Brubaker

Brubaker
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Stuart Rosenberg
Produced by	Ron Silverman Ted Mann (executive)
Screenplay by	W. D. Richter
Story by	W. D. Richter Arthur Ross
Based on	book by Tom Murton Joe Hyams
Starring	Robert Redford Yaphet Kotto Jane Alexander Morgan Freeman
Music by	Lalo Schifrin
Cinematography	Bruno Nuytten
Editing by	Robert Brown
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	June 20, 1980
Running time	132 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Brubaker is an American 1980 film directed by Stuart Rosenberg about a prison in distress and the Warden Henry Brubaker (Robert Redford) who attempts to reform the system.

The film boasts a large supporting cast of stars including Yaphet Kotto, Tim McIntire, Nathan George, David Keith, Everett McGill, Murray Hamilton, Matt Clark, M. Emmet Walsh and Jane Alexander, with an early appearance by Morgan Freeman. Nicolas Cage appears as an extra in his very first film.

Rosenberg replaced Bob Rafelson, who was removed as director early in production.

Plot

A mysterious man (Redford) arrives at a prison as an inmate and witnesses rampant abuse and corruption, including open and endemic sexual assault, torture, worm-ridden diseased food, insurance fraud and a doctor charging inmates for care, amongst other things. During a dramatic standoff, he reveals himself to be the new prison warden, Henry Brubaker, to the amazement of both prisoners and officials alike.

With ideals and vision, he attempts to reform the prison, with an eye towards prisoner rehabilitation and human rights. He recruits several long-time prisoners, including Larry Lee Bullen (Keith) and Richard "Dickie" Coombes (Kotto), to assist him with his reformation. Their efforts improve the prison conditions, but his stance inflames several corrupt officials on the prison board who have profited from graft for decades. When he discovers multiple unmarked graves of prisoners on the property, he attempts to unravel the mystery, leading to political scandal. When a trustee realizes that he might be held accountable for killing another inmate, he decides to make a run for it, the resulting gunfight proves to be the final ammunition that the prison board (acting with the tacit approval of the governor) needs to fire Brubaker.

A statement before the credits explains that two years after Brubaker was fired, twenty four inmates sued the prison. The court ruled that the treatment of the prisoners was unconstitutional and the prison system was ultimately reformed. Meanwhile, the governor was not reelected.

The movie is based on the real-life experiences of Thomas Murton, author of the novel upon which the movie is based and one-time warden in the Arkansas state prison system. Much of the squalid conditions, violence and corruption depicted in the film was the subject of a 1970 federal court case, Holt v. Sarver, in which the federal court ruled that Arkansas' prison system violated inmates' constitutional rights, and ordered reform.

Locations

Filmed at The Junction City Prison Farm in Junction City, Ohio, Bremen, Ohio, New Lexington, Ohio, and at the Fairfield County Fairgrounds in Lancaster, Ohio.

Cast and characters

• Robert Redford as Henry Brubaker
• Yaphet Kotto as Richard 'Dickie' Coombes
• Jane Alexander as Lillian Gray
• Murray Hamilton as John Deach
• David Keith as Larry Lee Bullen
• Morgan Freeman as Walter
• Matt Clark as Roy Purcell
• Tim McIntire as Huey Rauch
• Richard Ward as Abraham Cook
• Jon Van Ness as Zaranska
• M. Emmet Walsh as C.P. Woodward
• Albert Salmi as Rory Poke
• Linda Haynes as Carol
• Everett McGill as Eddie Caldwell
• Joe Spinell as Floyd Birdwell
• Val Avery as Wendel
• William Newman (credited as William M. Newman) as Dunfield
• A. Daniel Parrish as Prisoner
• James Keane as Pinky
• Nicolas Cage (extra) (uncredited)
• Robbie DeVol as War Buff

Awards

Wins

• Motion Picture Sound Editors: Golden Reel Award. Best Sound Editing.

Nominations

• Academy Awards: Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen; W.D. Richter (screenplay/story) and Arthur A. Ross (story).

See also

• List of American films of 1980
• Arkansas Prison scandal

External links

• Brubaker at the Internet Movie Database
• Brubaker at AllRovi
• Roger Ebert review, Brubaker