There are places in the world that are not made out of stone

Rating: 9/10 (23 January 2017)

Before I review this fascinating tale of abuse, intrigue and resourcefulness taking place in a penitentiary, let me state the following... "Bad things happen to good people." The movie starts with a court trial for the murder of a banker's wife. Our defendant is Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) accused of this crime and all the evidence or lack of points in his direction. Found guilty Andy and other recruits (little fishes ) are bused over to Shawshank Prison. During the ride, a portly (FAT ASS)Frank Medrano starts to whine about the fact that he's not suppose to be here.The rookie cons are greeted by the Warden Norton (Bob Gunton) who chillingly affirms at the end of his speech, "Welcome to Shawshank." Fat Ass continues to moan about being in jail but Captain Hadley (Clansy Brown) wanted to hear no part of his whining.Meanwhile the prison inmates where placing bets on which rookie con will crack under the strain of a first night in prison. As the neophytes walked down the main corridor to a loud bunch of inmate hecklers as they yelled endlessly,"Here fishy fishy." Veteran Con Ellis Redding AKA Red our narrator played by Morgan Freeman bet two packs of smokes on Andy Dufresne. Meanwhile the majority bet on Fat Ass to crack under the taunting and teasing of the hardened inmates. The mocking was too much for poor, hysterical Fat Ass as he screamed for his Mommy as Captain Hadley beat him endlessly with his night stick as he laid lifeless on the cement floor. Prison life was presented in all it's harsh realities right from the start. The next morning Red was amazed that Andy made it through the first night without making a sound. As the movie progressed Andy needs a rock hammer to make Chess pieces. Red being the prison hustler/scrounger can get mostly anything from the outside, magazines, liquor and posters. Red and Andy develop a friendship/bond. One day the Warden offered volunteer work for the inmates to tar the roof of the guard house. The names where picked at random and Andy and Red were among the chosen for the task. The first day as the men were dipping there mops into tar buckets under the hot sun, Andy overhears Captain Hadley complaining of an cash inheritance. The other guard congratulates him on his new found cash but Hadley says the government will tax him on every penny of it. Andy takes a u-turn toward Hadley and Says, "Do you trust your Wife?" Hadley enraged, grabs Andy and is ready to throw him off the roof. Andy in breathless desperation replies, There's a way to gift your spouse tax free and I'll can show you how to file the papers and it's perfectly legal for a small price of three beers for each man working on the roof. A few days later it came to pass as his fellow inmate looked on at Andy as they were swigging suds on a hot roof. The Cons at least for a little while felt like men thanks to Andy and his legal advise. Andy had won the respect of his peers. Despite doing curry-favor for the guards, with W2 forms and retirement advise Andy wasn't protected either. Being constantly harassed and beaten by Boggs and his pose (The Sisters). Boggs wanted Andy for sexual favors and I'd like to tell you Andy put up a good fight but the truth is Andy ended up in the hospital infirmary while Boggs laid in the hole of solitary confinement for a month. Word got out about Andy's nemesis to Hadley and the guards and they didn't want their personal Banker harmed any more. Boggs was beaten to a pulp and the Sisters never laid a hand on Andy again.The movie continues and shows the hopelessness of an innocent educated man adjusting to an institution. Making friends and gaining respect with his knowledge in a world of maladjusted criminals. Building a library and fudging the books under the direction of the Warden. This shows how a person entering the criminal system become institutionalized on a positive side and a negative side. Veteran actor James Whitmore give an impressive performance as Brooks the original weathered Librarian. Also notable was the performance by Tommy (Gil Bellows) who takes this story in a different direction. The appeal of this movie is how everything ties together in a hopeless situation and comes out clean on the other side. The original book (Stephen King), was at best, ho-humm by critics standards but the magic of the screenplay brought this story to new heights. Kudos to the screen writing of Frank Darabont. Never get tired of this movie.