Chain Gang (1984)
The year is 1979. The man is Mac McPherson (Earl Owensby), a construction worker who is headed toward a new job in Georgia. A tough but good man, McPherson is framed for murder and sentenced to the famous Black Creek Prison Farm, from which there is no escape...
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Very well executed
A different way of telling a story
The acting in this movie is really good.
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Mac McPherson (Earl Owensby) might have the worst luck ever. Just passing through town, he stops at a local strip joint and sees a girl being beat up the second he walks in. He clocks the assailant, grabs the girl and they speed off in his car. He must know her, right? Nope. I guess that is how things went down in the Carolinas in '84. Anyway, they hide out at a motel where the thugs track them down, killing the girl and leaving the blame on unconscious Mac (all this goes down in the first 8 minutes). McPherson is sentenced to 15 years hard labor at the Black Creek Correctional facility. And guess what? Part of this labor includes doing grounds keeping at the palatial estate of the guy (Robert Bloodworth) who had Mac framed. Like I said, that is just how things went down in the Carolinas in '84.If you can forgive the absurdities (Mac escapes early on and kills a guard, only to be sent back to the same camp; the innocent lead gunning down guards so he can escape to prove his innocence), this is another enjoyable regional action picture produced and starring the thick- accented Owensby. He was pushing 50 when this was filming but that didn't stop him from this take on COOL HAND Luke. There are some great locations and the cast is very authentic looking. The last 15 minutes are particularly brutal, featuring a prison escape with some of the bloodiest squibs going down in 1984. Director Worth Keeter had helmed 7 Owensby productions before this and this was one of several shot in 3-D. This was his last with Owensby before moving onto a pretty successful B- movie career. The full screen VHS print I viewed obviously diminishes the widescreen cinematography.