger, portrays Stroud as a man struggling to find a path between his own simmering rage and the crippling effects of isolation. Ultimately this is more a tale of redemption than a social critique of prison life. Frankenheimer gives us a reason for hope even in the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of our personal and institutional infernos. *** Cool Hand Luke (Warner Brothers, 1967). Paul Newman plays the outsider anti-hero anti-hero, principal character of a modern literary or dramatic work who lacks the attributes of the traditional protagonist or hero. The anti-hero's lack of courage, honesty, or grace, his weaknesses and confusion, often reflect modern man's ambivalence toward of this very '60s--and often darkly funny--anti-establishment remake of I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang. Shipped off to a prison chain gang for a minor infraction Violation or infringement; breach of a statute, contract, or obligation. The term infraction is frequently used in reference to the violation of a particular statute for which the penalty is minor, such as a parking infraction. INFRACTION. and a decidedly irreverent attitude toward authority, Newman finds himself the unlikely and unwilling leader of a minor insurrection. His antisocial hijinks hi·jinks pl.n. Variant of high jinks. Noun 1. hijinks - noisy and mischievous merrymaking high jinks, high jinx, jinks jollification, merrymaking, conviviality - a boisterous celebration; a merry festivity and repeated escapes make him an inspiration to his dispirited fellow cons but mark him as a dangerous man in the eyes of his keepers. Not to be missed is George Kennedy's Oscar-winning performance as Newman's sidekick. **** The Farm: Life Inside Angola Prison (A&E, 1998). An award-winning documentary by Liz Garbus and Jonathan Stack, this tough-minded film about the largest "lifer lif·er n. Slang 1. a. A prisoner serving a life sentence. b. One who makes a career in one of the armed forces. 2. Informal A right-to-lifer. " penitentiary in the U.S. (a former Louisiana slave plantation that today houses 5,000 mostly black inmates) introduces us to six prisoners, each at a different point in their life sentence. As the documentary unfolds, we begin, slowly, to get a sense of what life is like in a place where "all who enter must abandon hope" of ever walking out. If we are not careful, we may find ourselves wondering just what it is we are doing when we lock people up and throw away the key, even when these people have done awful, terrible things. **** |
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