The introduction of this film makes a big deal out of how the production utilized the real locations, and even the actual warden involved in the incidents about to be depicted. While this makes the setting all the more realistic, the use of Warden Roy Best is a real liability. Best was not a trained actor and his participation in this movie is flat and lifeless, like he is reading off of a cue card in monotone. In more recent years, Clint Eastwood tried a similar stunt by casting the real-life people as themselves in The 15:17 to Paris to similar results. In most cases, it is better to bring a real actor in than to get stuck with a flat performance. This feels like a condition made to get access to the prison for the shoot but nothing I have read corroborates that.
The plot follows a real-life breakout attempt by a handful of inmates at the Canon City Penitentiary. Twelve men, led by Carl Schwartzmiller (Jeff Corey), effect the escape. Some are caught right away and some die in the attempt. By the end of the film, all are accounted for and the survivors are returned to prison. There is a message in this film that is repeated throughout, one that has been repeated in a large number of films and other such entertainment. A cage is a cage. No matter how nice you make it, man is not meant to be locked up. Carl repeats this himself as he tries to make his views known on why he has broken free of the prison, seeking personal freedom.
When it is boiled down, though, this is just another prison break film. The exploits getting out of prison are fun to watch and inventive, but this is overdone as a film concept. The best thing it has going for it is the true story aspect and the real locales. But presenting it semi-documentary style doesn’t do it much favors and the use of Roy Best doesn’t pan out the way the filmmakers thought it would. Jeff Corey makes for a thought-provoking and engaging protagonist, though. 1948 - 82 minutes
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