The Longest Yard (1974)

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Albert S. Ruddy (story)
Tracy Keenan Wynn (writer)

Release Date:

30 August 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

It's Survival of the Fiercest and Funniest

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.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Warden | Prison Guard | Quarterback | Florida

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Jan. 10	12:30 AM	CMTV
Sun. Jan. 10	10:30 PM	CMTV

Cast

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
Joe Kapp	...	Walking Boss
Richard Kiel	...	Samson (as Dick Kiel)
Pepper Martin	...	Shop Steward
Mort Marshall	...	Assistant Warden
Ray Nitschke	...	Bogdanski
Tony Reese	...	Levitt
Sonny Sixkiller	...	The Indian
Robert Tessier	...	Shokner
Dino Washington	...	Mason
Ernie Wheelwright	...	Spooner
Joe Dorsey	...	Bartender (as Joseph Dorsey)
Gus Carlucci	...	Team Doctor (as Dr. Gus Carlucci)
Jack Rockwell	...	Trainer
Sonny Shroyer	...	Tannen
Ray Ogden	...	Schmidt
Don Ferguson	...	Referee
Chuck Hayward	...	Trooper I
Alfie Wise	...	Trooper II
Steve Wilder	...	J.J.
George Jones	...	Big George
Wilbur Gillian	...	Big Wilbur
Wilson Warren	...	Buttercup
Joe Jackson	...	Little Joe
Howard Silverstein	...	Howie
Donald Hixon	...	Donny
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lance Fuller
J. Don Ferguson	...	Football Referee (uncredited)
Harold Morris	...	Extra (uncredited)
Phillip Wende	...	Guard (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Aldrich

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Albert S. Ruddy		story
Tracy Keenan Wynn		writer

Produced by
Alan P. Horowitz	....	associate producer
Albert S. Ruddy	....	producer

Original Music by
Frank De Vol

Cinematography by
Joseph F. Biroc

Film Editing by
Michael Luciano

Casting by
Joyce Selznick
Steven R. Stevens

Production Design by
James Dowell Vance

Set Decoration by
Raphael Bretton		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Tom Ellingwood	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Russell Saunders	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Clifford C. Coleman	....	assistant director
Hal Needham	....	second unit director: car chase sequence
Ron Wright	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Horst Grandt	....	property master

Sound Department
Howard Beals	....	sound editor
Gordon Daniel	....	sound editor
Jim Foglesong	....	recordings supervisor
James Fritch	....	sound editor (as Jim Fritch)
John Wilkinson	....	sound re-recording mixer

Stunts
Frank Orsatti	....	stunts
Denny Arnold	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mickey Caruso	....	stunts (uncredited)
Louie Elias	....	stunts (uncredited)
James M. Halty	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gary McLarty	....	stunts (uncredited)
Hal Needham	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Pat Studstill	....	stunts (uncredited)
Glenn R. Wilder	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Oscar Barber	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
Orville Hallberg	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Sherman Kunkel	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles E. James	....	wardrobe (as Charles James)

Editorial Department
Frank Capacchione	....	associate editor: football sequences
George Hively	....	associate editor: football sequences
Allan Jacobs	....	associate editor: football sequences
Steve Orfanos	....	montage: Modern Film Effects
Roy E. Peterson	....	assistant editor (as Roy Peterson)
Dennis Wooley	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Walter Blake	....	title designer
Dave Davies	....	unit publicist
Alvin Greenman	....	script supervisor
Bettye McCartt	....	assistant to producers
Robert Sherman	....	dialogue supervisor
Patrick Studstill	....	technical advisor

Thanks
Jimmy Carter	....	acknowledgment (as Governor Jimmy Carter)

Production Companies

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

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1974) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (UK) (1974) (UK) (theatrical)
• CIC (1975) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1977) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (special edition)
• Paramount Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• Freedom Service Company  production services
• Glen Glenn Sound  sound
• Opticals West/N.J.S.  titles

Also Known As:

The Mean Machine (UK)

Runtime:

121 min | Argentina:122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

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

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

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.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the first time that Crewe hits Bogdanski "below the belt" with the football, the game clock has stopped at 2:29 remaining in the game, after the second time he does it, the clock is at 2:35 remaining and running.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Lizzie McGuire: The Longest Yard (#2.7)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

Roadside Roses

A classic of the genre.

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.