Brubaker (1980)

	Directed by: Stuart Rosenberg	COUNTRY USA GENRE Prison/Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE Brubaker – alene mot alle RUNNING TIME 131 minutes
	Produced by: Ron Silverman
	Written by (based on a book by Tom Murton and Joe Hyams): W. D. Richter

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Henry Brubaker	Robert Redford
Dickie Coombes	Yaphet Kotto
Lillian Gray	Jane Alexander
John Deach	Murray Hamilton	½
Larry Lee Bullen	David Keith	½
Walter	Morgan Freeman	½
Purcell	Matt Clark	½
Huey Rauch	Tim McIntire
Abraham Cook	Richard Ward	½
C.P. Woodward	M. Emmet Walsh
Rory Poke	Albert Salmi	-
Carol	Linda Haynes	-
Eddie Caldwell	Everett McGill	-
Floyd Birdwell	Joe Spinell	-

Review

The peculiarly American institution of prison farms, and their tendency to harbour corruption and abuse, is put under scrutiny in this Stuart Rosenberg film from 1980, but unfortunately it's a muddled and not very well-articulated scrutiny. Robert Redford stars, giving a performance where he probably aimed for smooth and empathetic, but ends up appearing somewhat murky and unfocused. He plays a newly appointed prison warden who arrives at Wakefield State Prison in Arkansas disguised as an inmate in order to chart the prisoners' conditions. The ensuing proceedings are all about uprooting ingrained corruption and antiquated practices, but the drama never really gels, and the customary power struggles with officials and politicians are terribly stale. Brubaker is a film with more potential than is realised on screen, and it only comes alive in fragments, such as in Morgan Freeman's single scene.