Cuatro convictos

I've seen quite a few prison movies and this one is a bit different. First off, it's based on a real person. Second, because it's real, it lacks the glamor or sadism of prison films like "Brute Force" or "The Shawshank Redemption". And, unlike the awful "Birdman of Alcatraz" (which completely sanitized a truly evil man), this one sticks pretty close to the facts.

The film begins with John Resko (Ben Gazzara) on death row and in a flashback scene, you learn how he got there. However, shortly before his execution, his sentence is commuted to life in prison and the rest of the film concerns his attempt to cope with prison life. However, unlike the expected outcome (being taken out in a pine box), Resko, with the help of a caring prison guard, finds a means of escape--but not at all the one he expected.

There's a lot more to the film than my brief description. However, it is NOT an action-packed film or one that shows prison being hellish--just boring and a waste of life. It does a good job of this. But what's really neat are the performances. Gazzara was a heck of a good actor and you wonder if he would have been a big star had he possessed Hollywood good looks. But it's not just him--the rest of the cast is quite good. A particular standout is Sammy Davis, but Ray Walston (in a wacky role) and Stuart Whitman are also quite good. Realistic and fascinating...and a bit slow. But this slowness I really appreciated, as the film didn't change facts to make for a non-stop action or suspenseful film--just reality.

John Resko (Ben Gazzara) is on death row in Sing Sing. He's preparing to be executed. In December 1930, he killed a shopkeeper over a teddy bear he wanted for his daughter's Christmas present. At the last minute, he gets a reprieve and his sentence is commuted to life in prison.

Some of the notable cast includes Ray Walston, Vincent Price, Rod Steiger, and Sammy Davis Jr. This is somewhat ripped from the headlines writing. The first half is compelling but the movie loses steam over time. It's not really a dramatic story. The drama is packed into the first half. Even the escape attempts don't have real tension. It is however a compelling life story if not a compelling movie story.

The movie obviously has some merit in its acting, its filming, and its points about the justice system. But I found it unwatchable, at least this day. One after another, situations felt very forced to produce an effect. I wasn't able to get much of the effect because I was too busy cringing at how ham-handed various bits were. (For example: the robbery, the initial conflict with the first cell-mate, the initial conflict with the second cell-mate,...)

Some stuff *did* work potently for me, like the problem with Gazzara's bed.

About forty minutes in, when (as others mentioned) Timothy Carey is dubbed in his character's first scene, I guess it was just one 'fakeyness' straw too many and I turned off the TV. Either let him talk through his teeth, or don't let him talk through his teeth.

Ben Gazarra plays John Resko. He killed a shop owner over a teddy bear for his daughter and was sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in Sing Sing. Through the intercession of the lead guard and later warden, played by Stuart Whitman, he developed an interest and ability in art. After decades in prison, his sentence was commuted.

Writer Millard Kaufman (in his only turn as director) filmed prison scenes in Folsom and San Quentin, and filled the cast with major supporting actors, including Ray Walston, Rod Steiger, Sammy Davis Jr., and Timothy Farrell as convicts, Broderick Crawford as the warden (possibly intended to be Sing Sing's longtime warden Lewis Lawes), and Vincent Price as a visiting art expert and member of the parole board. The pace of the movie is deliberately slow as Gazarra inches towards rehabilitation, but the plethora of details and eccentricities of the performers (including, inevitably, Farrell's intimidating softie) keep it moving right along.

And it was the cast in that interested me into watching Convicts 4 in the first place. And while the film is well made with a realistic prison setting, it was the acting that helped to make the film more than it actually was for me. Ben Gazzara is terrific as is Sammy Davis Jnr. Stuart Whitman is also very good and well-meaning, and Ray Walston looks as though he is having a whale of a time. Rod Steiger and Vincent Price's performances are more like cameos, but they are memorable, particularly Price in a role that had shades of the sort of roles he excelled in. Timothy Carey is the only one who didn't really register with me, doesn't help that here his role is there but little is done with it to make it stand out. Aside from the production values and the acting, I was left unengaged on the whole. Convicts 4(not sure if I know the significance of the title) is not a terrible film, but at the same time it isn't something I recommend. The film as a whole is rather stagy with a fair bit of talk in the dialogue(at times it felt like too much), at the same time it is rather ordinary and slow-moving, and I don't think there was a moment despite the actors that I fully invested in any of the characters. The direction is competent, but doesn't have anything that stands out as particularly unique or memorable. Overall, has interest value and I cannot deny that the acting is very good but it didn't really engage me in other areas and as an overall film. 5/10 Bethany Cox