Once upon a time, there was a crooked man. When he was good, he was very, very good. And when he was bad, it was murder...


An offbeat 1970s black-comic Western with an all-star cast, this Joseph L. Mankiewicz film is set in 1883 in Arizona. Paris Pitman, Jr. (Kirk Douglas) is the leader of a band of outlaws that steals $500,000 from a wealthy businessman named Lomax (Arthur O'Connell). The other gang members die in a shootout, but Pitman escapes and hides the loot in women's underwear and drops it into a snake pit. After Lomax recognizes Pitman in a brothel, he is arrested by Sheriff Woodward Lopeman (Henry Fonda). At the territorial prison, Pitman bribes Warden Le Goff (Martin Gabel), offering him a share of the hidden money if he lets him escape. But before the scheme is carried through, the warden is killed by a prisoner. Lopeman becomes the new warden, and he is bent on ridding the prison of corruption. Pitman convinces Lopeman that he will cooperate with the reforms, then he uses the new freedoms given to him to plan an elaborate escape with several other men. The escape is to take place during an inspection by the governor. The screenwriting team for this film was Robert Benton and David Newman, who had penned the brilliant Bonnie and Clyde.

There Was a Crooked Man... is a 1970 western starring Kirk Douglas and Henry Fonda and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. It was written by David Newman and Robert Benton, their first script to be produced after Bonnie and Clyde.
This was the only western made by Mankiewicz, director of such notable films as All About Eve, Guys and Dolls and Cleopatra.
The cast includes Warren Oates, Hume Cronyn, Burgess Meredith, Alan Hale, Jr., Victor French, Bert Freed, John Randolph, Michael Blodgett, Arthur O'Connell, Gene Evans, Barbara Rhoades and Lee Grant.


Release Date: December 25, 1970 @ Trans Lux East & West, NYC

Distrib: Warner Brothers