Brubaker

Brubaker is a 1980 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg. It stars Robert Redford as a newly arrived prison warden, Henry Brubaker, who attempts to clean up a corrupt and violent penal system. The screenplay by W. D. Richter is a fictionalized version of the 1969 book, Accomplices to the Crime: The Arkansas Prison Scandal by Tom Murton and Joe Hyams, detailing Murton's uncovering of the 1967 prison scandal. The film features a large supporting cast, including Yaphet Kotto, Jane Alexander, Murray Hamilton, David Keith, Tim McIntire, Matt Clark, M. Emmet Walsh, Everett McGill, and an early appearance by Morgan Freeman. It was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 1981 Academy Awards. Plot In 1969, Henry Brubaker arrives at Wakefield State Prison in Arkansas disguised as an inmate. He immediately witnesses rampant abuse and corruption, including open and endemic sexual assault, torture, worm-ridden diseased food, fraud, and rampant graft. During a dramatic standoff involving Walter, a deranged prisoner who was being held in solitary confinement, Brubaker reveals himself to be the new prison warden, to the amazement of both prisoners and officials alike. Brubaker attempts to reform the prison, with an eye towards prisoner rehabilitation and human rights, clashing frequently with corrupt officials on the state prison board who have profited from graft for decades. He recruits several longtime prisoners, including trustys Larry Lee Bullen, Richard "Dickie" Coombes, and former warden's clerk Purcell (who secretly remains loyal to the unscrupulous trustys) to assist him with the reform. Lillian Gray, a public relations specialist for the governor's office, also attempts to influence Brubaker to reform the prison in a way that will cast the governor in a positive light.