''The Lords of Discipline'' is a 1983 American film based on

the novel ''The Novel'' (1991) is a novel written by American author James A. Michener. A departure from Michener's better known historical fiction, ''The Novel'' is told from the viewpoints of four different characters involved in the life and work of ...

Pat Conroy Donald Patrick Conroy (October 26, 1945 – March 4, 2016) was an American author who wrote several acclaimed novels and memoirs; his books '' The Water is Wide'', ''The Lords of Discipline'', ''The Prince of Tides'' and ''The Great Santini'' we ...

and directed by

Franc Roddam Francis George "Franc" Roddam (born 29 April 1946) is an English film director, businessman, screenwriter, television producer and publisher, best known as the creator of ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' and the director of ''Quadrophenia'' (1979). He is ...

. The film stars

David Keith David Keith may refer to: * David Keith (novelist) (1906–1994), pen name of American scholar Francis Steegmuller *David Keith (actor) (born 1954), American film and TV performer and director *David Keith (physicist), Canadian-born Harvard Profess ...

Robert Prosky Robert Prosky (born Robert Joseph Porzuczek, December 13, 1930 – December 8, 2008) was an American actor. He became a well-known supporting actor in the 1980s with his roles in '' Thief'' (1981), ''Christine'' (1983), ''The Natural'' (1984), an ...

Judge Reinhold Edward Ernest "Judge" Reinhold Jr. (born May 21, 1957) is an American actor who has starred in several Hollywood movies, such as ''Ruthless People'', ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'', ''Stripes'' and ''Gremlins'', and co-starred in all of the fil ...

Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and filmmaker. He appeared in films such as '' Weird Science'' (1985), ''Aliens'' (1986), ''Near Dark'' (1987), '' Tombstone'' (1993), ''True Lies'' (1994), '' Apollo 13 ...

, William Hope,

Michael Biehn Michael Connell Biehn ( ; born July 31, 1956) is an American actor, primarily known for his roles in science fiction films directed by James Cameron; as Sgt. Kyle Reese in ''The Terminator'' (1984), Cpl. Dwayne Hicks in ''Aliens'' (1986), and ...

, and Olympic boxer

Mark Breland Mark Anthony Breland (born May 11, 1963) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1997, and held the WBA welterweight title twice between 1987 and 1990. He later became an actor with a wide range of movie and television ...

. The college scenes were filmed primarily at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin * Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...

in England, as none of the American military academies would allow filming on their grounds because of the book's less-than-positive portrayal of life at a military academy.MILITARY-SCHOOL MOVIE WORRIES THE CITADEL'S CHIEFS
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', September 6, 1982

Plot

Will McLean is a senior cadet at the Carolina Military Institute, a school that outwardly promises to produce men of honor but practices brutal

hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...

against the plebes (freshman cadets). Among these are the overweight Poteete and the Institute's first black cadet, Tom Pearce. McLean's mentor, Lt. Col. "Bear" Berrineau, asks him to protect Pearce. McLean's roommates at the Institute are Dante "Pig" Pignetti, Mark Santoro and Tradd St. Croix, the last of whom offers him a key to his parents' house. As the term begins, McLean's roommates participate in breaking in the new cadets, while McLean remains aloof. This draws the attention of the school's commanding officer, Lt. Gen. Bentley Durrell, who warns him not to be soft. Both Poteete and Pearce become targets of the Ten, a traditional clandestine group of seniors dedicated to ridding the school of "unfit" cadets. Poteete is left standing all night on a high ledge, in which McLean is unable to save him from falling the next morning; and Pearce is attacked and has the number 10 carved in his back. In addition, Pearce had razor blades placed in his athletic shoes, and suffers multiple, small lacerations. McLean's attempts to protect him are thwarted when someone intercepts their communications. Together with his roommates, he kidnaps Dan McIntyre, a former member of the Ten, and forces him to disclose the location of the Hole, the place where they take cadets to be tortured. McLean and his friends arrive at the Hole just as Pearce is threatened with immolation. They distract the Ten and McLean unmasks one of them, John Alexander. The Ten retaliate by having Pignetti charged with theft and expelled by an Honor Court that they control. Alexander issues a large number of demerits against the rest of McLean's faction, placing them also at risk of expulsion. McLean offers to resign if Alexander will show leniency towards Santoro and Tradd, which Alexander accepts. Before he can submit his resignation, McLean sees McIntyre on campus meeting with Bear and Tradd's father. He enters the St. Croix house and discovers the history of The Ten from Mr. St. Croix's journals, in that Mr. St. Croix was himself a member. Not only have the Ten been operating for years, but Durrell (himself a past member of The Ten) supports their activities. Most shockingly, Tradd is a member and has kept them ahead of McLean at every step. McLean confronts Tradd and throws the house key at him. McLean returns to the Institute and marches into Durrell's office. He demands that the senior class, with Pignetti reinstated, be allowed to graduate; that the Ten be disbanded and exposed; and that Durrell resign at the end of the year. If Durrell does not agree, the journals will be sent to the press. Durrell accepts the terms for the sake of the Institute. McLean remains at CMI until graduation day to see the deal through, but he remains disgusted by the corruption and chooses not to attend the graduation ceremony. As he walks out the gates of the Institute, Bear hands him his class ring, telling him that he earned it.

Cast

as Cadet Senior Private Will McLean *

as Lieutenant Colonel "Bear" Berrineau * G. D. Spradlin as Lieutenant General Bentley Durrell *

Sarah Brackett Sarah Evershed Brackett (13 May 1938 – 3 July 1996) was an American-born television and film actress who worked mostly in Britain. Brackett's parents were William Oliver Brackett, a Presbyterian minister, and his wife Nancy Alexis Thompson, ...

as Mrs Durrell *

Barbara Babcock Barbara Babcock (born February 27, 1937) is an American actress who played Grace Gardner on ''Hill Street Blues'', for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress—Drama Series in 1981, She played Dorothy Jennings on ''Dr. Quinn, ...

as Abigail St. Croix *

as Cadet Lieutenant Colonel John Alexander *

Rick Rossovich Frederic Enrico Rossovich (born August 28, 1957) is an American actor. Rossovich began acting in the early 1980s, first gaining recognition for portraying Ron "Slider" Kerner in the 1986 film ''Top Gun''. Rossovich's other movies include the thri ...

as Cadet First Lieutenant Dante Pignetti *

John Lavachielli John Lavachielli is an American actor. Born in Yonkers, New York, he began his career in 1983 as Mark Santoro in ''The Lords of Discipline'', Paramount's adaptation of the Pat Conroy novel of the same name. He appeared in the 1990 film ''Men At W ...

as Cadet Senior Private Mark Santoro *

Mitchell Lichtenstein Mitchell Wilson Lichtenstein (born March 10, 1956) is an American actor, writer, producer and director. Early life and education The son of Isabel (née Wilson) and Roy Lichtenstein, he studied acting at Bennington College in Vermont. His fat ...

as Cadet First Lieutenant Tradd St. Croix *

as Tom Pearce *

Malcolm Danare Malcolm Danare (born June 15, 1962) is an American actor, known for his role of Caesar in the 1985 film ''Heaven Help Us'' and Dr. Mendel Craven in the 1998 film ''Godzilla (1998 film), Godzilla'' and its Godzilla: The Series, animated series fo ...

as Poteete *

as Cadet First Sergeant Macabbee *

as Cadet Major Gilbreath (credited as "Wild Bill" Paxton) *

Ed Bishop George Victor Bishop (11 June 1932 – 8 June 2005), known professionally as Ed Bishop or sometimes Edward Bishop, was an American actor. He was known for playing Commander Ed Straker in ''UFO'', Captain Blue in ''Captain Scarlet and the Myste ...

as Commerce St. Croix * Stuart Milligan as McIntyre *

Jason Connery Jason Joseph Connery (born 11 January 1963) is a British actor and director. He is the son of Sean Connery and Diane Cilento. On screen, he is best known for appearing in the third series of the ITV drama series ''Robin of Sherwood'' in 1986. He ...

as MacKinnon * Michael Horton as Bobby Bentley *

Richard Oldfield Richard Oldfield (born 1950) is an American film and television actor who has worked mostly in Britain. Born in the US, Oldfield moved to Britain in the 1960s. His stage debut was in the musical '' Hair'' at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London's We ...

as TAC Officer *

Matt Frewer Matthew George Frewer (born January 4, 1958) is an American-Canadian actor, singer and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV movie and 1987 television series of the same names. He became prominent when playing roles ...

as Senior * William Hope as Senior *

Mary Ellen Ray Mary Ellen Ray (3 January 1931 – 10 September 2004) was an American-born actress who had a career in the United Kingdom. Early life She was born as Mary Ellen McPherson in Springfield, Missouri in 1931 to 17 year-old Hayzle McPherson and ...

as Mrs Bear

References

External links

* * *
The Lords of Discipline Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lords Of Discipline (Film) 1983 drama films 1983 films American drama films Films based on American novels Films directed by Franc Roddam Films scored by Howard Blake Films set in Charleston, South Carolina Paramount Pictures films The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina Films based on works by Pat Conroy 1980s English-language films 1980s American films