Jackson County Jail (film)
| Jackson County Jail | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Miller |
| Produced by |
Jeff Begun Roger Corman (executive producer) |
| Written by | Donald E. Stewart |
| Starring |
Tommy Lee Jones Yvette Mimieux Lisa Copeland |
| Music by | L. Loren Newkirk |
| Cinematography | Bruce Logan |
| Edited by | Caroline Biggerstaff |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $500,000[1][2] |
| Box office | $2.3 million[1] |
Jackson County Jail is an American exploitation action thriller film from 1976 directed by Michael Miller, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Yvette Mimieux and Lisa Copeland.
Plot
Dinah Hunter (Mimieux) works for a Los Angeles advertising agency and has been involved in a two-year romantic relationship. After she catches the man being unfaithful to her, Dinah quits her job and drives to New York for a fresh start.
On a rural highway in the West, she picks up two hitchhikers. They rob and assault her, stealing her purse and car. A law enforcement officer then places Dinah herself under arrest when she can produce no identification. He locks her in a cell of the Jackson County jail, where one of the guards brutally beats and rapes her.
Dinah kills her rapist jailer and escapes with the help of Coley, a thief who likes to hijack trucks. A bond forms between them as Dinah and Coley flee the law, even though he could be a deranged killer as well. They make a stand together in a final climatic car chase and shootout with police which results in Coley being killed and Dinah being wounded and captured by the corrupt policemen of Jackson County.
Cast
- Yvette Mimieux as Dinah Hunter
- Tommy Lee Jones as Coley Blake
- Severn Darden as Sheriff
- Robert Carradine as Bobby Ray
Production notes
The film is one of several so-called “drive-in” films that were presented as true stories (à la 1972's The Legend of Boggy Creek; 1973's Walking Tall; 1974's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre; 1975's Macon County Line and 1976's The Town That Dreaded Sundown) when most, if not all, of what was portrayed on screen was outright fiction.
Response
The film has become a cult movie. In 1996, it was selected by film director Quentin Tarantino for the first Quentin Tarantino Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
Film critic Danny Peary lists the film as one of his "Must See" Films in his Guide for the Film Fanatic (1986).[3]
References
- 1 2 Christopher T Koetting, Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures, Hemlock Books. 2009 p 100-102
- ↑ FILM CLIPS: Hedging Bets on 'Missouri' Deal Kilday, Gregg. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 09 Aug 1976: f7.
- ↑ "List of Peary's "Must See" Films". Retrieved 29 May 2012.