Convicts 4

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Convicts 4
Directed by	Millard Kaufman
Produced by	A. Ronald Lubin
Written by	Millard Kaufman John Resko
Starring	Ben Gazzara Stuart Whitman Vincent Price Rod Steiger
Music by	Leonard Rosenman
Cinematography	Joseph F. Biroc
Editing by	George White
Distributed by	Allied Artists Pictures Corporation
Release date(s)	September 15, 1962 February 15, 1963
Running time	105 min.
Country	U.S.A.
Language	English
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Convicts 4 is a 1962 prison film starring Ben Gazzara and directed by Millard Kaufman. It is based on the autobiography of John Resko, Reprieve.

[edit] Plot summary

The film tells the true story of John Resko, who was condemned to the electric chair at the age of eighteen. He robbed and killed the owner of a pawnshop to get money to feed his young daughter. At the last minute he was reprieved by the governor (Franklin Delano Roosevelt, though not portrayed as such in the movie).

Resko has difficulty adjusting to life in prison. But he eventually adapts, with the help of fellow convicts played by Sammy Davis Junior, Ray Walston and Timothy Carey. Despite the title, the film focuses on Resko far more than the other three inmates.

While serving in prison, Resko becomes a talented painter. He gains the attention of members of the art world such as Carl Calmer, played by Vincent Price, who fight for his release. He is pardoned and reunited with his daughter and granddaughter, who is the same age as was Resko's daughter when he was first imprisoned.