There Was a Crooked Man...

There Was a Crooked Man.../1970/Joseph L. Mankiewicz

What do you get when you cross a prison movie with a Western? You get a very interesting film called There Was a Crooked Man. Seven inmates of a western desert prison, led by Paris Pitman Jr. (Kirk Douglas), plan a daring escape. Meanwhile, the prison’s new warden, Woody Lopeman (Henry Fonda), is trying to reform the prison by adding such niceties as a prison hospital and dining room. The setting of a prison is an oddity for a Western. The closest you see to this in most Westerns is a jail, normally in the same building as the sheriff’s office. Other than being set in a prison, there are many other things that set this movie apart from conventional Westerns.
Made around the time that the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll movement in movies was just starting to get going, There Was a Crooked Man is a very sexual film. The amount of sexuality in the beginning of the movie almost makes it feel like a 70’s exploitation film (although there is only a very little bit of female nudity). The cheesy music, especially the opening theme song, adds to the exploitation feel. However, the acting and directing sets it apart from such kinds of trashy and/or campy films. There are no major women characters in this movie, but I think it is important to point out that two of the minor women characters were strong, black women—a sassy house servant and the Madam of a whore house. Common to most prison movies (but uncommon to most Westerns), there is also an element of homosexuality in this film. I think that sometimes when film and literature critics claim homoerotic relationships between two male characters they just trying to sound smart and perhaps fishing for something that isn’t there. Here, although still latent, the homoeroticism between the two conmen (played by Hume Cronyn and John Randolph) is highly obvious. Pitman even refers to them as “two old daisies.” There is also a part where one of the guards implies a trade—easy prison life for young prisoner Coy Cavendish (Michael Blodgett) in exchange for sexual favors. The language in this movie is also very different from conventional Western discourse. Here are a few quotes: “A man works like a n*****r all his life to get ahead. Some bastard just comes along and takes it from him.” Missouri Kid: “Listen, every spittle in this place has a dodgy game. This one here is Tobaccy. He sells you, like, cigarettes and plug. Another one is Whisky. Then there’s Sweets.” Pitman: “Ain’t got a fella here named Poon Tang, have you?”
As you can tell from my description, this is a very oddball Western. Kirk Douglas is his usual charismatic self as Paris Pitman, Jr. There are many crooked men in this movie, but Pitman is the “crookedest.” Fonda does well as the saintly warden. The supporting cast is also wonderful and includes Burgess Meredith as the Missouri Kid, cult movie favorite Warren Oates as Floyd Moon, and Alan Hale, Jr. as Tobaccy. The story is somewhat stock (similar stories have been done before and since—The Great Escape, Escape from Alcatraz, etc), but the acting is wonderful and the directing is solid. The ending is also pretty darn good. If you like Westerns or prison movies or 70’s cinema, this is a must see. 7 ½ out of 10.

Hey what a fantabuloso review of that movie. I have never even heard of it. But I want to see it now. It sounds like a movie James Coburn or Lee Marvin could have been in too.