The Mean Machine (1974)
"The Longest Yard" (original title)

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.

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Tracy Keenan Wynn (screenplay), Albert S. Ruddy (story)

Stars:

Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations.

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	...	Warden's Secretary
Pervis Atkins	...	Mawabe
Tony Cacciotti	...	Rotka
Anitra Ford	...	Melissa
Michael Fox	...	Announcer

Storyline

A football player-turned-convict organizes a team of inmates to play against a team of prison guards. His dilemma is that the warden asks him to throw the game in return for an early release, but he is also concerned about the inmates' lack of self-esteem.

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Plot Keywords:

warden | prison | prison guard | quarterback | florida | 

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Taglines:

It's Survival of the Fiercest and Funniest

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 August 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Golpe Baixo

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 2,044,304 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Albert S. Ruddy Productions, Long Road Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The climactic football game takes up 47 minutes of running time.

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Goofs

Melissa warns Paul not to touch her Maserati. The car was sold in the US as a Citroen/Maserati SM, a Citroen with a Maserati engine. The owner would be more likely to refer to it as Maserati.

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in The Best of Film Noir (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Paramount on Parade"
by Elsie Janis (as Janis) and Jack King (as King)
Performed by The Soul Touchers Band and Chorus

User Reviews

"Hey Pop, the time you hit Hazen in the mouth, was it worth 30 years?/ For me it was./ Then give me my damn shoe!"

Burt Reynolds plays Paul Crewe, a reprehensible character discovering, in a prison, dignity and esteem… You see him, at the beginning of the movie—as a rising star—beating up a woman, stealing her car, drunken driving, insulting cops in a bar, resisting arrest… He's seen so funny when he insulted the miniature cop who's about to arrest him, while the cop's partner is laughing openly…

Eddie Albert was very charming when he meets Paul Crewe at his arrival to Citrus State Prison… Aldrich wanted to play Warden Hazen as the guy who had the veneer of normalcy, the veneer of being a good executive, the veneer of keeping it all together till it starts unraveling… He really was just a despicable, oily, warden type… In one game scene, we see him over and over again, getting up just with that same look of shock on his face…

Ed Lauter (Captain Knauer) is wonderful… He runs the football team… He is a bad guy and he represents everything that is wrong with that prison system and everything else… He changes as a result… And to see that is just so delightful… He's got the classic Ed Lauter's scene at the end… James Hampton plays Caretaker, the character who brings the team all together and pushes Burt's character ahead to win the game…

Ray Nitschke plays the toughest, meanest linebacker in football… Richard Kiel, Bob Tessier, Charles Tyner, Michael Conrad, and Harry Caesar give the film a certain veracity, you almost thing you are in jail…