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Brubaker (1980)

R  |   |  Drama  |  20 June 1980 (USA)
7.1
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Ratings: 7.1/10 from 10,897 users  
Reviews: 37 user | 27 critic

The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.

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(screenplay), (story), 3 more credits »
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Title: Brubaker (1980)

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Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win. See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Walter
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Tim McIntire ...
Richard Ward ...
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Linda Haynes ...
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Storyline

When the new warden comes in disguised as an inmate, he sees firsthand all the corruption and scams the guards and prison officials are running. When he reveals himself and starts to implement reforms to stop the corruption, the local business community, who had been benefiting from the scams, fights back, and the corrupt prison system starts making political trouble for the new warden. Written by Brian W Martz <B.Martz@Genie.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

The most wanted man in Wakefield prison is the warden! See more »

Genres:

Drama

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

20 June 1980 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

As Grades do Inferno  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$37,100,000 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The nickname of Richard Coombes (Yaphet Kotto) was "Dickie". See more »

Goofs

In a restaurant scene, a Conn's Potato Chip sales display can be seen. Conn's are only made and sold in Ohio, not Arkansas. See more »

Quotes

Henry Brubaker: Tower number 3 - who'm I looking at? He's looking at me.
Richard 'Dickie' Coombes: Up there, you got Douglass Mizell.
Henry Brubaker: Who the hell is Doug Mizell?
Richard 'Dickie' Coombes: He's a forger. Three times grand theft.
Henry Brubaker: I want a rundown on everybody that's got tower duty. I-
Richard 'Dickie' Coombes: I do believe that's Purcell's job, sir.
Henry Brubaker: I want only murderers up there; one-time impulse killers.
Richard 'Dickie' Coombes: Well, aren't you taking kind of a chance doing that? Aren't you? I mean, uh...
Henry Brubaker: No, it's the habituals you can't trust. Murderers - most of 'em - already have it out of their system. ...
[...]
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Sugar Boxx (2009) See more »

Soundtracks

All for the Love of Sunshine
(uncredited)
Written by Mike Curb, Harley Hatcher and Lalo Schifrin
Performed by Hank Williams Jr.
Heard when the steer is dropped off at the diner
See more »

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User Reviews

 
Get sent to jail, and you wonder whether this could happen.
25 February 2006 | by (Portland, Oregon, USA) – See all my reviews

Robert Redford plays another dignified character, this time as new warden Henry Brubaker posing as an inmate in a corrupt prison to understand the deplorable conditions there. As is the case with any prison-related film, we get to see some really ugly things here. Maybe "Brubaker" goes a little overboard in portraying its main character as a saint, but considering that the main point is to show the inhumanity of this country's penal system (which apparently hasn't changed much since this movie came out), they do a good job. I'd say that it's another movie that, if nothing else, deserves kudos for disproving the "Disney-ized" version of the world that we often get shown. A very good movie.


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