Convicts 4 (1962)

This movie is about the progression of John Resko's (Ben Gazzara) character as he is commuted from the death sentence for killing a man to life in prison... See full synopsis »

Director:

Millard Kaufman

Writers:

Millard Kaufman (screenplay), John Resko (autobiography "Reprieve")

Stars:

Ben Gazzara, Stuart Whitman, Ray Walston

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Gazzara	...	John Resko
Stuart Whitman	...	Principal Keeper
Ray Walston	...	Iggy
Vincent Price	...	Carl Carmer
Rod Steiger	...	'Tiptoes'
Broderick Crawford	...	Warden
Dodie Stevens	...	Resko's Sister
Jack Kruschen	...	Resko's Father
Sammy Davis Jr.	...	Wino
Naomi Stevens	...	Resko's Mother
Adam Williams	...	Guard
Jack Albertson	...	Art Teacher
John Kellogg	...	Guard
Robert H. Harris	...	Commissioner
Carmen Phillips	...	Resko's Wife

Storyline

This movie is about the progression of John Resko's (Ben Gazzara) character as he is commuted from the death sentence for killing a man to life in prison... See full synopsis »

---

Plot Keywords:

hairy chest | biopic | interracial | suspected homosexual | prison life | 

---

Taglines:

They Blow the Big House Apart!

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 February 1963 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Convicts Four

Filming Locations:

Folsom State Prison - 300 Prison Road, Represa, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allied Artists Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After filming was completed, Sammy Davis Jr. asked for and received permission to put on a show for the inmates. The warden set two conditions: no racial jokes (which could start a riot) and no sex jokes (for obvious reasons). Four thousand inmates attended the show, Davis told no racial or sex jokes, and the show went off with no trouble.

---

Goofs

In last art class sequence, blackboard behind Teach is alternately clean or has writing on it from shot to shot.

User Reviews

See it for the actors

Given the actors in this movie, you would expect something memorable or at least above average. The actors do a great job with a sub-par script. The movie drags, which would make sense for a prison flick, if it dragged with a purpose; instead it just seems to drag for its own sake without any thought given to the use of time in the movie to make a point about prison life. I can't think of a movie with such a capable cast, heck memorable cast that was so mediocre. The actors made the movie, a lesser cast would have given us a mess of a movie. Too bad the direction and script are so poor, this movie could have really been something. Watch closely, there is a major actor every few minutes; a star that carried their own movies later. The movie also suffers from the score, when its not sappy it is jazz. Either way, the score does not support the movie very well, and ofttimes makes the movie even worse. The score seems like a collection of tunes that someone liked, it sure was not made to support the movie. I don't know what the director and producer were thinking when they made this movie, maybe there was no director and they just slapped something together after shooting a bunch of scenes. See it once just to see so many memorable actors in a single movie. But once is plenty. It seems like the director was trying to take the Plan 9 From Outer Space worst movie ever award; but this goal was thwarted by the cast. Good performances, lousy film.