The Glass house

Adapted for television from a short story by Truman Capote and Wyatt Cooper, “The Glass house” gives an inside view of prison life and the prison system in one of America’s toughest prisons and is filmed entirely on location at Utah State Prison. Although the story and characters are completely fictitious, the situations are based on real-life experiences with most of the background faces and voices being those of actual prisoners. The story begins with several new inmates, including a college professor, Jonathan Paige (Alan Alda) and a rather young and naive teenager, Allan Campbell (Kristoffer Tabori), going through the processes of prison induction. However it is not long before Paige and Campbell are approached by the rather brutal and sadistic gang boss in the prison, Hugo Slocum (Vic Morrow) and each has to make his own choice as to which road he will take. Violence, corruption, drugs, rape and intimidation are all part of the prison “game”, even to the point where the prison guards and the warden can be paid by the gang leaders to turn a blind eye to attacks on individual prisoners. Only the new prison guard (Clu Gulager), full of ideals and good intentions can provide any hope to this corrupt and brutal system. “The Glass house” is a grim reminder of the psychological and physical abuse which takes place inside prisons and to director Tom Gries’ credit, the film is presented in a realistic style, containing some violence necessary to the story, but not glorified or over-the-top as in some of the action movies of today. (Awards: Nominated Best Movie Made for TV in the 1973 Golden Globe Awards; San Sebastian International Film Festival) Cast also includes Dean Jagger and Billy Dee Williams.