Penitentiary (1979)

Director:

Jamaa Fanaka

Writer:

Jamaa Fanaka (written by)

Release Date:

December 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

All that stands between him and freedom is the ring.

Plot:

A hitchhiker named Martel Gordone gets in a fight with two bikers over a prostitute, and one of the bikers is killed...

Plot Keywords:

Boxing | Drifter | Convict | Homosexuality | False Accusation

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Feb. 19

3:15 AM

TMC

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Wilbur 'Hi-Fi' White	...	Sweet Pea
Leon Isaac Kennedy	...	Martel 'Too Sweet' Gordone
Thommy Pollard	...	Eugene T. Lawson
Hazel Spears	...	Linda (as Hazel Spear)
Donovan Womack	...	Jesse Amos
Floyd 'Wildcat' Chatman	...	Hezzikia 'Seldom Seen' Jackson (as Floyd Chatman)
Gloria Delaney	...	Peaches
Badja Djola	...	'Half Dead' Johnson
Chuck Mitchell	...	Lieutenant Arnsworth
Cepheus Jaxon	...	Poindexter
Dwaine Fobbs	...	Lying Latney Winborn
Ernest Wilson	...	Cheese
Will Richardson	...	Magilla Gorilla
Elijah Mitchell	...	Nut #1
Tony Andrea	...	Mook

Also Known As:

Jamaa Fanaka's Penitentiary (USA) (long title)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:MA (2007) | UK:18 | UK:15 (DVD re-rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2009) | Norway:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Lincoln Heights Jail - 401 N. Avenue 19, Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California, USA

Trivia:

Writer/director Jamaa Fanaka was still a student at UCLA when he made this film. Moreover, the quadrangle at the UCLA cinema department was used as the location for the prison yard.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 4 (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

Kissy Face

A long lost blacksploitation Gem!

Surprise, surprise blaxpo fans the movie that started off the penitentiary series is available. No, it's not the one with Mr. T (penitentiary II) or that horrible one with the midget. (penintiary III) This is the one with the original too sweet, half dead and seldom seen. Despite the fact this movie is the epitome of low budget, try to find the boom mike in some scenes.

This remains one of my favorite cult films. The cinemetography is pretty good. The fight between Too sweet and Half dead is particularly interesting. The use of the Wide angle lenses to give the viewer a distorted view. And the way some characters address the camera. Look were not talking Citizen Knae here, but it still is interesting.

That's not what impresses me most about this movie. It's the fact it transends the usual blacksploitation stereotypes. They are still there but also there is also a lot of truth within it's characterizations. Seldom seen character is no caricature he's a real. (He plays too sweet's trainer.) I was amazed at how realistic his portrayal of an institutionalized convict was. We really get to understand him and why he does what he does. Another interesting thing about this movie is the character half dead (Badja Djola) was hilarious. (You want some Mr. goodbar) You might remember him from the dozens of movies she's appeared in afterward (a rage in harlem, mississippi burning and other films) I also liked the fact that this was funny (mostly) but it also contained moments of dead seriousness. If you are any kind of fan of blacksploitation movies, or cult movies in general check this one out. If you can find it.