Short Eyes (1977)

Director:

Robert M. Young

Writer:

Miguel Pinero (play)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

"Jesus help me, cause man won't."

Plot:

A child molester sent to prison finds that criminals exact harsher justice than society.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Rape | Gay Slur | Prison Guard | Ethnic Slur

Cast

Bruce Davison	...	Clark Davis
José Pérez	...	Juan
Nathan George	...	Ice
Don Blakely	...	El Raheem
Tony DiBenedetto	...	Tony (as Tony Di Benedetto)
Shawn Elliott	...	Paco
Tito Goya	...	Cupcakes
Joseph Carberry	...	Longshoe
Bob Maroff	...	Mr. Nett
Keith Davis	...	Mr. Brown
Luis Guzmán		(as Luis Guzman)
Miguel Pinero	...	Go-Go
Bob O'Connell	...	Mr. Allard
Mark Margolis	...	Mr. Morrison
Richard Matamoros	...	Gomez

Also Known As:

Slammer

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:18 (1979) | Iceland:16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Trivia:

Miguel Pinero, the author of the play upon which this film is based (and the actor who plays "Go-Go"), wrote the play as part of an inmate writers workshop while incarcerated at Sing Sing prison for armed robbery. He missed the premiere of the film because he had been arrested for armed robbery. All of the money he received for the film ($40,000) he gave away to homeless friends and former prison-mates. He reportedly lived on the street even after the film's acclaimed release, using a pay phone as an office.

Quotes:

Juan: Someday I'm gonna be walking down the streets minding my own business and BAM! I'm gonna be shot by some pig, who's gonna swear that it was a mistake. I accept that as a part of my destiny.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Piñero (2001)

Soundtrack:

Need Someone To Love

Forgotten art house film

A movie about prison life. It deals with the inmates--their lives, hates, sexual feelings and the rituals that happen in prison. Clark Davis (Bruce Davison) is thrown in with them--he's suspected of being a child molester ("short eyes" in prison slang). The other prisoners want to kill him...but Davis has talked to one prisoner Juan (Jose Perez) who has serious doubts about his guilt. But can he convince the others?

This was a pretty big art house hit (here in Boston at least) back in 1977. It dealt with (for the time) a taboo subject matter. Then it completely disappeared. That's too bad--it deserves a wider audience.

It was shot in an actual closed-down prison (the Tombs) in NYC. That really helps the mood and feeling of the film. The acting is very good by all--especially Davison, Perez and Joseph Carberry (as Longshoe). But this is a very hard movie to sit through. Davison's confession to Juan is VERY explicit, a sequence where a prisoner is beaten up and tortured by the others is unpleasant and the ending is very disturbing.

It's not a perfect film. It was a stage play first--and it shows. The action never moves away from two areas and occasionally the inmates speak WAY too intelligentally for the characters they're playing. (I seriously doubt that the character Longshoe would ever know the word "quadroon"--or what it meant). Still a very powerful, disturbing drama. Well worth seeking out.

Accomplished character actor Luis Guzman plays one of the inmates (good luck finding him).