An Innocent Man

The movie talks an ordinary family man (Tom Selleck) who works as an airplane engineer and married a good woman (Laila Robins) . He's accused by two baddie policemen (David Rashe and Richard Young) as peddler and he's sent to a hard jail . There he is harassed and humiliated until that fury and revenge emerge . He's only helped by a veteran convict (F.Murray Abraham) framed for prison life.

It's an interesting film developed in two parts : in and out of prison . The best part is narrated into prison because of it reflects the astonishing existence of the inmates , with fights, threats ,murders and where rules the strongest's law . In the picture there are suspense, violence, drama , tension and a bit of action in the final confrontation . The picture obtained moderated success , it was not a smash hit neither a flop . Tom Selleck's interpretation is fine but F.Murray Abraham is better , he makes a terrific acting as the veteran con who teaches naive Selleck to take on risks and dangers of the gaol . Many of the film's prison scenes were filmed at the old Hamilton County Jail in Cincinnati, Ohio , also known as the "Cincinnati Workhouse", had been permanently closed prior to the location filming of the movie and it had been built during the Civil War . It was closed due to being "inhumane, cruel and unusual" by modern jail standards . Atmospheric music by Howard Shore who subsequently achieved many hits and one Oscar for ¨Lord of the rings¨. Nice cinematography by William A.Fraker , photographer of various classic films . The motion picture was rightly directed by Peter Yates . The story will appeal to prison genre enthusiasts and Tom Selleck fans.

I think this was a good film about being framed and getting revenge. Tom Selleck is great in his role as the title character. Two crooked cops make a mistake (in more ways than one) when they go to the wrong address expecting to find a drug dealer, break into his house, mistake a hair dryer he is carrying for a gun, and shoot him. They then realize that they are at the wrong house and try to amend their mistake by framing Selleck as a drug dealer. Everything goes their way, and Selleck winds up in prison. Three years later, he is paroled and seeks revenge. During those three years, he is faced with the harsh realities of prison life and is beaten up more than once. F. Murray Abraham is there for him, fortunately, and helps him survive. (Abraham plays another inmate.) I liked this film even though it did follow a formula and was a typical revenge type movie. It was a great role for Selleck, who was perfect in his part.

** 1/2 out of ****

This movie is a great example of a character thrust into an awful situation - a situation where you question, "What would I do in his shoes?" For that reason, it is very tense and suspenseful throughout as Tom Selleck's character tries to navigate prison life. I really felt for his character - his acting was great. Sure, there are some moments of cheesy lines and overdone composing and a bit of over-acting by the various villains, but for the most part, this is one of the better character thrillers I've seen in awhile. Selleck is great, as if the man who befriends him inside the prison. Can't find anything new to watch? I recommend checking out this little gem from 1989!

Tom Selleck is absolutely fabulous in this movie! Hollywood usually is very bad with jailhouse movies. They tend to go to extremes when depicting what it's like to suddenly lose your freedom and always neglect to portray the mind-numbing boredom, lack of privacy and constant noise that is for years part of a prisoners daily life. Having spent time in prison myself may make me a bit biased in favor of a movie where a convict actually gets revenge on the cops who set him up-so be it. I can remember only one other movie as good as this that came close to showing the reality of prison life and that was 'Short Eyes' a movie filmed in the Tombs in Manhattan-a place where I was a guest more than once. Check out the wonderful performance of F. Murray Abraham in this flick as the tough old con that give Selleck advice on how to survive in prison. Jailhouse movies made in Hollywood always seem patently phony to me as a rule-like some director's idea of what he thinks jail should be. This one is a huge exception to that rule. I recommend it highly and think you'll like it.

Riveting entertainment of someone accused of a crime that they didn't commit and how the system can be tainted or shuffled against you on a whim. The shocking part is there is nothing you can do about it. I suppose that is why it takes 13 years to execute someone in this country too. We want to be sure before we take a life. Good story, acting and plausible more times than not. The characters draw you in and you either hate them or root for them, but sitting still is not an option with your emotions in full play. This movie activates the emotions. There are plot holes, but we trade them for the raw adventure to be found in watching the movie and joining the characters. There are 4 movies that depict life in prison accurately. 1. American Me 2. Blood In Blood Out 3. The Glass House and this one. If you want to scare someone straight, there is the line-up to remind them to behave them selves now or fight for your life later. This movie also reminds us of how power and money can rule and how we end up serving those things. Then, they finish us off all the worst for it. Catch this movie without interruptions, have a snack ready, and be entertained. I did a bowl of home made double roasted sunflower seeds. I recommend this over biting your nails or smoking to relieve the tension found in this movie at times...Bon Voyage