Prison Dramas I've Reviewed
I thought this would be an interesting category. Here's a list of prison movies I've watched and reviewed on the IMDb. It's presented in IMDb ranking order.
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- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTim RobbinsMorgan FreemanBob GuntonOver the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion."I'm a convicted murderer who provides sound financial planning."
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTom HanksMichael Clarke DuncanDavid MorseA tale set on death row, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the lead guard, Paul Edgecombe, recognizes John's gift, he tries to help stave off the condemned man's execution."I couldn't help it boss, I tried to take it back but it was too late."
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSteve McQueenJames GarnerRichard AttenboroughAllied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II."Give up your hopeless attempt to escape."
- DirectorMehmet Ada ÖztekinStarsAras Bulut IynemliNisa Sofiya AksongurDeniz BaysalA story of love between a mentally-ill father who was wrongly accused of murder and his lovely six year old daughter. Prison will be their home. Based on the 2013 Korean movie Miracle in Cell No. 7 (2013)."My father is the same age as me."
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsPaul MuniGlenda FarrellHelen VinsonWrongly convicted James Allen serves in the intolerable conditions of a Southern chain gang, which later comes back to haunt him."I'll be a model prisoner if it kills me."
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsPaul NewmanGeorge KennedyStrother MartinA laid-back Southern man is sentenced to two years in a rural prison, but refuses to conform."Yeah, well, sometimes nothing means a real cool hand."
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsSteve McQueenDustin HoffmanVictor JoryA French convict in the 1930s befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence in the South American penal colony on Devil's Island, which inspires the man to plot his escape."Forget France, and put your clothes on."
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsBurt LancasterKarl MaldenThelma RitterA surly convicted murderer held in permanent isolation redeems himself when he becomes a renowned bird expert."I guess you're a lifer pal, just like me."
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsTom WaitsJohn LurieRoberto BenigniTwo men are framed and sent to jail, where they meet a murderer who helps them escape and leave the state."Yeah, it's a sad and beautiful world, pal."
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsEleanor ParkerAgnes MooreheadEllen CorbyA gentle, naive, pregnant 19-year-old widow is slowly, inexorably ground down by the hardened criminals, sadistic guards, and matron at a woman's prison. Will she be the same person when her sentence is up?"Pile out you tramps! It's the end of the line!"
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsTony CurtisSidney PoitierCara WilliamsTwo chained-together escaped convicts, White and Black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture."Looks like you two boys are in for trouble."
- DirectorJules DassinStarsBurt LancasterHume CronynCharles BickfordAt a tough penitentiary, prisoner Joe Collins plans to rebel against Captain Munsey, the power-mad chief guard."What's OK? Nothing's OK. It never was and it never will be."
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsBrad DavisIrene MiracleBo HopkinsBilly Hayes, an American college student, is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison."The bad machine doesn't know he's a bad machine."
- DirectorRic Roman WaughStarsStephen DorffMarisol NicholsVincent MillerLocked up for killing an intruder in self-defense, a family man must cope with life in the violent penal system."When your life is defined by a single action, you change the concept of time."
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsAustin StokerDarwin JostonLaurie ZimmerA Highway Patrol Officer, two criminals and a station secretary defend a defunct Los Angeles precinct office against a siege by a bloodthirsty street gang."Anybody got a smoke?"
- DirectorJack GoldStarsAlan ArkinJoanna PaculaRutger HauerGerman death camp in Sobibor, Poland, killed two hundred fifty thousand Jews. It had the most successful prisoner escape in World War II on October 14, 1943."But what is there to do but survive?"
- DirectorMarc RoccoStarsChristian SlaterKevin BaconGary OldmanAn eager and idealistic young attorney defends an Alcatraz prisoner accused of murdering a fellow inmate. The extenuating circumstances: his client had just spent over three years in solitary confinement."I don't need a lawyer. I need a friend."
- DirectorRic Roman WaughStarsNikolaj Coster-WaldauOmari HardwickLake BellA newly released prisoner is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California."A warrior's deadliest weapon is his mind."
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsJames CagneyGeorge RaftJane BryanA corrupt D.A. (Thurston Hall) with political ambitions is angered by news stories implicating him in criminal activity and decides to frame the reporter (James Cagney) for manslaughter in order to silence him."Learnin' kind of fast, ain't ya mug?"
- DirectorAndrey KonchalovskiyStarsJon VoightEric RobertsRebecca De MornayTwo escaped convicts and a female railway worker find themselves trapped on a speeding train with no brakes and nobody driving."Boy, this is gonna be somethin'...
- DirectorChris CarterStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonBokeem WoodbineEnemies of a prison inmate who was executed in the electric chair begin dying one by one."How does it feel to be on death row, Warden?"
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsRobert RedfordYaphet KottoMorgan FreemanThe new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate."You want more from me you'll have to earn it."
- DirectorS. Craig ZahlerStarsVince VaughnJennifer CarpenterDon JohnsonA former boxer-turned-drug runner lands in a prison battleground after a deal gets deadly."You just lost your minimum freedom."
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBurt ReynoldsEddie AlbertEd LauterA sadistic warden asks a former pro quarterback, now serving time in his prison, to put together a team of inmates to take on (and get pummeled by) the guards."Young people can learn a great deal from a skillfully played football game."
- DirectorGeorge W. HillWard WingStarsChester MorrisWallace BeeryLewis StoneA convict falls in love with his new cellmate's sister, only to become embroiled in a planned break-out which is certain to have lethal consequences."We're gonna have a lot more trouble with that bird, you'll see."
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsNeville BrandEmile MeyerFrank FaylenFed up with the inhumane prison living conditions, a general prison riot breaks out, leading to hostage-taking, a stand-off with the guards and eventual negotiations with the prison administration officials."Let me at the screws!"
- DirectorArchie MayoMichael CurtizStarsJames CagneyMadge EvansArthur ByronFive members of a teen-age gang, including leader Jimmy Smith, are sent to the state reformatory, presided over by the melodramatically callous Thompson. Soon, Patsy Gargan, a former gangster appointed deputy commissioner as a political favor, arrives - complete with hip flask and blonde. Gargan falls for activist nurse Dorothy and, inspired by her, takes over the administration to run the place on radical principles. But Thompson, to conceal his years of graft, needs a quick way to discredit Gargan.Excuse me boss, I ain't no lawyer, I can't talk without thinking.
- DirectorAdrian GrunbergStarsMel GibsonKevin BalmoreDaniel Giménez CachoA career criminal nabbed by Mexican authorities is placed in a tough prison where he learns to survive with the help of a young boy.You know, you gotta love murderers who recycle.
- DirectorFrancis AnnanStarsDaniel RadcliffeDaniel WebberIan HartBased on the real-life prison break of two political captives, Escape From Pretoria is a race-against-time thriller set in the tumultuous apartheid days of South Africa."What we'd always accepted, we would now reject."
- DirectorHenry LevinStarsGlenn FordBroderick CrawfordMillard MitchellA D.A. becomes the prison warden where he tries to help an inmate he prosecuted, because he believes his sentence was excessive."I said prosecute, not persecute."
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsGeorge RaftJane BryanWilliam HoldenAn ex-con who wants to go straight has difficulties trying to reintegrate into society while on parole.You think changin' your uniform means anything, you'll still be wearin' stripes. You may not be able to see 'em, but they'll be there alright.
- DirectorGene R. KearneyStarsBurgess MeredithCameron MitchellBarry SullivanCharlie Finnegan is serving a life sentence in a federal penitentiary and longs to escape. Fellow prisoner Pete Tuttle tries to help him, with the aid of his talent for hypnosis.I dream about being out there.
- DirectorLewis SeilerWilliam ClemensStarsHumphrey BogartThe Dead End KidsGale PageA gang of underprivileged teenagers are sentenced to serve two years in a reform school after almost killing a criminal fence who attacked them.It don't take no brain to get burned.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsPat O'BrienAnn SheridanHumphrey BogartAn army trainer becomes captain of the prison yard and in time, falls for the sister of a hardened inmate.Well Jamieson, there's your new Army.
- DirectorLewis SeilerStarsIda LupinoJan SterlingCleo MooreA sadistic prison warden takes out her sexual frustration on her women inmates. While a caring physician tries to improve the jail's brutal atmosphere, a pair of rebellious inmates take matters into their own hands.Make trouble, you get trouble...
- DirectorEdward F. ClineStarsMae ClarkeRalph BellamyMarie PrevostA young woman released on parole vows to ruin the life of the man who insisted on sending her to jail.You're working a clever racket girly, but you got caught.
- DirectorFred F. SearsStarsWilliam CampbellR. Wright CampbellMarian CarrWhit, condemned and awaiting execution, reviews the events of his life that has brought him to Cell 2455 on San Quentin's Death Row, a story he had told in a autobiography that became a sensational best-seller. As a boy, the young Whit stole groceries to help feed his impoverished family, later moving on into major crime to impress a young gang moll, Jo-Anne, and turns into a cold-blooded thug when he is repudiated by the girl he loves, Doll. And by his own lawyer when he is arrested and tried as the infamous Lover's Lane Bandit. In cell 2455, he studies law to the point where he wins stay after stay, twice within minutes of his scheduled execution.Warden, why do they have to kill me?
- DirectorPeter SegalStarsAdam SandlerBurt ReynoldsChris RockPrison inmates form a football team to challenge the prison guards.It's an honor to be locked up here, Sir.
- DirectorGustav MachatýStarsRuth HusseyTom NealPaul KellyShopgirl Mary Turner, sentenced to prison for someone else's theft, is released and takes revenge upon those who wronged her in powerful but lawful ways."The law's always good if you have it on your side."
- DirectorJean-François RichetStarsEthan HawkeLaurence FishburneGabriel ByrneA police sergeant must rally the cops and prisoners together to protect themselves on New Year's Eve, just as corrupt policeman surround the station with the intent of killing all to keep their deception in the ranks."Hey gangster. You make any resolutions, hmm?"
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBarton MacLaneGlenda FarrellPaul HurstJoaquin Shannon arrives home from a cruise on his fishing boat. His first mate, Charles Nelson, is to marry Shannon's sister the next day. Nelson gets drunk and Shannon finds him near the unconscious body of a man that he, Shannon, had been fighting with previously. The man dies and Shannon takes the blame and goes to prison. There he gets into trouble instigated by "Big Red" Kincaid and is denied a parole. He stops a prison break and get a parole. Not able to get work, he takes a job with a former convict on a fishing boat. Kincaid, who has shot a guard and escaped and vowing vengeance on Shannon, shows up.You may be a big shot to some o' these guys, but to me you're just a cheap crook.
- DirectorNick GrindeStarsRochelle HudsonFrieda InescortJune LangJobless Betty Andrews, although innocent, is convicted of a department store theft and, despite the best efforts of her lawyer and noted social worker Mary Ellis and a reporter, Jim Brent on her behalf, is sentenced to a year in the Curtiss House of Correction. Chief Matron Brackett rules with an iron hand with the aid of inmates Frankie Mason, "The Duchess" and Nita Lavore. One of the inmates commits suicide and a subsequent story by Jim on the prison conditions leads to Mary Ellis being made the supervisor of the prison. When ten girls are allowed to go home for Thanksgiving under the promise of returning by eleven p.m., Frankie and "The Duchess", angry over losing the privileges given them by the departed Matron Brackett, arrange to have Betty kidnapped so she can not return at the appointed time. Another of the girls telephones Jim and he finds Betty a prisoner at a deserted roadhouse..."If they are not criminals when they get here, they certainly are when they leave."
- DirectorJohn FordStarsSpencer TracyClaire LuceWarren HymerWhen paroled trustee Steve and former inmate Judy who try to put their criminal lives behind them are blackmailed, two career criminals come to their rescue.Remember who you're playin' with, a bunch o' crooks.
- DirectorBuzz KulikStarsJim BrownGene HackmanMike KellinA riot in a state prison is staged to cover up an escape attempt, during which many inmates and guards are killed. Shot on location at Arizona State Prison.We're going to elevate the mood of the entire population...
- DirectorArthur DreifussStarsNina FochRobert LoweryRichard LooAt the end of WW2, a Japanese freighter sails with Allied prisoners as cargo but, sensing doom, the prisoners plan to overpower their guards and capture the prison-ship."I'll try to stall them as long as I can."
- DirectorWalter DonigerStarsPerry LopezBeverly GarlandWalter AbelA power struggle emerges among convicts condemned to prison life.That killer is as cute as a bug in a rug.
- DirectorJamaa FanakaStarsLeon Isaac KennedyWilbur 'Hi-Fi' WhiteThomas M. PollardA hitchhiker named Martel Gordone gets in a fight with two bikers over a prostitute, and one of the bikers is killed. Gordone is arrested and sent to prison, where he joins the prison's boxing team in an effort to secure an early parole and to establish his dominance over the prison's toughest gang.If you don't handle the fools, they handle you.
- DirectorRoy MackStarsJerry BergenThe RollickersNoviaFour convicts escape from a chain gang. Shortly thereafter, changes are made at the prison, because a blue ribbon commission will be investigating conditions there. The changes include steak every day for dinner and stage shows for entertainment. After reading about this, the four escapees plead with the warden to take them back in. Or was this all a dream?Hey fellas, lets' escape!