Fortune and Men's Eyes

• Director: Harvey Hart
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Drama
• Movie Type: Prison Film
• Main Cast: Georges Allard, Michel Gilbert, Robert Saab, Cathy Wiele, A. Zeytounian
• Release Year: 1971
• Country: CA/US
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• MPAA Rating: R

Plot

John Herbert's stage play Fortune and Men's Eyes first enjoyed a sensational run on Broadway with Sal Minneo in the lead and was originally a fairly tame drama which used prison homosexual activity as a framework around which to base a plea for prison reform. In this screen adaptation, Mineo's role as Smitty, the unfortunate naif sent to prison on a drug charge who becomes a brutal prison leader, is played by Wendell Burton. Basically, this is an earnest prison drama with some small amusement provided by its treatment of prison homosexuality. Michael Greer offers a noteworthy performance as the extremely flamboyant and effeminate "Queenie." While this film has strong language and some nudity, sexual situations are handled discreetly enough for the film to have merited an "R" rating at the time of its release. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Review

A true curiosity, Fortune and Men's Eyes is a strange little film that seems very much of its era. Its creators seem to have been of two minds about Fortune, and seem to have been unable to resolve the conflict between the two minds. On the one hand, it wants to be a "problem" picture, dealing with the damaging social realities in a men's prison. On the other, it also seems to want to be an exploitation flick about the same subject and at times seems to celebrate the sexual abuse it chronicles in such a way as to border on pornographic (in its voyeuristic outlook, not in the actual revelation of flesh). The end is a mish-mash that isn't helped by a simplistic viewpoint and a lack of credibility; it simply doesn't seem believable that Wendell Burton's character could undergo such a radical change in the six months covered by the film. (It also doesn't help that Zooey Hall is not physical imposing enough for his character, despite a performance that does its best to overcome this physical defect.) Harvey Hart's direction is lacking in nuance, and Galt MacDermot's score is used in a very inappropriate manner. All this aside, Fortune still has an undeniable power, and some of its sequences make a definite impact. Burton does very well with the impossible role, and Michael Greer's over-the-top flame is something that shouldn't be missed. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

Cast

James Barron - Holy Face Peters; Wendell Burton - Smitty; Vance Davis - Sailor; Danny Freedman - Mona; Robert Goodier - Doctor; Jon Granik - Sgt. Gritt; Michael Greer - Queenie; Zooey Hall - Rocky; Tom Harvey - Warden Gasher; Kirk McColl - Guard; Modesto - One-Eye; Lazaro Perez - Catso; Larry Perkins - Screwdriver; Hugh Webster - Rabbit; Georges Allard - Fiddler; Michel Gilbert - Young Prisoner; Robert Saab - Drummer; Cathy Wiele - Cathy; A. Zeytounian - Pianist

Credit

Jill Courtney - Choreography, Donald Ginsberg - Co-producer, Marcel Carpenter - Costume Designer, Arthur Voronka - First Assistant Director, Harvey Hart - Director, Doug Robertson - Editor, Galt MacDermot - Composer (Music Score), Earl G. Preston - Production Designer, Georges Dufaux - Cinematographer, Lester Persky - Producer, Lewis M. Allen - Producer, John Herbert - Screenwriter

Similar Movies

The Glass House; Animal Factory

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