This film was based on a true story and of course the filmmakers took liberties with the story line to pique the movie goers interest. I do believe though that prisons are a necessary form of punishment to save many lives that would otherwise have been destroyed if these convicted killers were never imprisoned and left to continue with their criminal activities, especially when there was a depression going on across the world.
This film depicts the internal struggles of one such young man named John Resko (played superbly by Ben Gazzara) who at the age of 19 was already the father of a young child when he was apprehended rather quickly, and convicted to life in prison for his crimes of armed robbery and first degree murder. There is a strong and deep supporting cast such as Sammy Davis Jr., Rod Steiger,Jack Albertson, Ray Walston, and Stuart Whitman, to name just a few that all added great value to reflecting the harshness of the time of prison life. Not shown in the film was the fact that John Resko had an older accomplice in the robbery who convinced John to hold the gun and pull the trigger when confronted by the store clerk who was murdered. This other accomplice in the crime with a more extensive criminal record was also convicted and put to death. John Resko received what some may consider a lighter sentence of a life in prison.
In the 1930's convicted felons were subjected to much harsher conditions in prison life than they are today, so the film does show that even during the trying decades of the 1930's through the 1940's, there were some in the criminal justice system who attempted to find redemption for their prisoners. This is one of those successful true life cases that when presented on the screen in 1962 a decade or so after John Resko was released from prison shows that prison reform is possible and can succeed. So why some seventy (70) years after John Resko's release through prison reform are the United States prisons still over populated and disproportionately by African Americans?
The answer would appear to be that it is a multi billion dollar dirty business that employs tens of thousands of lawyers, judges, parole officers, prison guards, psychiatrists and of course racists.
I give the film a healthy 7 out of 10 IMDB rating.
This film depicts the internal struggles of one such young man named John Resko (played superbly by Ben Gazzara) who at the age of 19 was already the father of a young child when he was apprehended rather quickly, and convicted to life in prison for his crimes of armed robbery and first degree murder. There is a strong and deep supporting cast such as Sammy Davis Jr., Rod Steiger,Jack Albertson, Ray Walston, and Stuart Whitman, to name just a few that all added great value to reflecting the harshness of the time of prison life. Not shown in the film was the fact that John Resko had an older accomplice in the robbery who convinced John to hold the gun and pull the trigger when confronted by the store clerk who was murdered. This other accomplice in the crime with a more extensive criminal record was also convicted and put to death. John Resko received what some may consider a lighter sentence of a life in prison.
In the 1930's convicted felons were subjected to much harsher conditions in prison life than they are today, so the film does show that even during the trying decades of the 1930's through the 1940's, there were some in the criminal justice system who attempted to find redemption for their prisoners. This is one of those successful true life cases that when presented on the screen in 1962 a decade or so after John Resko was released from prison shows that prison reform is possible and can succeed. So why some seventy (70) years after John Resko's release through prison reform are the United States prisons still over populated and disproportionately by African Americans?
The answer would appear to be that it is a multi billion dollar dirty business that employs tens of thousands of lawyers, judges, parole officers, prison guards, psychiatrists and of course racists.
I give the film a healthy 7 out of 10 IMDB rating.