(1972)
3.5
Bruce Eder
The Glass House, based on a story by Truman Capote (it was originally presented as Truman Capote's The Glass House), created a serious stir when it was first shown on CBS in February 1972. Shot on location at Utah State Prison, it tried for a realism that was unusual for either prison movies or made-for-TV movies, and ended up going farther in depicting prison life than even most feature films ever have. Indeed, it may have been too honest to achieve more than critical success, because its vision is so bleak and pessimistic that it makes The Shawshank Redemption play like a high school theater production. The violence of the movie, which includes depictions of rape, murder, and other brutalities, was exceeded only by the skill that went into telling its story, and the hopelessness of the story. Director Tom Gries (best remembered for Will Penny and 100 Rifles) shows an incredibly strong command of his material, and it's no surprise that he won an Emmy for his work here. He draws quietly powerful performances from his cast, including Clu Gulager (who was then at the top of his game, having also done The Last Picture Show), Dean Jagger, Vic Morrow (playing what could almost be an older, more corrupt version of his Artie West from The Blackboard Jungle), Billy Dee Williams, and Kristoffer Tabori. Indeed, the only weak (or, more accurately, unsteady) link is Alan Alda as Jonathan Paige, the college professor serving a one-year prison term for manslaughter; Alda tries hard and succeeds intermittently in creating a convincing portrayal, but his overt earnestness, coupled with the wide-eyed obnoxiousness in the writing of his character, and his passive-aggressive approach to the role, make it seem miraculous that Paige isn't killed early on. One scene, in particular (after he has been threatened and fully knows the score in prison) in which Paige turns off an unattended television set in a common area, is so incredible as to almost -- but not quite -- damage the movie's believability; the writing fails, but Alda's handling of the scene fails even more. As strong as the direction and most of the acting is, even more impressive is the work of editor Gene Fowler Jr., who has done a masterful job of assembling the material for maximum impact. This includes not just the individual scenes and the core of the story, but also a series of flashbacks (audio as well as visual) explaining how Paige came to be in prison, woven into the present sequences without interrupting the flow or the forward momentum of the narrative. The flaw in Alda's portrayal aside, the movie was so well made that it overcame any objections that it engendered.
releases for The Glass House on AllMovie
The Glass House (1972)
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The Glass House
Video International
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July 7, 2008 |
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The Glass House
Direct Source
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June 6, 2006 |
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Glass House
Vci Video
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January 25, 2000 |
