The Glass House is a prison film so well crafted and so realistically depicting life in the joint that it should have been given big screen theatrical release. As it is it's one of the best made for television films ever done.
Both corrections officer Clu Gulagher and convict Alan Alda start their servitude in The Glass House where there are no secrets. And like any other society it establishes it's own rules of order. There's a hierarchy among the convicts and among the guards. Presiding over all of it is Dean Jagger who probably correctly surmises that corruptions are needed to keep these most anti-social of men in some kind of line.
Into this world comes Alan Alda, former college professor who killed a man he thought had run down his wife and killed her. The wife turns out to have survived. Alda can no more adapt to this society than Montgomery Clift could adapt to the rules of survival in that company in From Here To Eternity. He's not become institutionalized. For that you've to reference the characters James Whitmore played in The Shawshank Redemption or Telly Savalas in Birdman Of Alcatraz. Neither can Kristoffer Tabori who is just a kid doing hard time for selling marijuana, a product of those insanely draconian drug laws.
Heading the white cons is Vic Morrow and the black cons is Billy Dee Williams. Williams is now thoroughly politicized inside the joint and thinks he's leading a revolution. Interesting to analyze his character's motivations with the changes made over the past 40 years since The Glass House was aired.
As for Morrow, he's a thoroughly institutionalized man who can just about anything he wants in the joint, but a woman. Nevertheless these macho cons have their own set of rules about sex in the joint. Morrow also is a study in evil and gives what maybe his career performance.
The film is based on a story by Truman Capote who made a study of convicts and really got into their anti-social heads first in In Cold Blood and now in this film. Director Tom Gries got some great performances out of his cast and the film is tight without a second of boring film in the movie. Charlton Heston in his autobiography said that Gries was one of the best directors he ever worked with, Gries did Will Penny with Heston and Heston noted it was a real tragedy that Gries died as young as he did, it was quite the loss to Hollywood.
After almost 40 years, The Glass House has lost none of its impact when viewed now or back then as I did. If this is broadcast absolutely do not miss this film.
Both corrections officer Clu Gulagher and convict Alan Alda start their servitude in The Glass House where there are no secrets. And like any other society it establishes it's own rules of order. There's a hierarchy among the convicts and among the guards. Presiding over all of it is Dean Jagger who probably correctly surmises that corruptions are needed to keep these most anti-social of men in some kind of line.
Into this world comes Alan Alda, former college professor who killed a man he thought had run down his wife and killed her. The wife turns out to have survived. Alda can no more adapt to this society than Montgomery Clift could adapt to the rules of survival in that company in From Here To Eternity. He's not become institutionalized. For that you've to reference the characters James Whitmore played in The Shawshank Redemption or Telly Savalas in Birdman Of Alcatraz. Neither can Kristoffer Tabori who is just a kid doing hard time for selling marijuana, a product of those insanely draconian drug laws.
Heading the white cons is Vic Morrow and the black cons is Billy Dee Williams. Williams is now thoroughly politicized inside the joint and thinks he's leading a revolution. Interesting to analyze his character's motivations with the changes made over the past 40 years since The Glass House was aired.
As for Morrow, he's a thoroughly institutionalized man who can just about anything he wants in the joint, but a woman. Nevertheless these macho cons have their own set of rules about sex in the joint. Morrow also is a study in evil and gives what maybe his career performance.
The film is based on a story by Truman Capote who made a study of convicts and really got into their anti-social heads first in In Cold Blood and now in this film. Director Tom Gries got some great performances out of his cast and the film is tight without a second of boring film in the movie. Charlton Heston in his autobiography said that Gries was one of the best directors he ever worked with, Gries did Will Penny with Heston and Heston noted it was a real tragedy that Gries died as young as he did, it was quite the loss to Hollywood.
After almost 40 years, The Glass House has lost none of its impact when viewed now or back then as I did. If this is broadcast absolutely do not miss this film.