IMDb > The Longest Yard (1974)
The Longest Yard
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The Longest Yard (1974) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.1/10   5,994 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 25% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Robert Aldrich
Writers:
Albert S. Ruddy (story)
Tracy Keenan Wynn (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Longest Yard on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
30 August 1974 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Crime | Drama | Sport more
Tagline:
It's Survival of the Fiercest and Funniest more
Plot:
A 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. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations more
User Comments:
A classic of the genre. more (55 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Burt Reynolds ... Paul Crewe
Eddie Albert ... Warden Hazen
Ed Lauter ... Captain Knauer
Michael Conrad ... Nate Scarboro
James Hampton ... Caretaker (as Jim Hampton)
Harry Caesar ... Granville
John Steadman ... Pop
Charles Tyner ... Unger
Mike Henry ... Rassmeusen
Jim Nicholson ... Ice Man

Bernadette Peters ... Miss Toot
Pervis Atkins ... Mawabe
Tony Cacciotti ... Rotka
Anitra Ford ... Melissa Gaines
Michael Fox ... Announcer
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Mean Machine (UK)
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Runtime:
121 min | Argentina:122 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Finland:K-15 (uncut) (2005) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1995) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1975) | Netherlands:12 | West Germany:18 (nf) (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Norway:16 (1975) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1987) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
According to Albert S. Ruddy and Burt Reynolds on the DVD Commentary, for reasons unknown, Robert Aldrich didn't like actor Michael Conrad (Nate Scarborough) and would always insult him by calling him the "Polish Princess". Finally, when they were filming the scene between Paul Crewe (Reynolds) and Scarborough (Conrad) where Nate says, "There's only two things you've got left: Your pride and your balls . . . " Aldrich liked the scene so much that he rewarded Conrad with a candy bar, which was the daily award Aldrich would give out to whomever did the best work that day. Conrad, who had endured Aldrich's insults throughout filming, was actually moved to tears. Aldrich stopped referring to Conrad as the "Polish Princess" for the rest of the shoot. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The same red 1966 Plymouth GTX is seen in two different locations during opening car chase. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Melissa: How long do we have to keep watching this crap?... Only a moron can sit and watch two football games, one after the other.
more
Soundtrack:
Saturday Night Special more

FAQ

when the Mean Machine score their first touchdown, they follow it up with a sucessful conversion (getting the ball into the end one again) and are awarded 7 points for the play. Shouldn't they get 8?
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26 out of 38 people found the following comment useful.
A classic of the genre., 15 June 2005
8/10
Author: MovieAddict2009 from UK

You just can't get away with this stuff anymore. In the first ten minutes, Burt Reynolds has beaten his girlfriend, stolen her car, gone on a massive police chase, dumped the sportscar off a bridge, then attacked two cops. Oh, and he's the hero of the movie, too.

Nowadays the remake -- starring Adam Sandler -- is rated PG-13 and he's a total wimp. Back in the '70s you could get away with being vicious, sexist, homophobic and racist and live to tell about it. In 2005, Adam Sandler says the F-word in one of his movies and parents are banning the film companies.

Yup, this film is clearly racist, homophobic and misogynist. Women are treated as sexual objects throughout, from the opening to the part where a prison warden's intern requests sexual favors from Burt Reynolds in return for handing him a movie-reel he needs.

African-Americans are portrayed as racist tough guys who are better than the whites at football, and they call whiteys "honkies" and other such words. In return all the whites are racist towards the blacks and it creates an interesting tension.

The homophobia sneaks into play when it's suggested one of the inmates is in love with Burt Reynolds. Quite a funny scene, actually.

"The Longest Yard" was one of Robert Aldrich's most successful films and many claimed it was him "selling out," but viewed 30 years later this really does stand apart from many of the other sports-comedy films of the decade. What is so special about "The Longest Yard" is probably that it plays like a mix between "Cool Hand Luke," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Smokey and the Bandit" -- it's got car chases, it's got sports, it's got funny stuff, BUT it also spends a lot of time developing its characters and creating some very dramatic sequences.

This is well directed, gritty, and fun -- not as much a "comedy" as you might expect, it is actually more serious. By the end of the film we've come to root for a bunch of murderers and rapists and even Burt Reynolds, and let's face it -- when was the last time you saw Burt Reynolds in a movie and actually LIKED his character?! A classic of the genre.

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