On the Yard (1978) User Reviews (9)

Smoking Can Damage Your Health

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 21 May 2003]

The main plot of ON THE YARD revolves around inmate Juleson borrowing a couple of packs of cigarettes from prison Mr Fix-it Chilly , but Juleson finds himself unable to pay back Chilly which means intrest on the debt and Chilly is a man who doesn`t like non payment .

If the entire movie revolved around its central plot it would have worked far better , but the story is crowded with a few too many characters and subplots . This might have worked in the novel ( Which I haven`t read but I know is well regarded mainly due to the fact that the author wrote it while in a maximum security prison ) but doesn`t really work here . And I`m also led to believe the original novel influenced the HBO prison drama OZ , a show that shares the exact same strength and weakness as this film . Both are gritty , involving and slightly shocking , but both contain too many minor characters who only come to the fore to drive the plot along and then disappear when they`ve done so , and some of the subplots are faintly ridiculous in ON THE YARD especially the one at the end which will have you asking " How did he manage to get all that stuff without the guards noticing ? "

One other thing I disliked about ON THE YARD was the mixed bag of acting . John Heard gives a solid performance as Juleson swinging between fear and fatalistic resignation but I had a problem with Thomas G Waites as Chilly , not so much with his acting but more with his physical appearence . He doesn`t carry enough tatoos , scars or look in any way like he`s an archetypal prison thug , but maybe that`s the whole point ? because he`s running things he can pay other inmates to do the dirty work . Most memorable performance is by Hector Troy as the looney latino hitman Gasolino.

So if you love OZ you`ll certainly like ON THE YARD . It`s by no means a classic but at least it doesn`t descend into the oft used cliche of having inmates gang-raped every ten minutes so it deserves some credit

A solid prison picture.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 9 March 2014]

Nowadays not too many people may remember "On the Yard" when this type of film is brought up, but that's too bad as it's not a bad film at all. It does achieve a sort of "docu- realism", treating the daily routine of convicts in a thoroughly straightforward manner. Everything about it is so matter-of-fact, including the violence, the pecking order among the prisoners, the attempts by the guards to keep them in line, etc. It never goes too far into melodrama, although it does have its poignant moments nonetheless. The characters are reasonably interesting if never that commanding, save for the veteran convict played appealingly by the sad eyed Mike Kellin, who keeps trying to get paroled even though he knows that he can't really function on the outside.

A fairly likable John Heard stars as Juleson, who's locked up for the murder of his wife. Desperate for a smoke, he acquires some from jailhouse kingpin Chilly (Thomas G. Waites). However, he soon finds that he will be unable to settle the debt. And the more time that goes on, the more the interest increases. There's also the timid Morris (Joe Grifasi), who's attempting to put together a hot air balloon so he can escape. Chilly realizes that his little empire is threatened by ambitious fellow inmates. And Blake (Lane Smith), the captain of the guards, is likewise determined to put Chilly in his place.

As you can see, there are some top notch character actors in this thing. Also among them are Richard Bright of the "Godfather" series, Dominic Chianese of 'The Sopranos', David Clennon (Waites's future co-star in John Carpenters' "The Thing"), Don Blakely, J.C. Quinn, Eddie Jones, Ben Slack, and James Remar. The casting of Waites (best known as Fox in "The Warriors" and Windows in "The Thing") as the top con is interesting as one has to wonder just what it is about this man that's allowed him to obtain such influence. As it is, he does deliver a subtle, nuanced performance; Chilly is usually not the type to throw his weight around when he can have other people do that for him.

Granted, the subplot about the balloon is hard to swallow, but for the most part, "On the Yard" is a decent tale well told by director Raphael D. Silver, and produced by "Hester Street" director Joan Micklin Silver (Raphaels' wife). Authentic location shooting in a real Pennsylvania institution and an effective music score by Charles Gross also help to make this good entertainment.

Seven out of 10.

Good acting ... great actual prison location ... but something is missing ........

[merklekranz · 6/10 · 22 March 2011]

"On the Yard" has good acting, and a great prison location. What is missing is a compelling story. The "Rockview State Correctional Facility" where this was filmed is an actual Pennsylvania prison, but even though the drama has a very realistic feel to it, the story itself is not that interesting. Everything revolves around "top con", Tom Waites, and his control of the cigarette trade within the walls. John Heard makes a habit of making enemies, bucks the system, and finds out that a carton of cigarettes can be very expensive. Meanwhile a no nonsense guard captain, Lane Smith, is trying to shut down Waites enterprise, while a totally superfluous hot air balloon escape is thrown into the mix. Not bad of it's type, but I've seen better. - MERK

Good prison drama

[jcurrie58 · 2 August 2003]

I saw this film recently on TV - shown in the early hours of the morning. It's an above average prison drama, with excellent performances - especially by John Heard, Ron Faber (Manning, the first time offender), Lane Smith and Mike Kellin; the latter was especially good. I've also read the original novel, which is far tougher (the ascent in the balloon caused a large fire, with many dead). The author has himself served several sentences in the 1950s, so I'm wondering if conditions portrayed in prison are really up to date. All in all, well worth a viewing.

Pretty entertaining...

[ikills · 7/10 · 14 November 2023]

It was funny to watch. My girlfriend and I agreed this movie was entertaining. I have to say though it's one of the oddest treatments of the protagonist I've ever seen. The movie pretty much leads one to believe that Juleson is the main character, and with John Heard acting the role it seemed like the whole story would revolve around him... and it does, until it doesn't. That was an odd surprise and it definitely felt odd in the movie. The ending is unspectacular as well. They couldn't spend a few thousand more to get a proper ending? Felt like the ending to a TV show with a corny "oh well, this is us and we've got to live with each other" kind of vibe that wraps up in 30 seconds with a couple of one liners and a slap on the back. Using modern movies as a guide it's easy to look back on what to change so overall I thought it was a 6 or a 7 for the time period...

Decent 70's Prison Drama With A Top Notch Performance from Thomas G. Waites

[lukem-52760 · 7/10 · 14 April 2024]

RIP to John Heard, this guy i always remembered from Home Alone 1&2 as i grew up watching those on video, also John was great in the fun 80's cult horror favourite C. H. U. D

Here John plays a weirdo prisoner who wants to be alone constantly & is in for murdering his wife. It's hard to feel anything for John's character because he's so shut away emotionally & comes accross very weird & arrogant. His inmate character keeps to himself & doesn't abide by the prison codes. His character is annoying because everything that happens is his own fault, because he SMOKES!!!

IF he didn't smoke none of the films events with him wouldn't have happened, see Smoking is bad for your health...FACT.

Anyway John's weirdo inmate borrows a box of smokes & later can't pay his debt back to the head of a prison gang, the guy you go to when you want something, & it gets out of hand.

This go-to-guy is named Chilly & is played superbly by the underrated Thomas G. Waites (The Warriors, The Thing, McBain) this guy was excellent in those old school films & his best performance is right here as prison inmate go-to-guy. There's a small role for James Remar who would go on to be one of The Warriors with Waites in the 1979 Cult Classic.

Chilly is a fair dude, if you owe him he will collect & he does use violence, but if your cool with him & pay on time then he's a friendly dude actually & likeable.

Thomas Waites had an intensity in his eyes & should've been a much bigger a actor in my opinion. Waites would've made a great Serpico (yes Pacino was excellent but seeing Waites here with his long hair & beard he looks every bit Serpico) & should've been cast in much more dramas & thriller's.

On The Yard is a well made gritty prison drama with bunch of odd-ball characters who shuffle about in prison doing inmate stuff. There's a little side story of some of Chilly's pals who are building a big air balloon to escape but that part feels abit out of place to be honest.

I loved the gorgeous saxophone music score throughout the movie, it had a sad softness to it that contrasts the gritty harshness of the prison.

At the heart of On The Yard is how rules & codes are life in prison & this story is about two inmates butting heads over something so trivial as a carton of cigarettes. Small things mean so much in a prison environment & that is played out well here. The refreshing thing about this prison film is there's no horrific rape scenes, i was happy about that as the story didn't need that sort of vile stuff included.

All in all, On The Yard is very well acted gritty, sometimes violent story of inmate life in a 1970's prison. A reminder: Do Not Smoke.

Prisoner Cell Block H it ain't.

[tonypeacock-1 · 5/10 · 1 March 2024]

The film is a typical prison yarn that ticks all the boxes of your prison film which lowered its rating to me somewhat. It brought nothing new to the genre, albeit being from 1978.

The daily routine of the prisoners including recreation time 'on the yard' was a bore just as much as the prisoners mundane daily routine I would have thought.

All the usual tropes of the genre including the inevitable parole hearing, top dog (although said character is never referred to as top dog), murder, cruel guards are all here.

The film tries to bring in a bit of extortion, murder and ingenious escape attempt aboard a hot air balloon to excite its audience but by that stage I was in a slumber watching it. I mean take the said escape attempt in a hot air balloon. The balloon is just slowly rising from the prison in full view of the watch towers lights. Why didn't the guards just shoot it down?

An excellent, engrossing, and unjustly forgotten 70's prison drama sleeper

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 31 July 2006]

One of the best, most grimly realistic and, alas, very neglected and under-appreciated 70's prison films, a meticulously detailed and unflinching portrait of the harsh, rigidly set, and strictly enforced caste system which exists within your average penitentiary. Thomas Waites gives a fine, sturdy, quietly menacing performance as Chilly, a brutal, cagey, ruthless top con who governs over a Pennsylvania calaboose's black market with the proverbial iron fist. John Heard delivers a strikingly excellent and appealing turn as a shy, soft-spoken wife killer who winds up locking horns with Waites after he borrows cigarettes from him without paying for them first. Lane Smith (Nick Nolte's sympathetic cell mate in the lovely drama "Weeds" and the nasty authoritarian warden in the superior supernatural revenge horror picture "Prison") as the hard-nosed security captain, Joe Grifasi as a timid, browbeaten inmate, Richard Bright (Al Neri in the "Godfather" movies) as a shrewd, sneaky top con determined to knock Waites off his throne, and a young James Remar in his film debut as a surly punk kid lend top notch support.

But the guy who clearly makes off with the entire feature is Mike Kellin, an always outstanding heavy-set, craggy-faced character actor who never received his full due. Kellin's terrific, touching, wistfully funny portrayal of Red, an amiable, but pretty imbecilic elderly felon who's been in the joint for so long that he's completely lost sync with the outside world and thus will forever remain behind bars for life, radiates a frail yearning and wounded hangdog humanity that's simply a wonder to behold. The scene where Red makes a game, albeit futile attempt at persuading the parole board to spring him rates as a tragicomic gem; it's both sadly affecting and wryly amusing at the same time -- and it's followed by an extraordinarily moving moment of devastating heartbreak that's made all the more poignant by being presented with commendable taste, subtlety, and understatement. Raphael D. Silver's tough, steady, laudable direction, aided by Alan Metzger's silvery, velvety cinematography and Charles Gross' haunting, low-key, melancholy jazz score, forcefully renders a properly grim, desolate and credibly down'n'dirty jailhouse milieu. Only the somewhat rambling and occasionally scattershot narrative and an incongruously light-hearted finale fail to fully pass muster. Those faults aside, "On the Yard" overall cuts it as a gritty, hard-hitting, totally absorbing, and convincing guys doin' time sleeper.

Enjoyable prison film

[jcurrie58 · 30 July 2003]

I watched this film, which was on TV recently (in the early hours of the morning - I taped it, naturally!). I agree with the comments made about the ludicrous plot situation re the balloon. If the author (who has served a prison sentence) based this on fact, that's fair enough. But there was more than enough to enjoy apart from that. Particular mention should be made of Mike Kellin ("Red")who gave a very poignant portrayal of a man who's spent the majority of his adult life in prison, and Ron Faber (Manning, the first time offender) whose face told it all at the devastating effect of prison. The swearing was kept to a minimum, which was no bad thing, though offenders tend to use four letter words every other word. Whilst this is not THE prison film, it's certainly worth a viewing.