Jackson County Jail (1976) Review

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(More customer reviews)Well, at least that's what the voiceover in the theatrically shown film trailer proclaims. Released in 1976 'Jackson County Jail' has developed a legitimate cult following in the years since. While it may appear to the average movie viewer to be much-ado-about-nothing hardcore fans of the genre love this Roger Corman produced pic. Independent film maker Corman himself has a huge nearly unfathomable cult following; taking this factor into account it isn't a wonder that this minor gem remains well-known today. If it had anyone else's name attached to it I imagine 'Jackson County Jail' would have fallen by the wayside along with many others of its type. But besides the prestige that Corman's name lends there is more here than meets than the eye. The excellent acting in the key roles, interesting casting of supporting players and sharp direction that keeps the suspense and tension building. But most especially of interest is the quirky existentialist like plot contained within the story that is embodied by its two main characters.
After getting unnecessarily verbally abused Dinah Hunter (Yvette Mimieux) quits her job as a commercial producer and leaves Los Angeles for a new job in New York, intending to drive herself there. Stopping to eat at a diner she happens across a young couple who she sympathizes with and offers a ride to them. Later that evening the young couple steal Dinah's car and purse, forcing her out and abandoning her. Finding a road house bar she explains what happened and asks to use the phone. The owner leads her to a back room where he tries to rape her. She breaks free of him, tumbles back out into the bar and directly into the arms of a law officer. The owner claims that she was trying to beat him; lacking any identification she is taken into custody and brought to the county jail for questioning. They decide to hold her overnight so that her story and identification can be corroborated. Meanwhile, law enforcement officials have captured fugitive criminal Coley Blacke (Tommy Lee Jones) who is also held overnight before being transported to a larger facility. The sole law officer left on duty rapes Dinah in her jail cell; afterwards Dinah strikes him with a stool killing him. Coley urges Dinah to escape with him and she does so out of fear. The two of them hear on a radio broadcast that they are wanted for killing a police officer and realize they are now marked for death. Coley fails to convince her to contact the police and explain that he killed the officer and took her as a hostage - a fact he is sure they will be more than willing to believe and thus let her off the hook. On the lam they first hideout with Coley's fellow criminals where they are quickly tracked down and, then escaping there, take refuge in an empty farmhouse. Soon they are once again tracked down and attempt to elude capture by making their way into a nearby town. Dinah is severely injured by gunshots and caught; Coley is shot to death on mainstreet during a celebratory bicentennial parade.
This is the type of movie that was popular drive-in fodder during the resurgence it briefly saw in the early to mid-seventies. Beginning with the excellent 'Macon County Line' there were several similarly themed movies to make this circuit during this time frame. 'Jackson County Jail' even went so far as to use a very similar title and many of the same plot devices. What helps this particular film rise above the rest of the crowd is the presence of Mimieux and Jones who are both excellent in their roles and the absence of exploitation - which is equally refreshing and amazing given the setting and storyline. Screenplay author Donald Stewart also includes oblique existential references. From the beginning of the film Dinah is verbally abused by an executive; a waitress tries to shortchange her ("I gave you a ten", "No, you gave me a five."); she feels sympathy for a pair of hitch-hikers and gets her car & purse stolen by them; the bar owner tries to rape her; the police don't believe her and ultimately she is raped by one of them. The juxtapositioning of accepted doctrines of law enforcement and basic human kindness are counterbalanced with the unpredictable consequences of what happens when people purposely abuse and ignore them. Coley later tells her that "true human freedom is an impossibility in our corrupt world" and goes on to emphatically deny that there is no such thing as an honest person. Unbelievably she argues against his opinions in spite of the current situation she finds herself in! There are other camouflaged existential inferences throughout the film that make it interesting viewing. Near the end of the movie when Coley must leave the injured Dinah and attempt an escape he makes the final of his many philosophical statements telling Dinah "I was born dead" when she shouts to him he will get himself killed. The final shot on mainstreet may be perceived as pretentious but is actually quite fitting and well thought out.
There are many familiar faces to be seen in this film beginning with the two leads of course. Mimieux had already forged a name for herself in such cult classics as 1960's 'The Time Machine' where she played the beguiling Weena and then later that same year appearing as Melanie in 'Where The Boys Are'. She is also recognizable to television viewers from the many TV movies she made throughout the seventies and eighties. Other noteworthy films include the Disney sci-fi favorite 'The Black Hole' where she played a scientist and in the early sixties film 'Diamond Head' playing the sister of Charlton Heston. This was Jones' first significant movie role having appeared in a gratuitous role in 'Love Story' and starring on the television soap opera 'One Live To Live' from 1971 - 1975. His starring roles of Sam Gerard in 'The Fugitive' and as Clay Shaw in 'JFK' are nearly legendary now.
Also to be seen here: Howard Hesseman (Dinah's husband) who everybody knows as Dr. Johnny Fever from the TV series 'WKRP In Cincinnati'; Severn Darden (the sheriff) whose list of credits is endless; Betty Thomas (a waitress) who starred for years on 'Hill Street Blues'; Robert Carradine (hitch-hiker) who most people will know from the 'Revenge Of The Nerds' movie series; Mary Woronov (Pearl) who has appeared in countless Corman cheapies and several other indie films and Hal Needham (Fallsburgh police chief) renowned stuntman and film director.
The DVD has received some knocks in other reviews here for its picture quality. Actually I didn't think it was bad at all; the colors do look soft but I perceive that as an inherent part of the original that can't be improved upon. It is presented in full screen which I consider a distraction but again it was probably filmed this way. The special features include biographies, film trailers and a decent but too short interview with Corman by film critic Leonard Maltin. All in all I consider this DVD the best $5.00 I spent last week.

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A young woman accused of murdering the jailer who raped her, escapes from jail and becomes a fugitive. Format: Color, DVD, NTSC Language: English Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.) Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Number of discs: 1 Rated: R (Restricted) Studio: New Concorde DVD Release Date: September 26, 2000 Run Time: 89 minutes

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