Fools' Parade

1971

Action / Comedy / Drama / Thriller

5
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 53% · 2 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 53% · 100 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.4/10 10 1850 1.9K

1930s

Plot summary

When a trio of ex-convicts led by Mattie Appleyard is released from prison, they hope to open a general store using money Mattie has saved during his 40-year sentence. This attempt is met with great resistance from a corrupt prison official and the banker who issued Mattie the check.

Director

Andrew V. McLaglen Photo
Andrew V. McLaglen

Top cast

Mike Kellin Photo
Mike Kellin as Steve Mystic
Kurt Russell Photo
Kurt Russell as Johnny Jesus
David Huddleston Photo
David Huddleston as Homer Grindstaff
Bob Harks Photo
Bob Harks as Train Passenger
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
864.18 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
25 fps
1 hr 34 min
Seeds 1
1.57 GB
1920*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
25 fps
1 hr 34 min
Seeds 1

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by walk_the_walk

I saw this great movie as a kid, but never after that...

My Dad grew up in WV and took my brother and I to see this movie at the theater when it came out in 1971. It was a great film! I have waited for 35 years to see it again, with no luck.The beginning of the movie was set and filmed in Moundsville, WV in the early 30s. Jimmy Stewart played a character with a glass eye, who had served some 30 or 40 years in prison and was headed to the WV capitol to cash his check for funds owed to him for his prison labors. The conflict in the movie is the evil warden type, played by George Kennedy, who is out to kill Stewart and his two buddies, one of which is played by Strother Martin. The Strother Martin character wants to open up his own grocery store with the help of the Jimmy Stewart character.This is a wonderful film, somewhat similar in style to The Film Flam Man, and of the same vintage. I would love to get a copy of it, or see it again on TCM or another channel.Could anyone guess why this movie has never been made available since its original release? I would sure like to know...
Reviewed by hitchcockthelegend 7 / 10

God uses the good ones. The bad ones use God.

Fools' Parade (also known as Dynamite Man from Glory Jail) is directed by Andrew McLaglen and stars James Stewart, George Kennedy, Kurt Russell, and Strother Martin. It's based on the novel of the same name by Davis Grubb with a screenplay by James Lee Barrett. Harry Stradling Jr. photographs on location in Marshall County, West Virginia and Henry Vars scores the music.Three men released from prison, one with a cheque for $25,452.32 in his pocket. One crooked bank manager and one vindictive prison captain, both men determined not to let the prisoners cash in that cheque.Something of an under seen picture due to no home format release as yet, Fools' Parade is a well acted story set around the depression era. It's got a mixture of violence, comedy, adventure and whimsy, while its themes of corruption, new beginnings and moral quandaries are neatly put together as a melodramatic whole. The characterisations are most interesting, not least the three criminals, who having served time for some terrible crimes, are actually the most stand up guys in a town that's full of desperation; where the residents are teetering on the brink of badness.The cast speaks for itself as regards quality, and they deliver on the promise of their names. While an unrecognisable Anne Baxter also enters the fray late on with a heartfelt and dramatic performance. Special mention for Stradling's photography, which captures the hazy atmosphere of the troubled 30s especially well. A more than involving film that prospective new viewers should try and catch if they get the chance. 7/10
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