Jackson County Jail (1976)

Instant Favorite.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

As Good As It Gets

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

JACKSON COUNTY JAIL is an acceptable thriller from producer Roger Corman; not particularly good, but at least remaining fast-paced and engaging enough to be worth a look for fans of 1970s-era grindhouse cinema. Yvette Mimieux (of THE TIME MACHINE fame) plays one of those movie characters who ends up thrown in the titular jail through no fault of her own, where she's subjected to one of the more unpleasant rape scenes of the era. Eventually she busts out with the help of youthful hoodlum Tommy Lee Jones, and the two escape cross-country, pursued by the corrupt cops. The rape scene aside, this is moderately entertaining, with Mimieux striving to invest her character with realism and Jones excelling in an early role. The gut-busting climax reminded me of DIRTY MARY, CRAZY LARRY.

Jackson County Jail (1976)*** (out of 4) Dinah (Yvette Mimieux) gets into a fight with her boss and when she returns home she catches her husband cheating on her once again. She's finally had enough and takes a job in New York and decides to drive cross country but after picking up a pair of hitchhikers everything goes to Hell. She's robbed by the hitchhikers and this leads to a run of bad luck, which has her thrown in jail with bad boy Coley Blake (Tommy Lee Jones).JACKSON COUNTY JAIL walks a fine line between a serious drama and the type of exploitation flick that were very popular at the drive-in during this era. I must admit that I'm really shocked at how well-made the film was and at how little exploitation there actually is. I say that because Roger Corman was the producer and we know what type of movies he was pumping out during the 1970's. Fans of good dramas should enjoy this picture.The greatest thing for the film are certainly the two lead performers as both of them deliver excellent performances. You just can't help but feel bad for Mimieux and she perfectly captures this character, her heartache and eventually her willingness to fight to try and live. Jones is also excellent in this early performance as the tough guy who was "born dead." The two actors share some great chemistry and really make for an entertaining team. We even have Robert Carradine in a small supporting role.The film features a pretty non-graphic but disturbing rape sequence, which is extremely well directed by Michael Miller. The sequence is quite tense without crossing the lines of bad taste. The film runs a very quick 83-minutes and there's really not a slow spot anywhere to be found. JACKSON COUNTY JAIL has a big cult following and it's easy to see why.

First of all, forget about the supposedly infamous rape scene. There IS a rape scene. OK; but that's not the heart or focus of this gem of a movie. The story is excellent, as is the direction and photography; but the real asset is the interplay between Yvette Mimieux and Tommy Lee Jones (who was not yet an old geezer 35 years ago).Yvette Mimieux fills my memory of seeing this one back in 1976. Yvette was famously cute and pretty when she was 20 and just getting started in the 1950's. Many actresses lose it as they age; but not Yvette. Maturing added mind-staggering beauty to her face, as maturity added to her personality --- and she still had the same petite lithe body. Women with this combination usually have to fend off dozens of Grade A men while the Playboy types are sitting home waiting for a phone call.If you can find this movie anywhere, look it up.

This movie is about a woman getting into trouble - nothing more and nothing less. she gets robbed by two hitch-hikers, she's put into prison because she ain't got a passport anymore, a policeman rapes her and she kills him after that and escapes with a prisoner...The movie continues this way, event-event-event... Director Michael Miller is so concerned about being boring, he leaves feelings and emotion.Jones and Mimieux do their parts well, especially Mimieux. Too, I miss at least a few experiments with camera and music, but if you don't want to think about a movie this might be right for you.