Convicts 4 is based on the true story of John Resko, a resident of New York State's correctional system for a couple of decades who got a lucky commutation after a brutal depression era shooting of a storeowner in hungry desperate times and eventually a reprieve from the life sentence. All owing to a talent for art which was nurtured within the prison walls of Sing Sing and then Dannemora. Ben Gazzara plays the angry Resko who eventually learns to both work the system and then get the reprieve under Stuart Whitman who is first a guard in both places he served and who eventually becomes the warden at Dannemora.
Some obvious parallels with Birdman Of Alcatraz have to be mentioned here. Unlike Robert Stroud who not only killed on the outside, but killed a prison guard as well, Gazzara may have been a troublemaker at first, but he did not kill one of the guards. Even though New York did not have the death penalty for many years long after Resko was in prison the one exception in the law was for correctional employees. It was their only weapon for keeping some of society's rejects in line. Resko always had a better chance of making it outside than Stroud.
Some name players did some small roles here, they must have believed in the project. Broderick Crawford and Rod Steiger are memorable as Dannemora's first warden and chief guard. So is Ray Walston as a stir crazy convict. Most of all Sammy Davis, Jr. who is Gazzara's cellmate dropped the song and dance talent he was best known for and did a really serious part.
Gazzara hit all the right notes a lot of them as chords as he essayed many different and conflicting levels of emotion as Resko. This film just might have been his career role on the big screen. Convicts 4 wins an honored place among prison films for the big screen.
Some obvious parallels with Birdman Of Alcatraz have to be mentioned here. Unlike Robert Stroud who not only killed on the outside, but killed a prison guard as well, Gazzara may have been a troublemaker at first, but he did not kill one of the guards. Even though New York did not have the death penalty for many years long after Resko was in prison the one exception in the law was for correctional employees. It was their only weapon for keeping some of society's rejects in line. Resko always had a better chance of making it outside than Stroud.
Some name players did some small roles here, they must have believed in the project. Broderick Crawford and Rod Steiger are memorable as Dannemora's first warden and chief guard. So is Ray Walston as a stir crazy convict. Most of all Sammy Davis, Jr. who is Gazzara's cellmate dropped the song and dance talent he was best known for and did a really serious part.
Gazzara hit all the right notes a lot of them as chords as he essayed many different and conflicting levels of emotion as Resko. This film just might have been his career role on the big screen. Convicts 4 wins an honored place among prison films for the big screen.