The Other Side of Hell

I remember seeing the movie when it first aired as a TV movie back in 1978, and it has stuck with me since. I've been looking for it on video for 10 years as I would really like to see it again to see if it still resonates. Alan Arkin did an excellent job of conveying the desperation of being trapped. If you liked the Shawshank Redemption, this movie has similar themes-you really feel for the protagonist trapped in a corrupt system. It would also appeal to fans of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest as well. It is hard to believe that this was a made for TV movie, as they are rarely as engaging as this. I wish I knew who I could lobby to get this released on DVD.

Just making a point - the hospital mentioned in other reviews and about which Wendell Rawls Jr. wrote is Farview, not Fairview.

This hospital is still in existence today though it is no longer known as Farview (except for us locals who will always call it that.) It is SCI Waymart.

There appears to be some controversy over whether this film was about Farview or some other mental hospital. I wish someone could clear it up.

I drive by Farview often. It is a creepy looking place now - I can't imagine how ominous and awful it must have looked 40 or 50 years ago when these atrocities were still going on.

Well, as I have stated... if you are reading this you probably have seen this movie, if you haven't and are still reading, I very well may give away plot points... this shouldn't matter too much as it took the bulk of my life to actually find a copy of the darn thing. So if you wanted to view this movie... You honestly can't unless you REALLY try.

To start, it takes place in a mental institution that is more like a prison than a hospital. The main character, Frank Dole, is committed there hoping to receive medical help... He doesn't. He witnesses another patient (inmate) getting beaten to death, and decides he must escape. Befriending Jim Baker, another inmate who plead insanity at his wife's murder trial, the two try and escape. They fail... But Frank eventually manages to escape with the details of the Hospital's brutality.

There is so much story to go around in this movie, that I can't even begin to delve into it all... Some of my favorite parts include Frank collecting keys he finds; hoping one day to unlock the right door, Jim's involvement with the prison cock fights, and Johnson's insane brutality.

Characters are developed extremely well, and you truly feel for them. At least I did.

Should you ever find a copy of this movie, and you haven't seen it... if you like a good drama, give it a try. I saw it on HBO in 1988 or so, and eventually found somebody who had a video copy of it. It was never released on video, and hardly is shown on TV...

This is one of my top ten favorite movies of all time.

Kayderr I read your review and although I never saw the movie, my father worked in Farview in the late 50s early 60s. Unfortunately, he passed in 1995, however, I do know that he had made friends with alot of patients/inmates. One man painted a beautiful portrait of my sister from a snapshot photo. Another made him a frame, using wooden matchsticks, he also made my Dad a battleship out of matchsticks! Yet another made my mother a pocketbook out of soft pack empty cigarette packs. All items were of extraordinary quality. I'm sorry I cannot be of more help.

I personally knew Bill Thomas, he used to manage my group in the early 90's. He was a fantastically intelligent and sensitive man. This is absolutely a true story, based on real facts and with very little of the plot points changed. Bill would often recount little snippets, details that occurred while he was in the institution. They were both horrific and fascinating, it is difficult to believe that this kind of treatment was actually perpetrated on patients in such places during the 20th century. Both the "Shoe Leather Treatment" and "The Other Side Of Hell" are amazing examples of our ability as humans being to survive and persevere. Bill, I miss ya'. Kurt