Stuart Rosenberg directed Brubaker, a tough prison drama, starring 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 is a fictionalized version of the 1969 book, Accomplices to the Crime: The Arkansas Prison Scandal by Tom Murton and Joe Hyams, detailing Murton’s uncovering of the 1967 prison scandal.
The large supporting cast includes Yaphet Kotto, Jane Alexander, Murray Hamilton, David Keith, Tim McIntire, Matt Clark, M. Emmet Walsh, Everett McGill, and an early appearance by Morgan Freeman.
Oscar Nominations: 1
Screenplay (Original): W. D. Richter and Arthur Ross
Oscar Awards: None
Oscar Context:
The winner was Bo Goldman for “Melvin and Howard.”