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Storyline

Arizona Territorial Prison inmate Paris Pitman, Jr. is a schemer, a charmer, and quite popular among his fellow convicts — especially with $500,000 in stolen loot hidden away and a plan to escape and recover it. New warden Woodward Lopeman has other ideas about Pitman. Each man will have the tables turned on him.

Released

1970-09-18
Revenue

n/a
Budget

n/a
Runtime

2hr 3m
Genre

Western
Status

Released
Language

Español, English
6.8
Production

Warner Bros. Pictures

Crew

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Director

Robert Benton

Writer

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Producer

Keywords:

prison prison escape criminal warden

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Cast

Kirk Douglas

Paris Pitman, Jr.

Henry Fonda

Woodward W. Lopeman

Hume Cronyn

Dudley Whinner

Warren Oates

Floyd Moon

Burgess Meredith

The Missouri Kid

John Randolph

Cyrus McNutt

Lee Grant

Mrs. Bullard

Arthur O'Connell

Mr. Lomax

Martin Gabel

Warden LeGoff

Michael Blodgett

Coy Cavendish

C.K. Yang

Ah-Ping

Alan Hale Jr.

Tobaccy

Victor French

Whiskey

Claudia McNeil

Madam

Bert Freed

Skinner

Jeanne Cooper

Prostitute

Barbara Rhoades

Miss Jessie Brundidge

Gene Evans

Col Wolff

Pamela Hensley

Edwina

J. Edward McKinley

The Governor

Karl Lukas

Otis

Larry D. Mann

Harry

Ann Doran

Mrs. Lomax

Paul Prokop

Bart Burns

Dr. Loomis

E.J. André

Judge

David Armstrong

Prisoner

Bob Bennett

Bartender

Bill Borzage

Prisoner

Danny Borzage

Prisoner

Buff Brady

Nolan

David Cadiente

Rioting Prisoner

Vincente Cadiente

Riot Guard

Harry Caesar

Rioting Prisoner

Virginia Capers

Cook

James J. Casino

Prisoner

Donald Chaffin

Prisoner

Al Checco

Wheatley

Robert Cleaves

Grizzard

John Davey

Riot Guard

Barbara Eaton

Girl

Duke Fishman

Prisoner

Byron Foulger

Member of Town Council

Bruce Garrick

Lomax Kid

Lars Hensen

Prisoner

Bob Herron

Oran

George Hickman

Church Member

Harry Holcombe

Hammond

Clyde Howdy

U.S. Marshal

Michael Jeffers

Church Member

Henry Kingi

Rioting Prisoner

Ron Kinwald

Rioting Prisoner

Monty Laird

Rioting Prisoner

Jacquelyn Landrum

Girl

John Lawrence

Jones

Norman Leavitt

Prisoner

Ian McLean

Cavalry Man

John McCook

Deputy

Boyd 'Red' Morgan

Hobbs

Paul Newlan

Terry L. Nichols

Tower Guard

Carol Nicholson

Lomax Girl

Gerry Okuneff

Riot Guard

Renee Paul

Girl

Jack Perkins

Prisoner

Red Perkins

Guard

Bill Peterson

Gordon Hartley

Mel Pittenger

Cavalry Man

Roberta Randall

Girl

Clark Ross

Church Member

James Seay

Aide to Lieutenant Governor

Vincent St. Cyr

Apache Prisoner

Ron Stein

Prisoner

Kelly Thordsen

Edwina's Father

George Tracy

Prisoner

Rick Traeger

Peddler

Jesse Wayne

Prisoner

Napoleon Whiting

Lomax Servant

Guy Wilkerson

Prisoner in Solitary

Ilona Wilson

Girl

Will Wyler

Rioting Prisoner

Videos and Photos

Movie Reviews

Reviews for There Was a Crooked Man...

A Review by John Chard 7

Written by John Chard on 2019-01-13

Don't tell me you can't make speeches; you could talk a coyote out of a chicken. There Was a Crooked Man... is directed by Joseph L. Mank... read more

Don't tell me you can't make speeches; you could talk a coyote out of a chicken. There Was a Crooked Man... is directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and written by David Newman and Robert Benton. It stars Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Hume Cronyn, Warren Oates, Burgess Meredith, John Randolph and Michael Blodgett. Music is by Charles Strouse and cinematography by Harry Stradling Jr. Plot has Douglas as Paris Pitman Jr., an unscrupulous thief who after stealing and hiding in a rattlesnake's nest half a million dollars, gets caught and sent to an Arizona prison for ten years. Once there his plan is simple, to befriend as many cons as he can so they can help him escape. Dangling the carrot of sharing his stash with those who help him, Pitman's plan may be usurped by the arrival of new Warden Woodward Lopeman (Fonda)? Joseph L. Mankiewicz's only venture into the Western sphere is an odd picture in many ways, but not in a bad way, sort of! Coming as it did at the start of the 1970s when the Western was for what was to be some time, on its last legs, the pic blends comedy with cynicism and violence with choice characterisations. Taking bold decisions in not making this a straight run of the mill genre piece, it's unsurprising to find that Warner Brothers got itchy feet and cut a whopping forty minutes from the original cut of the film, footage that to this day has never seen the light of day. This is a crying shame for although it doesn't make the film a mess in any shape or form, it does stop it from being the more edgy piece it was meant to be, With a super cast list fronted by a strong dynamic between Douglas and Fonda, story thrives by pretty much having nobody being straight as an arrow. In fact one of the strengths in the narrative is in setting us up for some surprises, we are never quite sure how this is going to pan out. As the violence, crafty scheming and general crookedness that exists within the prison simmers along, it's set up a treat for the pay off at story's culmination, something which has proven to be divisive (for me it's a doozy). At times it feels like we are in a knockabout comedy, yet this is merely a trick in the tale, the makers are in it for sucker punch merit, craftily flipping the finger whilst embracing moral decay. Hard to recommend with great confidence for it is an acquired taste, but it's fascinating as a snapshot of when the Western was gasping for breath, and rewards are there for those willing to buy into its devilish oddities. 7.5/10