''Fast-Walking'' is a 1982 American
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
film directed, produced, and written by
James B. Harris
James B. Harris (born August 3, 1928) is an American film screenwriter, producer, and director. Born in New York City, he attended the Juilliard School before entering the film industry. He worked with film director Stanley Kubrick as a produ ...
, based on Ernest Brawley's 1974 novel ''The Rap''.
The film stars
James Woods
James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off- Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in ''The Trial of the ...
,
Tim McIntire
Timothy John McIntire (July 19, 1944 – April 15, 1986) was an American character actor, probably best known for his starring roles as Alan Freed in the film ''American Hot Wax'' (1978), as singer George Jones in the television movie ''Stand ...
,
Kay Lenz
Kay Ann Lenz (born March 4, 1953) is an American actress. She is the recipient of a Daytime Emmy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Saturn Award.
Lenz is best known for her title role in the f ...
,
Robert Hooks
Robert Hooks (born Bobby Dean Hooks; April 18, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and activist. Along with Douglas Turner Ward and Gerald S. Krone, he founded The Negro Ensemble Company. The Negro Ensemble Company is credited with the laun ...
, and
M. Emmet Walsh.
Plot
Frank Miniver, aka Fast-Walking, is a corrupt but lovable
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
state prison guard. Not the most obliging or honest of public servants, he smokes and peddles marijuana and complements his meager salary by running prostitutes for Mexican laborers out of his cousin Evie's convenience store.
At work, he is in close contact with his other cousin Wasco, who is incarcerated. Wasco is involved in vice operations within the prison and outside of it. He peddles women, narcotics, and is looking to get into fraudulent banking operations. He bullies a competitor called Bullet into turning over his in-prison operations to Wasco.
An accomplice to Wasco on the outside is an attractive young woman called Moke. She carries on his bidding, which means even seducing Fast-Walking with sex. A black political prisoner named Galliot soon arrives at the prison and Wasco plots to have him killed in the racially tense environment. Fast-Walking arranges to have Galliot sprung from prison. Galliot offers him $50,000 and a secret key hidden in his belt buckle that is to a safe-deposit box.
Wasco eventually learns about Fast-Walking and Moke having an intense sexual relationship and becomes jealous. So he launches a scheme to have Moke kill Galliot, which she does with a high-powered rifle as he nearly gets away dressed as a prison guard. But Fast-Walking soon teaches him that what goes around, comes around.
Cast
*
James Woods
James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off- Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in ''The Trial of the ...
as Frank "Fast-Walking" Miniver
*
Tim McIntire
Timothy John McIntire (July 19, 1944 – April 15, 1986) was an American character actor, probably best known for his starring roles as Alan Freed in the film ''American Hot Wax'' (1978), as singer George Jones in the television movie ''Stand ...
as Wasco (Frank's cousin)
*
Kay Lenz
Kay Ann Lenz (born March 4, 1953) is an American actress. She is the recipient of a Daytime Emmy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Saturn Award.
Lenz is best known for her title role in the f ...
as Moke (Wasco's girlfriend)
*
Robert Hooks
Robert Hooks (born Bobby Dean Hooks; April 18, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and activist. Along with Douglas Turner Ward and Gerald S. Krone, he founded The Negro Ensemble Company. The Negro Ensemble Company is credited with the laun ...
as William Galliot
*
Charles Weldon
Charles Weldon (June 1, 1940 – December 7, 2018) was an actor, director, educator, singer, and songwriter. He was the artistic director of the Negro Ensemble Company for thirteen years. He was the co-founder of the Alumni of this company, ...
as Officer Jackson
*
M. Emmet Walsh as Sergeant Sanger
*
Susan Tyrrell as Evie (Wasco's sister, Frank's cousin)
*
John Friedrich as Squeeze
*
Lance LeGault
William Lance LeGault (May 2, 1935 – September 10, 2012) was an American actor. He was best known as U.S. Army Colonel Roderick Decker in the 1980s American television series ''The A-Team''.
Early and personal life
LeGault was born May 2, 193 ...
as Lieutenant Barnes
*
Timothy Carey
Timothy Agoglia Carey (March 11, 1929 – May 11, 1994) was an American film and television character actor. Carey was best known for portraying manic or violent characters who are driven to extremes.
Career
He made his screen debut with a ...
as Bullet
*
Deborah White as Elaine Schector
*
Sandy Ward
Sandy Brown (July 12, 1926 – March 6, 2005) was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for playing the recurring role of "Logger Pete" on 11 episodes of the American sitcom television series '' Malcolm in the Middle'' ...
as Warden
*
Sydney Lassick as Ted
*
Helen Page Camp
Helen Page Camp (December 27, 1930 – August 1, 1991) was an American actress. Early years
Born to Austin and Helen (née Landes) Camp in Washington, D.C., Camp's career began onstage, most notably Off Broadway in New York City.
Career
Her fir ...
as Ted's Wife
*
K Callan
Katherine Elizabeth Callan (née Borman; January 9, 1936) is an American author and actress known for playing Clark Kent's mother Martha in the ABC television series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''.
Early years
Callan was born ...
as Motel Manager
Notes
Both Tim McIntire and M. Emmett Walsh had appeared in the 1980 prison drama ''
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 ...
'' with
Robert Redford.
Production
The idea of the film came from producer & director James B. Harris, who read a book call "The Rap" by Ernest Brawley. Harris wrote the screenplay shortly after reading the book. In June 1980, Lorimar Productions sold the rights to the film & preparation's began. The location crew choose the vacant old Montana State Prison building in
Deer Lodge, Montana
Deer Lodge is a city in and the county seat of Powell County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,938 at the 2020 census.
Description
The city is perhaps best known as the home of the Montana State Prison, a major local employer. ...
. In the coming days, officials begin screening extras, & the arts foundation begin to restore the prison building, & to gain community & statewide support to restore the landmark building. Due to heavy rains & volcanic ash fallout due to the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, outside work was delayed, including repairs & painting on the old cell house & the interior. James Woods had signed on to play the prison guard, Frank Miniver, nicknamed Fast-Walking, & was "ecstatic" after he found out the movie was going to be filmed in Montana. Tim McIntire, who plays Fast Walking's cousin-inmate, was young when his parents bought land near Kalispell & owned a ranch in the Yak Valley.
On a budget of $4 million, principal photography began on July 7, 1980, at the prison, while some filming was done in and around the town of Deer Lodge for several weeks. The crew then traveled to the Bus Depot in
Butte, Montana to film several scenes for 2 days. Filming was then completed in August.
Release
''Fast-Walking'' was theatrically released in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
,
New York on October 8, 1982, by the Pickman Film Corporation.
It was released on
VHS and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
in the United States by
Warner Home Video
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros.
It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...
.
See also
*
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 ...
(1980)
*
Shawshank Redemption
''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. It tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), w ...
(1994)
References
External links
*
*
{{James B. Harris
1982 films
1982 crime drama films
1980s prison drama films
American crime drama films
American prison drama films
Films about murder
Films about prison escapes
Films set in prison
Films based on American novels
Films directed by James B. Harris
Films scored by Lalo Schifrin
Films shot in Montana
1980s English-language films
1980s American films