There Was a Crooked Man... (1970)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writers:

David Newman (written by) &
Robert Benton (written by)

Release Date:

25 December 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Western

Tagline:

Once upon a time, there was a crooked man. When he was good, he was very, very good. And when he was bad, it was murder...

Plot:

Charm, intelligence and success in criminal career doesn't prevent Paris Pitman Jr. to start doing ten years in prison...

Plot Keywords:

Loot | Arizona | Prison | Escape | Bare Back

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Paris Pitman, Jr.
Henry Fonda	...	Woodward W. Lopeman
Hume Cronyn	...	Dudley Whinner
Warren Oates	...	Floyd Moon
Burgess Meredith	...	The Missouri Kid
John Randolph	...	Cyrus McNutt
Lee Grant	...	Mrs. Bullard
Arthur O'Connell	...	Mr. Lomax
Martin Gabel	...	Warden LeGoff
Michael Blodgett	...	Coy Cavendish
C.K. Yang	...	Ah-Ping
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Tobaccy (as Alan Hale)
Victor French	...	Whiskey
Claudia McNeil	...	Madam
Bert Freed	...	Skinner

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 (video) | UK:AA (original rating) | Portugal:17 (cut version) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Joshua Tree, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

In the climactic prison uprising, actress Barbara Rhoades is last seen wearing a corset (with amply jiggling cleavage), a decorative hat and one elbow-length glove. But interviews with Rhoades, and an actress who'd turned down the role, reveal that the scene went further and Rhoades was filmed virtually nude. At least one still photo (apparently from the movie) shows Rhoades nude from the waist up, wearing the same hat and elbow-length glove mentioned above. (She turned down a proposed Playboy pictorial.) In a pre-release interview, Rhoades told interviewer Dan Lewis that she didn't realize her scene would be so "explicit" until the day of shooting. Her character reportedly flees "after her clothes are torn off in a prison scene and she races across the desert in her birthday suit." Actress Eileen O'Neill was offered the role but turned it down. "When I read the script, my character is ravaged by the revolting prisoners and they tear her clothes off. She then had to run nude from the prison to an outside area lit with floodlights." Even costar Michael Blodgett "excitedly" told Hollywood gossip columnist Marilyn Beck, "It's a prison story, wild and new...man, such nudity!" Why the explicit nudity was deleted is unexplained, and the footage is presumed lost. By today's standards, what remains is fairly tame: a couple glimpses of the bare backside of star Kirk Douglas, a glimpse of a bare breast here and there, and some mildly risque drawings. Promoted as a "cynical western," "There Was a Crooked Man" was released on Christmas Day 1970. It did poorly at the holiday box office.

Goofs:

Continuity: After escaping from prison, Pitman visits the widow Bullard and leaves the prison mule in her corral and takes a horse. After being bitten by the snake and dying, the warden takes his body back on the horse he rode, which now is a mule again.

Quotes:

Woodward Lopeman: Why do you work at it so hard proving you're a son-of-a-bitch.
Paris Pittman Jr.: Because I am. It's my profession and I'm on top!

Movie Connections:

Edited into La classe américaine (1993) (TV)

Soundtrack:

There Was A Crooked Man...

There Was a Crooked Man...

Terrific mix of comedy/western/prison film about clever thief Kirk Douglas who lands himself in jail after robbing a rich man of $500,000 which he's hidden in a mountain. Honest, forthright sheriff Henry Fonda becomes warden of the jail with the intent on reforming the prisoners not punishing them. Kirk Douglas must plan his escape with the help of some colorful prisoners by bribing them. Very underrated and overlooked gem of the 70's wonderfully directed by Academy Award winning director Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Full of humor, excitement, and entertainment. Cynical and funny script has some great twists and the cast is perfect.

***1/2 out of ****