Straight Time (1978)

After being released on parole, a career burglar assaults his former probation officer, returns to a life of crime, and goes on the run.

Directors:

Ulu Grosbard, Dustin Hoffman (uncredited)

Writers:

Edward Bunker (novel), Alvin Sargent (screenplay)

Stars:

Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, Gary Busey

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dustin Hoffman	...	Max Dembo
Theresa Russell	...	Jenny Mercer
Gary Busey	...	Willy Darin
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Jerry Schue
M. Emmet Walsh	...	Earl Frank
Rita Taggart	...	Carol Schue
Kathy Bates	...	Selma Darin
Sandy Baron	...	Manny
Jake Busey	...	Henry Darin (as Jacob Busey)
Tina Menard	...	Hotel Manager
Stephanie Ericsson	...	Bar Patron (as Stephanie Ericsson Baron)
Dave Kelly	...	Counterman
Don Sommese	...	Waiter
Kit Jee Wong	...	Grocer
Peter Kwong	...	Grocery Clerk

Storyline

After many juvenile detentions and six years in prison, the small time thief and burglar Max Dembo is released on parole. Max has an initial friction with his nasty parole officer Earl Frank, but the officer agrees to let him live in a hotel room if he gets a job within a week. Max goes to an employment agency and the attendant Jenny Mercer helps him to get a job in a can industry. Max is decided to begin a new life straight and visits his old friend Willy Darin and his family. When Willy brings Max home, he injects heroin and leaves his spoon under Max's bed. Max dates Jenny and on the next day after hours, he finds Frank waiting for him snooping around his room. Frank finds the spoon and sends Max to prison for tests to prove whether he had a fix or not. Despite the negative result, Frank leaves Max for a week imprisoned. When Max is released again, Frank gives a ride and presses him to tell who had a fix in his room. Max hits Frank, steals his car and seeks out his former friends ...

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Plot Keywords:

pay phone | male frontal nudity | male rear nudity | parole | parole officer | 

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Taglines:

He's an ex-con. He's got to get a job . . . keep his dignity . . . and still go straight! [Australia Theatrical]

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Cantonese

Release Date:

21 April 1978 (Italy)

Also Known As:

No Beast So Fierce

Filming Locations:

3701 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$9,900,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,900,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

First Artists, Sweetwall

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dustin Hoffman prepared for his role as Max Dembo by visiting Folsom Prison. Even though the film is predominantly set outside of prison, Hoffmann wanted the experience of the "conditioning" of penitentiary life and atmosphere in order to characterize a man who had just been released from a prison after serving a six-year sentence.

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Goofs

In the diner, Max orders Jenny a ginger ale; the waitress brings her a 7-Up.

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Quotes

Jerry Schue: [Max, Jerry and Carol are enjoying a backyard barbecue. Carol leaves to grab some drinks] Get me outta here. They're killing me. I can't make this scene anymore, get me outta here... You got something, I know you got something...
Max Dembo: Yeah, I got something.
Jerry Schue: Well, let's do it.
Max Dembo: Don't you wanna know what it is?
Jerry Schue: I don't give a damn what it is, let's just do it... What is it?
Max Dembo: Bunch of old guys play poker over in a motel out in the valley. They got about twenty thousand dollars on the table. We just tip ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Thief: Truth-Telling Style: Michael Mann on 'Thief' (2014)

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Soundtracks

Two of Us
Music by David Shire
Lyrics by Norma Green (as Norma Helms)

User Reviews

Quite Good

This movie creeps up on you, gets a kind of emotional hold on you and digs in through the end. Really, a terrific 70s style film (should have been made in 1973). Dustin Hoffman is outstanding. He gives an understated performance that fits the atmosphere of the movie, the story and himself perfectly. It is one of his best performances. Theresa Russell, and Harry Dean Stanton also deliver excellent performances. A very good example of how story, and acting that is true to the story, matter so much in making a good film. Urls Grosbard does a good job of establishing the mood of the film and carrying it all the way through, without hitting you over the head with unnecessarily forced dialog or drawn-out action sequences, etc.