The escape of Bubber Reeves from prison affects the inhabitants of a small Southern town.
Acting
Brando's exhausted sheriff is a masterclass in restraint.
Direction
Penn turns a party into a claustrophobic horror sequence.
Writing
Lillian Hellman's script simmers with barely contained contempt.
Director
Arthur Penn
Marlon Brando
Sheriff Calder
Jane Fonda
Anna Reeves
Robert Redford
Charlie 'Bubber' Reeves
E.G. Marshall
Val Rogers
Angie Dickinson
Ruby Calder
Janice Rule
Emily Stewart
Miriam Hopkins
Mrs. Reeves
Martha Hyer
Mary Fuller
Robert Duvall
Edwin Stewart
Richard Bradford
Damon Fuller
Henry Hull
Briggs
Diana Hyland
Elizabeth Rogers
James Fox
Jason 'Jake' Rogers
Katherine Walsh
Verna Dee
Jocelyn Brando
Mrs. Briggs
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released the same year as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, this was part of 1966's wave of films exposing the rot beneath American respectability.
Studio executives hated Penn's cut so much they released it butchered; the 'restored' version you're likely watching still isn't his original vision.
US
