Story of movie There Was A Crooked Man... : There Was a Crooked Man... is a 1970 American western film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Kirk Douglas and Henry Fonda. It was the only western made by Mankiewicz. It was written by David Newman and Robert Benton, their first script after Bonnie and Clyde.
| There Was a Crooked Man... | |
|---|---|
Movie poster | |
| Directed by | Joseph L. Mankiewicz |
| Produced by | Joseph L. Mankiewicz |
| Written by | David Newman Robert Benton |
| Starring | Kirk Douglas Henry Fonda |
| Music by | Charles Strouse |
| Cinematography | Harry Stradling Jr. |
| Edited by | Gene Milford |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 126 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Screenplay
Paris Pitman, Jr. has pulled off a $500,000 robbery and, having murdered his partners, is the only one who knows where the money is hidden. He is seen in a bordello and is captured, tried, convicted and sentenced to an Arizona penitentiary.
A corrupt warden, LeGoff, is willing to cut the prisoner a deal. He will let Pitman break out of jail for an even split of the half-million dollars. Pitman agrees, but the plan goes awry when LeGoff is murdered during an inmate uprising.
Former sheriff Woodward Lopeman becomes the new warden. Although they are enemies, he and Pitman work together to improve conditions at the prison. On a day the lieutenant governor visits, Pitman makes his move. He sparks a riot and manages to escape, but not before three inmates are killed, whereupon Pitman himself does away with two more partners.
The money has been hidden in a nest of rattlesnakes. Pitman heads for it, with Lopeman in hot pursuit. The money is his again when Pitman is suddenly bitten by a rattlesnake. By the time Lopeman comes across him, Pitman is already dead. Lopeman collects the money, as well as Pitman's body, and rides back to the prison. However, upon his arrival, he abruptly decides to leave the body and gallop off, absconding to Mexico with the money.
- Kirk Douglas as Paris Pitman Jr.
- Henry Fonda as Sheriff Woodward W. Lopeman
- Hume Cronyn as Dudley Whinner
- Warren Oates as Floyd Moon
- Burgess Meredith as The Missouri Kid
- John Randolph as Cyrus McNutt
- Lee Grant as Mrs. Bullard
- Arthur O'Connell as Mr. Lomax
- Martin Gabel as Warden Francis E. LeGoff
- Michael Blodgett as Coy Cavendish
- C.K. Yang as Ah-Ping
- Alan Hale Jr. as Tobaccy
- Victor French as Whiskey
- Claudia McNeil as Madam
- Bert Freed as Skinner
- Jeanne Cooper as Prostitute
- Barbara Rhoades as Miss Jessie Brundidge, the Schoolteacher
- Gene Evans as Colonel Wolff
- Pamela Hensley as Edwina
- J. Edward McKinley as The Governor
- Ann Doran as Mrs. Lomax
Vincent Canby of The New York Times was generally positive: "Although There Was A Crooked Man... is rather low-keyed and takes its own sweet time to reveal itself, it is a movie of the sort of taste, intelligence and somewhat bitter humor I associate with Mr. Mankiewicz who, in real life, is one of America's most sophisticated, least folksy raconteurs, especially of stories about the old Hollywood."
- List of American films of 1970
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