Main Cast: Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Frances McDormand, Pamela Reed, Ned Beatty
Release Year: 1989
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 97 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Since Chattahoochee is a story based on true events, it may seem absurd to suggest that the actual events of Chattahoochee are pirated from other true-life tales like Gideon's Trumpet. But it certainly seems as if true stories are just as derivative as any fictional narrative coming out of Hollywood. The Chattahoochee saga details the Emmett Foley (Gary Oldman) story. The film takes place in 1955, when Foley, a Korean war veteran depressed and shattered by continual unemployment, snaps and shoots up his neighborhood, hoping that the police will come and shoot him down like a crazed dog so that his wife Mae (Frances McDormand) can collect on the insurance money. Instead of being gunned down by the law enforcement officers, he is sent to Chattahoochee, a notorious prison for the mentally ill which makes The Snake Pit look like a vacation in Bermuda. The gruesome conditions in the jail send Foley into listlessness. But then his anger gets the better of him and, encouraged by a friend, Walker Benson (Dennis Hopper), he begins sending letters to the authorities protesting the sub-human conditions in the mental facility. Due to his efforts, a state commission is formed to investigate conditions in Chattahoochee, and Foley has a chance to tell the world of the horrible conditions. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
M. Emmet Walsh - Morris; Raul Apartella - First Man at Investigation; Shane Baily - Orell; Kevin Barber - Upside-down Inmate; Don Wayne Bass - First Guard; Suzi Bass - Harwood's Secretary; Peggy Beasley - Mae's Mother; John Brasington - Dr. Towney; F. Drucilla Brookshire; Gary Bullock - Sadistic Attendant; Traber Burns - Miami Cop; Jerry Campbell - Inmate in Tunnel; Kevin Campbell - Inmate in Cesspool; Marc Clement - Theo; Kathryn Cobb - Miami Nurse; Bill Collins; Matt Craven - Lonny; James "Fred" Culclasure - Hymn-singing Inmate; William de Acutis - Missy; Michael Easler - Attendant; Wilbur Fitzgerald - Duane; David Fitzsimmons - Ambulance Driver; Kristi Frankenheimer - Weather Girl; Jim Gloster - Miami Attendant; Ed Grady - Stream of Conciousness Man; Robert Gravel - Lucas; Dorothy L. Grissom Hardin - Women on Street; E. Pat Hall - Inmate in Movie Theater; Bob Hannah - Karl; Whitey Hughes - Mr. Johnson; Roger Jackson - Inmate; Gary Klar - Clarence; B.J. Koonce - Woman at Investigation; Charles Lawler; Joe Loy - Quincy Cop; Wesley Mann; Mykel Mariette - Male Nurse; Yvonne Denise Mason - Ella; Douglas F. McDaniel - Jimbob; Wallace Merck - Patrolman; Tim Monich - Cop; Laurens Moore - Pa Foley; George Nannerello - Patient Without Shoes; William Newman - Jonathan; Ralph Pace - Leonard; Richard Portnow - Dr. Debner; Jim E. Quick - Dr. Everly; Randy Randolph - Miami Guard; Jill Rankin - Governor's Secretary; Chris Robertson; Timothy Scott - Harley; Perry Simpson; Lee Wilkof - Vernon; Bud Davis; David Dwyer - Goading Attendant; Mindy Marin; C.K. Bibby - Baker; Mary Moore - Ma Foley
Credit
Pat Tagliaferro - Art Director, Sue Baden-Powell - Co-producer, Aaron Schwab - Co-producer, Faye Schwab - Co-producer, Karen Patch - Costume Designer, Mick Jackson - Director, Don Fairservice - Editor, John Keane - Composer (Music Score), Bob Arrollo - Makeup, Joseph T. Garrity - Production Designer, Cathy Mickel Gibson - Production Designer, Andrew Dunn - Cinematographer, John Daly - Producer, Derek Gibson - Producer, Celeste Lee - Set Designer, Richard Helmer - Special Effects, Bud Davis - Stunts, James Cresson - Screenwriter, James Hicks - Screenwriter
The film Chattahoochee tells the story of the fight by a committed war hero, in Florida State Hospital (a mental institution in Chattahoochee, Florida), against doctors who were terrorizing and torturing their patients. It was shot in South Carolina.
Cast
The following are the actors and roles in the film:
