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The Longest Yard poster

The Longest Yard

year 1974decade 70sdirector Robert Aldrichgenre Sportsgenre Comedy

121 minutes

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Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Burt Reynolds Paul "Wrecking" Crewe
Eddie Albert Warden Rudolph Hazen
Ed Lauter Captain Wilhelm Knauer
Michael Conrad Nate Scarboro
Jim Hampton James "Caretaker" Farrell
Harry Caesar "Granny" Granville
Mike Henry Lieutenant Rasmussen
Jim Nicholson "Ice Man"

The Longest Yard | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Van Lathanproducer Craig Horlbeckproducer Gahauproducer Jack theme 70s Sports Movie Month
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Casting What-Ifs

James Hampton’s move from Unger to Caretaker is praised, and modern equivalents are proposed for football stars Joe Kapp, Ray Nitschke, and Sonny Sixkiller.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:10:05Read transcript
  • James Hampton was reportedly intended for Unger before pushing to play Caretaker.
  • The observed Joe Cap and Ray Nitchke are identified as real football stars in the cast.
  • Kirk Cousins is proposed as a present-day Joe Cap equivalent.
  • Khalil Mack and Fred Warner are considered as Ray Nitchke equivalents.
  • The observed player is reported as a former University of Washington quarterback who also played in the WFL.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Research covers Albert S. Ruddy’s story, Robert Aldrich’s comedy takes, the real inmate-trooper game, Reynolds’s rapport with prisoners, Aldrich’s treatment of Michael Conrad, and the Maserati sale.

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:23Read transcript
  • Producer Albert S. Ruddy is reported to have conceived the story in the late 1960s and hired a screenwriter.
  • The production shot at Georgia State Prison with cooperation from then-governor Jimmy Carter.
  • Aldrich reportedly kept cameras rolling for what he called schtick takes so Reynolds could improvise comedy.
  • After production, inmates used the remaining equipment to play state troopers and reportedly led 66–0 at halftime.
  • Reynolds reportedly ignored warnings and ate with prisoners during meal breaks.
  • Aldrich reportedly feuded with Michael Conrad and called him the Polish princess.
  • The recovered Maserati was reportedly sold by the producer for seven thousand dollars.

Picking Nits

Nitpicks cover the unbribed referees, two NFL players sharing a prison, the disappearing push-up athlete, the warden’s obsession, Caretaker murder logistics, team hierarchy, Chicago prisoners in Florida, the coin toss, play calls, and comeback clock.

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:45Read transcript
  • The warden’s extensive effort to fix the game makes failing to bribe the referees conspicuous.
  • Two former NFL players sharing one Florida prison without Crewe knowing is treated as implausible.
  • The skilled push-up prisoner largely disappears after the swamp sequence.
  • The warden’s intense investment in a semipro prison team is questioned and partly defended by real prison-sports culture.
  • Unger’s light-bulb murder device seems too elaborate to escape notice.
  • Nate’s head-coach status conflicts with Crewe initially calling him an assistant.
  • The Chicago Youth Authority prisoners’ presence in a Florida state prison is unexplained.
  • A modern viewer questions why the team did not defer after winning the coin toss.
  • Split Right on Two is too simple a call for a reverse pass.
  • The final comeback appears to require multiple unseen defensive stops in very little game time.
  • Knauer’s poor clock management is partly explained by the warden demanding a larger margin.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Questions cover the score without Crewe tanking, the guards’ real competition, prison sports-talk narratives, Crewe’s age, Caretaker’s resemblance to Red, Crewe’s statistics, and Knauer’s fate.

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:31:35Read transcript
  • The panel asks how badly the Mean Machine wins if Crewe never throws the third quarter.
  • The guards’ national runner-up status is questioned after a team assembled in four weeks beats them.
  • The day-after prison sports shows and their treatment of Crewe are imagined.
  • Crewe’s claimed eleven-year career and eight-year exile seem inconsistent with his apparent age.
  • The panel asks whether Red in The Shawshank Redemption resembles Caretaker or a broader prison-fixer trope.
  • Crewe’s passing and rushing statistics are estimated from the game.
  • The panel asks whether the warden will have the observed Canauer killed after the loss.

Producer review

The producer addendum praises the football and final forty minutes, finds the first hour dated, admires the older stars’ natural presence, wants a stronger final speech, and argues Crewe should have thrown the game.

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:41:01Read transcript
  • The producer had only seen and enjoyed the Adam Sandler remake before this viewing.
  • He finds the final forty minutes highly rewatchable but the opening hour visibly fifty years old.
  • The real football players and wide staging make the game convincing.
  • Reynolds, Harrison Ford, Paul Newman, and Brando are contrasted with more manicured modern stars.
  • Reynolds’s quiet, still star power is described as nearly extinct.
  • The football includes credible reverses, sneaks, and a back-shoulder pass.
  • The addendum wanted more than roughly fifteen words from Crewe’s final speech.
  • The producer argues Crewe should have thrown the game and left prison after eighteen months.
  • Norm Macdonald’s Saturday Night Live impression shaped his first understanding of Burt Reynolds.