Penitentiary (1979)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

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 Keywords:

Boxing | Drifter | Convict | Homosexuality | False Accusation

Cast

Leon Isaac Kennedy	...	Martel 'Too Sweet' Cordone
Thommy Pollard	...	Eugene T. Lawson
Hazel Spears	...	Linda (as Hazel Spear)
Donovan Womack	...	Jesse Amos
Floyd 'Wildcat' Chatman	...	Seldon Seen Jackson
Gloria Delaney	...	Peaches
Ian Foxx	...	Pretty Red
Badja Djola	...	'Half Dead' Johnson
Chuck Mitchell	...	Lieutenant Arnsworth
Cepheus Jaxon	...	Poindexter
Dwaine Fobbs	...	Lying Latney Winborn
Ernest Wilson	...	Cheese
Wilbur 'Hi-Fi' White	...	Sweet Pea
Will Richardson	...	Magilla Gorilla
Elijah Mitchell	...	Nut #1
Tony Andrea	...	Mook
Darrell Harris	...	Nut #2
Lonnie Kirtz	...	Nut #3
Ray Wolfe	...	'A' Block Night Guard
Charles Young	...	Tough Tony
Ellsworth Harrell	...	Referee
Cornelius Desha	...	Tough Tony Manager & Referee
Michael Melvin	...	Biker #1
Steve Eddy	...	Biker #2
Irene Stokes	...	Female Guard in Male Prison
Bill Phillips Murry	...	'Rappin' Larry (as Bill Murry)
Teri Hayden	...	Counter Lady (as Terri Hayden)
Herman Cole	...	Cook
Carl Irwin	...	Sam Cunningham
Irving Parham	...	'A' Block Day Guard
Warren Bryant	...	Gay Boxing Spectator
Lorri Gay	...	2nd Girl in Restroom
Thomas Earl Stiratt	...	Wolf
Jamaa Fanaka	...	2nd Male in Restroom (as Walter Gordon)
Joaquin Leal	...	Rubin
David Carter	...	Male Guard
Hassan Abdul-Ali	...	Male Guard
Marcus Guttirrez	...	Male Guard
Zee Howard	...	Female Lieutenant
Gwynn Pineda	...	Female Guard
Ann Hutcherson	...	Female Guard
Cardella Di Milo	...	Female Guard (as Cardella DeMilo)
Beverly Wallace	...	Female Guard
Onia Fenee	...	Female Guard
Deloris Figueroa	...	Female Guard
Zeola Gaye	...	Female Inmate
Jackie Shaw	...	Female Inmate
Brenda Joy Griffin	...	Female Inmate
Renee Armunlin	...	Female Inmate
Sarah Jaxon	...	Female Inmate
Barbara Torres	...	Female Inmate
Irene Terrell	...	Female Inmate
Lisa Visco	...	Female Inmate
Shelli Hughes	...	Female Inmate
Tony Rapisardo	...	Male Inmate
Casey J. Littlejohn	...	Male Inmate
Edgardo Williams	...	Male Inmate
Tyrone S.B. Thompson	...	Male Inmate
Sam Olden	...	Male Inmate
Roderic Williams	...	Male Inmate
Dominic Giusto	...	Male Inmate
William Bey	...	Male Inmate
Shawn Davis	...	Male Inmate
Johnny Jones	...	Male Inmate
Robert Wayne Cornelius	...	Male Inmate
Quitman Gates	...	Male Inmate

Directed by
Jamaa Fanaka

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jamaa Fanaka		written by

Produced by
Alicia Dhanifu	....	co-producer (as Alicia J. Dhanifu)
Jamaa Fanaka	....	producer
Leon Isaac Kennedy	....	associate producer
Irving Parham	....	associate producer
Albert Shepard	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Frankie Gaye

Cinematography by
Marty Ollstein

Film Editing by
Betsy Blankett Milicevic		(as Betsy Blankett)

Art Direction by
Adel A. Mazen		(as Adel Mazen)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sergio Mims	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Willy Allen	....	sound editor
William Jacobs	....	sound effects editor
Jim Nownes	....	sound editor
Larry Porche	....	boom operator
Ed White	....	sound

Stunts
John Sherrod	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
James Babij	....	first assistant camera
Ben Caldwell	....	still photographer
Virgil E. Hammond III	....	additional cinematographer: "b" camera
Virgil E. Hammond III	....	camera loader
Virgil E. Hammond III	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Stephen L. Posey	....	additional cinematography (as Stephen Posey)
Chuck Wells	....	electrician
Chuck Wells	....	grip

Editorial Department
Debra Chiate	....	assistant editor (as Debbie Chiate)

Thanks
Katina Antoinette	....	dedicatee
Michael Daryl	....	dedicatee
Tracey Lynette	....	dedicatee
Roger Mayer	....	special thanks
Twyla Monique	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• Jerry Gross Productions

Distributors

• Jerry Gross Organization, The (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• DV1 (2007) (Australia) (DVD)
• Movietime (1981) (Canada)
• Wizard Video (USA) (VHS)
• Xenon Entertainment Group (2003) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Xenon Pictures (1993) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)  re-recorded at
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)  titles and opticals by

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

Company:

Jerry Gross Productions

Movie Connections:

Featured in "TCM Underground: Emma Mae/Penitentiary (#1.35)" (2008)

A clinker about the clink.

I saw this film with a pal over twenty years ago at the theater, first-run. I sat there amazed at how wincingly terrible it was from start to finish. After about forty-five minutes my friend (who was a drama student at the time) wanted desperately to leave the theater. I refused, explaining that in the years to come we would both look back at this film as a standard for cinema awfulness. I was right.