- DIRECTOR:
Stuart Rosenberg
- ACTORS:
Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Strother Martin, Jo Van Fleet, Morgan Woodward, Luke Askew, Robert Donner, Clifton James, John McLiam, Dennis Hopper, Harry Dean Stanton, Anthony Zerbe, Wayne Rogers, Joe Don Baker
- PLOT:
An aimless rebel (Newman) finds himself pitted against the forces of law and order in a brutal chain gang.
- EVALUATION:
An occasionally brilliant film that presents some truly unique ways to challenge authority, ranging from an egg-eating contest to several memorable prison breaks.
- WRITING:
Based on the novel by Donn Pearce, the excellent script is at its best when Dragline waxes poetic, which he often does.
- FILMING:
Outstanding location filming and several really great shots, the best of which involve reflections off of a very famous set of sunglasses.
- BEST PART:
Tough to beat the egg-eating scene, although tarring the road comes close.
- TRIVIA:
Apparently they actually tarred that road for the county!
- STINGER:
Strother Martin issuing the film's most famous quote: "What we've got here is failure to communicate."
