The Jericho Mile

Better than most features.

Although it's one of those early fictional propaganda pieces asking us to sympathize w/ a noble convicted criminal - here, a murderer - that the Left has been producing for decades, this is very well made for such a bare bones storyline. It does have way too many shots of Strauss running, some iffy performance moments throughout the cast that could've used a second take, & the writers couldn't figure out how to explain why the prisoners are absorbed by his last run but it's still compelling.

You can see a few blossoming Mann-erisms in this early TV movie. The stoic, loner hero with nothing left to lose, the use of popular music. What's lacking is any sense of style. Blame it on the limitations of television productions at the time, but the whole thing feels really flat. The performances are terrible and the dialogue is a joke. It all seems so silly and strikes the wrong dramatic tones. Because the grittiness is watered down, it feels like a community theater version of prison life.

Not too shabby at all for a TV movie. Remarkably harsh, too. Engaging tale of hope found by a man among many men who have no hope