Gazarra carries the movie, although his low key emoting and lack of reaction to events around him make it seem a little too "Method" for my taste. The screenplay is too superficial in moving him swiftly from Death Row, in flashback to the crime and forward to Folsom.
Opening titles blare that Rod Steiger, Broderick Crawford and Vincent Price are featured players but taking a bathroom break could cause you to miss any of them. Steiger chews the scenery introducing himself as the steely chief warder who wields a big stick, but is never seen again. Crawford in a silk suit (???) is a "Big Daddy" style head of the prison reviewing the new prisoners and after a brief exposition with Stuart Whitman wanders off into the prison. Price gets the best deal, playing to his strength as a slightly arch art critic visiting the prison his interaction with Gazarra is believable and moves the plot along swiftly. Ray Walston can't make his mind up whether to be tough, kooky or homicidal (maybe the script gave too many options?) but steals scenes with ease. Sammy David Jnr has the chops to play the tough, little guy but is mostly there as the token black who is given a window into life with Gazarra teaches him to read (alluded to but never shown). What could have been a meaningful look at the US prison system is no more than a formulaic "big house" story that could have been made in the 1930's
Opening titles blare that Rod Steiger, Broderick Crawford and Vincent Price are featured players but taking a bathroom break could cause you to miss any of them. Steiger chews the scenery introducing himself as the steely chief warder who wields a big stick, but is never seen again. Crawford in a silk suit (???) is a "Big Daddy" style head of the prison reviewing the new prisoners and after a brief exposition with Stuart Whitman wanders off into the prison. Price gets the best deal, playing to his strength as a slightly arch art critic visiting the prison his interaction with Gazarra is believable and moves the plot along swiftly. Ray Walston can't make his mind up whether to be tough, kooky or homicidal (maybe the script gave too many options?) but steals scenes with ease. Sammy David Jnr has the chops to play the tough, little guy but is mostly there as the token black who is given a window into life with Gazarra teaches him to read (alluded to but never shown). What could have been a meaningful look at the US prison system is no more than a formulaic "big house" story that could have been made in the 1930's