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Fortune and Men's Eyes
- Director: Harvey Hart; Jules Schwerin
- Writer: John Herbert
- Producer: Lewis M. Allen; Donald Ginsberg
CGiii Comment
Just like Short Eyes - do not expect to see an earlier version of Oz.
This is laden with a ponderous script...
A young not-so-innocent goes to prison...with no surprises.
Maybe, back when it was first released, it threw a few powerful punches (despite the atrocious acting) - but, those punches have deteriorated into light slaps.
Herbert had no more cinematic success and it's not difficult to see why.
The water fight sequence is possibly the most ridiculous attempt at injecting humour - especially after a gang rape...!
The film is overly punctuated with such scenarios - lamely directed - but, brave for its time and it does have a certain appeal - really just to see how far we have come and how a film can simply fall apart.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
The young, naive Smitty is sent to prison for six months; Cathy, his girlfriend, watches as he disappears behind the bars and barbed wire. He's assigned a cell with Queenie, a balls-out drag queen, Rocky, a quiet but cocky con, and Mona, a young gay man who ministers to Rocky. Smitty watches in horror as gangs of inmates brutalize prisoners who lack protection. Those who complain risk beatings or murder at the hands of unsympathetic guards: all cries are bootless. Mona offers poetry - Shakespeare's sonnet XXIX; Queenie and Rocky offer Smitty advice, and Rocky offers protection for a price. Smitty's choices and their consequences are the film's main subjects.
Cast & Characters
Wendell Burton as Smitty;
Michael Greer as Queenie;
Zooey Hall as Rocky;
Danny Freedman as Mona;
Larry Perkins as Screwdriver;
James Barron as Holy Face Peters;
Lazaro Perez as Catso;
Jon Granik as Sgt. Gritt;
Tom Harvey as Warden Gasher;
Hugh Webster as Rabbit;
Kirk McColl as Guard Sullivan;
Vance Davis as Sailor;
Robert Goodier as Doctor;
Cathy Wiehl as Cathy;
Georges Allard as Fiddler