There Was a Crooked Man...
Directed by Joseph L. MankiewiczCharm, intelligence and success in criminal career doesn't prevent Paris Pitman Jr. to start doing ten years in prison, in the middle of the Arizona desert. However, those years should pass quickly because of a $500,000 loot previously stashed away. New idealistic warden would only make Pitman think of getting his fortune even sooner. He starts to manipulate everyone to achieve his goal.
Cast of There Was a Crooked Man...
There Was a Crooked Man... Ratings & Reviews
- Mister ArnMay 19, 2025"There Was a Crooked Man" is a prison movie disguised as a western. It was watchable, but based on the cast, I was expecting much more.
- eif999February 6, 2025I love this movie since I was a kid and it aired on TV a bunch. I remember being taken when Hume Cronin sketches religious art on the prison wall only to have the men lust over the art. I thought is was quite something. Watching yesterday the scene is just a setup for a crude “edgy” joke. I love all the characters but Fonda. His part would have been better served with Jason Robards. Fonda just seemed so straight and competent when we need crooked. There’s a joke he makes to an aging prostitute that Fonda is too nice to make funny. Douglas, however, is unlikeable which I enjoyed. More of a silly western than a prison escape film. Oh the soundtrack is just horrible as are the silly sound effects early on was a bad choice. The film seems to be trying way to hard to be swing sixties. This film needed a sweeping western soundtrack. And that theme song. The prison guards are TV softies Alan Hale and Victor French. That tells you all you need about the grit. Still love the movie.
