The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.
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Ron Frazier
- Burl Willetsas Burl Willets
- (as Ronald C. Frazier)
David Harris
- Duane Spiveyas Duane Spivey
- (as David D. Harris)
When the new warden comes in disguised as an inmate, he sees firsthand all the corruption and scams the guards and prison officials are running. When he reveals himself and starts to implement reforms to stop the corruption, the local business community, who had been benefiting from the scams, fights back, and the corrupt prison system starts making political trouble for the new warden. —Brian W Martz <B.Martz@Genie.com>
Top review
A true story...and things still ain't changed much.
I saw this movie with my wife, who wasn't thrilled that I brought this back from the video store. She's the type that pulls movies off of the "new release" shelf without fail. But as we got into this movie, she changed her mind.
Robert Redford plays Henry Brubaker, a prison warden who is recruited to reform brutal Wakefield Penitentiary, in Arkansas. The conditions are terrible, with men sleeping in puddles of mop water and being regularly beaten, tortured, and murdered. Brubaker gets a handle on the conditions there by sneaking into the jail disguised as an incoming criminal.
When he finally begins his tenure as warden, he meets strong resistance from the community, which is used to the prison being the source of local income and slave labor. The scenes in which Brubaker has to deal with the morally corrupt prison board are powerful and captivating. A good view.
Cinematography is questionable, and the editing TV movie-like. Acting is superb, and the local color interesting. I give the film a B-.
Things to watch for: white trash sister, Morgan Freeman's debut, rape scene.
Robert Redford plays Henry Brubaker, a prison warden who is recruited to reform brutal Wakefield Penitentiary, in Arkansas. The conditions are terrible, with men sleeping in puddles of mop water and being regularly beaten, tortured, and murdered. Brubaker gets a handle on the conditions there by sneaking into the jail disguised as an incoming criminal.
When he finally begins his tenure as warden, he meets strong resistance from the community, which is used to the prison being the source of local income and slave labor. The scenes in which Brubaker has to deal with the morally corrupt prison board are powerful and captivating. A good view.
Cinematography is questionable, and the editing TV movie-like. Acting is superb, and the local color interesting. I give the film a B-.
Things to watch for: white trash sister, Morgan Freeman's debut, rape scene.
helpful•245
- Eschete
- Nov 13, 2000
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