On the Yard

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.

"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

On The Yard is a 1979 drama that follows a con artist who gets himself indebted to the leader of a ruthless prison gang while serving his sentence.

Based on Malcolm Braly's 1967 novel of the same name and starring John Heard and Thomas G. Waites, On The Yard is a rugged prison drama that doesn't offer the most exciting story, but takes a realistic approach that keeps its characters center point and interesting. Waites delivers a great performance and really stands out in every scene that he's in keeping you intrigued to see what happens next. It's gritty and tough with a raw quality that captivates your attention right from the get go.

This won't be a film that gets mentioned in the same sentence as other similar flicks in the prison genre, but I thought it was a very good movie. If you've never seen On The Yard before, it's definitely worth checking out.

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.

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.