The Other Side of Hell

Well, as I have stated... if you are reading this you probably have seen this movie, if you haven't and are still reading, I very well may give away plot points... this shouldn't matter too much as it took the bulk of my life to actually find a copy of the darn thing. So if you wanted to view this movie... You honestly can't unless you REALLY try.

To start, it takes place in a mental institution that is more like a prison than a hospital. The main character, Frank Dole, is committed there hoping to receive medical help... He doesn't. He witnesses another patient (inmate) getting beaten to death, and decides he must escape. Befriending Jim Baker, another inmate who plead insanity at his wife's murder trial, the two try and escape. They fail... But Frank eventually manages to escape with the details of the Hospital's brutality.

There is so much story to go around in this movie, that I can't even begin to delve into it all... Some of my favorite parts include Frank collecting keys he finds; hoping one day to unlock the right door, Jim's involvement with the prison cock fights, and Johnson's insane brutality.

Characters are developed extremely well, and you truly feel for them. At least I did.

Should you ever find a copy of this movie, and you haven't seen it... if you like a good drama, give it a try. I saw it on HBO in 1988 or so, and eventually found somebody who had a video copy of it. It was never released on video, and hardly is shown on TV...

This is one of my top ten favorite movies of all time.

I remember seeing the movie when it first aired as a TV movie back in 1978, and it has stuck with me since. I've been looking for it on video for 10 years as I would really like to see it again to see if it still resonates. Alan Arkin did an excellent job of conveying the desperation of being trapped. If you liked the Shawshank Redemption, this movie has similar themes-you really feel for the protagonist trapped in a corrupt system. It would also appeal to fans of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest as well. It is hard to believe that this was a made for TV movie, as they are rarely as engaging as this. I wish I knew who I could lobby to get this released on DVD.

Kayderr I read your review and although I never saw the movie, my father worked in Farview in the late 50s early 60s. Unfortunately, he passed in 1995, however, I do know that he had made friends with alot of patients/inmates. One man painted a beautiful portrait of my sister from a snapshot photo. Another made him a frame, using wooden matchsticks, he also made my Dad a battleship out of matchsticks! Yet another made my mother a pocketbook out of soft pack empty cigarette packs. All items were of extraordinary quality. I'm sorry I cannot be of more help.

Imagine a darker, bleaker variation on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and you have The Other Side of Hell. Both films are well-made and powerful, but sadly this one has faded into obscurity, never released on home video or streaming. As of this writing, I had to watch the film on YouTube in poor quality, though even then, the impact of the performances and story shine through.

While there's nothing graphic in the film, the atrocities depicted are still harrowing for the viewer, and Alan Arkin gives one of his best performances as the disturbed but persevering Frank Dole. Though long and rarely cheery, the story never drags and is well-paced. Given the poor quality of the recording I saw, I cannot judge the cinematography too much. I can only imagine how much more impact-ful this movie would be with clearer picture and sound.

The film deserves more attention and a decent release so more people can watch it.

I found this movie, The Other Side of Hell, on You Tube. My father was imprisoned at Farview Institution for the Criminally Insane from 1943 until he died in 1964. I had not known where my father was until 1970. I had always thought he was in a place where he had "a room," and only this past week had I learned about those events depicted in the movie. I have purchased "Cold Storage" and "The Shoe Leather Treatment." It was disheartening to say the least to learn that my father apparently was there during those events/years. He had not seen me since l943 and I am now 74 years old never having seen him after 1943.

I am trying to find out any information I can about him. Nothing to do with the dark side of the institution, that is all in the past, but just to know anything at all about him as a person. I have only this one fact: that he was an artist and a painting of his was displayed in the Superintendent's office.

I am grateful to the person who posted the movie, The Other Side of Hell, on You Tube. It was very revealing.