Weeds (1987)

A San Quentin inmate, sentenced to life without parole, writes a play that catches the interest of a reporter.

Director:

John D. Hancock (as John Hancock)

Writers:

Dorothy Tristan, John D. Hancock (as John Hancock)

Stars:

Nick Nolte, Rita Taggart, Ernie Hudson

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nick Nolte	...	Lee Umstetter
Ernie Hudson	...	Bagdad
Rita Taggart	...	Lillian Bingington
Mark Rolston	...	Dave
Lane Smith	...	Claude
John Toles-Bey	...	Navarro
Joe Mantegna	...	Carmine
Essex Smith	...	Vocalist
Sam L. Waymon	...	Vocalist
Orville Stoeber	...	Lead Guitar
Cyro Baptista	...	Bass Guitar
J.J. Johnston	...	Lazarus
William Forsythe	...	Burt the Booster
Anne Ramsey	...	Mom Umstetter
Ray Reinhardt	...	Pop Umstetter

Storyline

Lee Umstetter is a lifer at San Quentin prison and a multiple suicide attempter. Eventually, another prisoner suggests reading to find something better to do with his time. Lee takes that advice and finds himself inspired from what he reads to write a play about life in prison. He has auditions and assembles a cast from his fellow inmates. The play proves popular and it catches the attention of a female reporter who writes about it, creating publicity that allows for a parole for him. Once out, he later reassembles his cast when they come out to do the play professionally. However, they learn that the demands of the life outside are difficult to cope with for the newly released and their play needs to be changed in major ways while they struggle to make it succeed.

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Plot Keywords:

middle age romance | phony convict | prison | writing a play | one word title | 

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Taglines:

Feel what it's like from the inside.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der stählerne Vorhang

Filming Locations:

Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$132,970, 18 October 1987

Gross USA:

$2,325,444

Company Credits

Production Co:

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG), Kingsgate Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was a long standing project for Robert De Niro before Nolte became attached.

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Connections

Featured in No Small Parts: Anne Ramsey (2014)

User Reviews

Drama with a hint of a musical about it

Some may say this film doesn't know where it is going, it starts as a drama, then a thriller, a musical, a comedy and back to a drama. It was a mixture to be enjoyed. Nick Nolte fans should not be disappointed. This was a low budget venture and it doesn't show. The casting director certainly earned their money on this one with a rich mix of character actors who today are very well known but maybe not at the time this was made. One for the collection.