Joseph Mankiewicz's comedy heist Western with some old stars (Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda) and new writers (Robert Benton, David Newman). He's not a director particularly associaated with Westerns - the movie was originally written for Don Siegel which makes more sense.
I glimpsed this as a child and always remember Michael Blodgett having sex with the girl on the pool table (female parts not amazing in this).
It's not much of a movie. Douglas wears glasses which is novel but he's mostly smug. There's a lot of prison tropes - riots, some gays, people hot for Blodgett, cross and double cross.
The characters aren't that compelling. There are introduced in interesting ways but then gets bogged down. Henry Fonda is dogged. Him turning crook at end feels unmotiavted. Douglas is one note.
I think maybe if had been a woman's prison, maybe it would've had more life.
The cast is special - there's Burgess Meredith, Warren Oates, Lee Grant, etc.
But I didn't like it. The music is awful - those stings. Why did Westerns use these?
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