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February 10, 2009
10,000 Violent Women and One Screenwriter, Part IV
Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Hold Your Man, 1933.
“They seem to do a good job,” I say to Cindy.
“Yeah,” Cindy allows, “what else they got to do with their time.”
“They could be plotting a riot.”
“Cute.”
“Take over the prison system, make you their slave.”
“You've seen too many movies, Robert.”
Sad but true. C.O. Cindy is an excellent judge of character.
“Can any inmate get into the program?”
“No way. Inmates who abused or murdered children, inmates who tortured animals, they are barred, no exceptions.”
“Good policy. Gotta maintain standards.”
“Hey, we ain't so dumb.”
“But straight-up murderers?”
Listen to me, I'm doing dialog like from an old Warner Brothers movie.
“Killers are our best trainers. In for the full ride, they got nothing but time.”
Hey, C.O Cindy is in the exact same movie. This is fab-u-lous, we're kibitzing, in cute-tough prison-speak, like Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in the deeply flawed but fascinating Hold Your Man.
And then it happens.
A genuine meltdown:
To read the complete story of my research for the cable movie Within These Walls, head on over to Big Hollywood.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at February 10, 2009 08:36 AM
Comments
Seraphic Secret is private property, that's right, it's an extension of our home, and as such, Karen and I have instituted two Seraphic Rules and we ask commentors to act respectfully.
1. No profanity.2. No Israel bashing. We debate, we discuss, we are respectful. You know what Israel bashing is. The world is full of it. Seraphic Secret is one of the few places in the world that will not tolerate this form of anti-Semitism. That's it. Break either of these rules and you will be banned.
It's nice to know even prisoners have their standards ;-)
From what I have read of C.O. Cindy and having seen the movie I think you had her character nailed - just no nonsense - not a pushover nor sadistic - just saw things the way they should be seen and dealt with things that needed attention.
I hope that she liked her portrayal.
BTW can you tell us the prison where this research took place?
Posted by: Bill Brandt at February 10, 2009 11:46 AM
Bill,
I always enjoy your insightful comments and wanted to tell you how sorry I am about your wonderful dog. It sounded like she got great enjoyment out of life and her relationship to you. I can see why you feel you learned from her.
All the best --
Posted by: Katherine at February 10, 2009 12:45 PM
Bill:
CO Cindy was quite happy with the movies. So were the inmates. It also got very high ratings. Very sorry about your dog.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.seraphicpress.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 10, 2009 02:07 PM
Robert - Katherine - than you for your kind comments. A moment ago I was ready to submit a rather large story about Miss Belle, and (uncharacteristically for me) thought a bit first before hitting the send button and decided that it would be stretching Robert's web hospitality to the limit!
But suffice it to say, I believe that if one listens and observes, G*d can even teach you some things about life through a dog...
Posted by: Bill Brandt at February 10, 2009 07:26 PM
Bill:
Forgot to tell you that I promised complete confidentiality to the inmates, and to the prison.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at February 10, 2009 08:16 PM