| Convicts 4 | |
|---|---|
) | |
| Directed by | Millard Kaufman |
| Produced by | A. Ronald Lubin |
| Screenplay by | Millard Kaufman |
| Based on | Reprieve; the Testament of John Resko 1959 Autobiography by John Resko |
| Starring | Ben Gazzara Stuart Whitman Vincent Price Rod Steiger Sammy Davis, Jr. Ray Walston |
| Music by | Leonard Rosenman |
| Cinematography | Joseph F. Biroc |
| Edited by | George White |
| Distributed by | Allied Artists Pictures Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Convicts 4 is a 1962 prison film drama starring Ben Gazzara and directed by Millard Kaufman.[1][2][3] The film is a fictionalized version of the life of death row convict John Resko, who wrote his autobiography: Reprieve.
Plot
It is Christmas, 1931, and John Resko (Ben Gazzara) wants to give his baby daughter a new teddy bear. He goes, without money, into a shop and tries to get the shopkeeper to give it to him saying he will pay him later. The shopkeeper refuses, Resko grabs a gun he saw in the till and points it at the man. The shopkeeper lunges at Resko and is shot. Resko is condemned to the electric chair at the age of eighteen.
Pardoned by the governor at the last minute, Resko is sentenced to Dannemora Prison, where he has difficulty adjusting to life behind bars. It becomes even less bearable after hearing that his wife (Carmen Phillips) has left him and that his father (Jack Kruschen) has died.
Resko does long stretches in solitary confinement. But he is befriended eventually by fellow convicts like Iggy (Ray Walston) and Wino (Sammy Davis Jr.) who help him to pass the time. When he takes up art as a hobby, Resko's work is seen by an art critic, Carl Carmer (Vincent Price), who believes him to have promise.
In 1949, after 18 years in prison, Resko is released. His daughter (Susan Silo) and granddaughter are waiting when he gets out.
Cast
- Ben Gazzara as John Resko
- Stuart Whitman as Principal Keeper
- Ray Walston as Iggy
- Vincent Price as Carl Carmer
- Rod Steiger as 'Tiptoes'
- Broderick Crawford as Warden
- Dodie Stevens as Resko's Sister
- Jack Kruschen as Resko's Father
- Sammy Davis Jr. as Wino
- Naomi Stevens as Resko's Mother
- Carmen Phillips as Connie Resko
- Susan Silo as Cathy (as an adult)
- Timothy Carey as Nick
- Roland La Starza as Duke
- Tom Gilson as Lefty
- Jack Albertson as Art teacher
Production
Filmed at Folsom State Prison and when filming was done, Sammy Davis Jr. asked to put on a show for the actual inmates. With a couple of limitations, the show went on and was a "hit."
See also
- List of American films of 1962
References
- ^ Variety film review; April 4, 1962; reviewed as "Reprieve."
- ^ Harrison's Reports film review; April 28, 1962, page 63.
- ^ Monthly Film Bulletin review; 1962, page 115.
External links
- Convicts 4 at IMDb
- Convicts 4 at AllMovie
- Convicts 4 at the TCM Movie Database
- Convicts 4 at the American Film Institute Catalog