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The Jericho Mile

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6.1/10 • 45

1980-10-311h 37m

DramaTV Movie

Behind the wall of this prison is a man traning to challenge the Olympic record..

A runner, serving a life sentence at Folsom Prison, works at becoming the world's fastest miler and wins a chance to compete for a spot on the Olympic team.

Directors
Michael Mann
Editors
Arthur Schmidt

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Peter Strauss

    Peter Strauss

    Larry "Rain" Murphy

  2. Roger E. Mosley

    Roger E. Mosley

    "Cotton" Crown

  3. Richard Lawson

    Richard Lawson

    R.C. Stiles

  4. Brian Dennehy

    Brian Dennehy

    Dr. D

  5. Geoffrey Lewis

    Geoffrey Lewis

    Dr. Bill Jankowski

  6. Billy Green Bush

    Billy Green Bush

    Warden Earl Gulliver

  7. Ed Lauter

    Ed Lauter

    Jerry Beliot

  8. Beverly Todd

    Beverly Todd

    Wylene

  9. William Prince

    William Prince

    O.A.U. Chairman

Reviews1

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Wuchak Avatar

Wuchak

Dec 25, 2019

6/10

Run until the walls come tumblin’ down A loner at Folsom State Penitentiary (Peter Strauss) gains attention when it’s discovered that he can run a mile in less than four minutes. Officials naturally try to see if they can enter him in the Olympics. The cast includes Brian Dennehy, Geoffrey Lewis, Richard Lawson, Roger E. Mosley and Ed Lauter. "The Jericho Mile" (1979) is a prison movie meshed with sports flick. It’s notable as Michael Mann’s first movie wherein he was limited by TV constraints, yet it shows his potential and explains why he moved on to greatness, e.g. “The Last of the Mohicans” (1992). Being made-for-TV, profanity is replaced by wannabe edgy jive talk, which can be unintentionally amusing. If you can roll with that, this is a worthwhile serious story about great talent being trapped in a cage, not to mention the brotherhood of man regardless of skin color. I could relate to Strauss’ character and I imagine a lot of other viewers can too. The movie runs 1 hour, 37 minutes, and was shot at Folsom State Penitentiary, Represa, California, about an hour northeast of Sacramento. Several of the peripheral cast members were prisoners at Folsom and do a commendable job. GRADE: B-

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  • The Jericho Mile poster
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  • The Jericho Mile poster
  • The Jericho Mile poster
  • The Jericho Mile poster
  • The Jericho Mile poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
prisondrug smugglingsportsfistfightrevengemurdergangracismdrugsrace