The Jericho Mile (1979)
Drama/Sports
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Peter Strauss, Richard Lawson, Brian Dennehy, Roger Mosley,
Geoffrey Lewis, Ed Lauter, Richard Moll, Burton Gilliam
Availability: $ VHS or R2 DVD
Posted: 7/19/08
By: Mordicai
I remember seeing this one as a kid on afternoon TV during the summer and have never forgotten it. I mostly recall scenes of a convict relentlessly running laps around a prison yard—striking imagery when contrasted against the posturing, exercising and lounging of the rest of the dour-faced population. The Jericho Mile is a powerful tale of harsh prison life softened, deloused, and sanitized-for-television. It shakes off the handicaps of most made-for-TV stories and strives for something unthinkable… to actually be a good movie.
The Jericho Mile is the inspirational story of Larry Murphy, the hardest screw ever to run a lap around the Folsom State Penitentiary. Murphy is a rare breed in film, a guilty man who believes he deserves to serve his entire term. He runs every chance he gets, the rhythmic cycle of his regimen, the only release from his shameful past and the only hope of enduring life within the prisons walls. He does not sprint to escape his surroundings, but rather to develop a discipline that makes his sentence bearable, both a release and added penance for the murder of his father. However, despite his desire to be left alone, a visiting reporter discovers that Murphy is running really, really fast…
Sporting bandanas and handlebar mustaches reminiscent of a “Scared Straight” film, The Jericho Mile does not shirk away from the racially-polarized nature of prison life, drawing a thorough depiction of its self-segregated politics and economy. No question is made of the prisoners’ social organization and no apology is made for them; it opens without judgment into their preformed society. Only half of the film follows Murphy, while the rest of the plot sneaks around corners, eaves dropping on the dealings of hardened men for whom blood and desperation are daily realities.
T.C.'s tough side
The Jericho Mile is a striking, original story, though two scenes seem to be taken directly from Cool Hand Luke. Filmed within Folsom Prison and among its population, great cinematography releases the viewer from concrete claustrophobia to blinding open air shots, its skilled camerawork beautifully giving Murphy the illusion of extraordinary speed. A pumping, instrumental version of “Sympathy for the Devil” heightens the running scenes. Peter Strauss’ laconic performance garnered him a well-deserved Emmy, but his character is also bolstered by an equally strong supporting cast of familiar TV faces:
- Richard Lawson – Murphy’s only friend and familiar TV face.
- Brian Dennehey – a smirking, gum-smacking gang leader
- Richard Mosley – “TC” from Magnum PI – where’s a helicopter when you need one?
- Geoffrey Lewis – you’ll know his face. It takes 10 minutes to scroll down his IMDB page.
- Ed Lauter – coach and Craig T. Nelson wannabe.
- Burton Gilliam – you’ll know him from Blazing Saddles, et al. Now employs his acting talents as a TV commercial shill for a local Dallas truck dealer.
- Ji-Tu Cumbuka – seems like half the cast of “Roots” is in this film. I just like the name.
- Richard Moll – “Bull” from “Night Court” needs no introduction. He plays a hell of a white supremacist.
Hollywood blockbuster über-director Michael Mann succeeds in his first film, offering as real and gritty a drama as TV censors of the time would allow. The Jericho Mile is an unpretentious, memorable story that refuses easy answers and abstract concepts like fairness which do not exist in its 8 X 10 world. Shamefully overlooked on Region 1 DVD, you can pay a pretty penny for the Region 2 import or frugally find it in abundance on VHS. All in all, an excellent television story that, given the big screen treatment, could have been something even more incredible. Highly recommended, but I caution that you might want to run around the block after seeing it.
4.5/5 Sweaty Headbands
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