On the Yard (1978)

Curiosità

On the Yard is a 1978 American prison drama film written by Malcolm Braly, directed by Raphael D. Silver and starring John Heard. It is based on Braly's novel of the same name.

Production

The rights to the novel were purchased by Warner Bros in 1970, with the studio intending to develop it into a feature film. The initial production team included Al Wasserman as producer and Calder Willingham as screenwriter, while John Calley was set to be the executive producer.

The film was developed several years later, with Raphael D. Silver making his directional debut, having previously worked as a real estate developer.

The production team conducted research at numerous prisons across the United States before selecting Rockview State Correctional Facility, a medium security prison. Although the prison warden expressed little interest in allowing a film to be shot there, Pennsylvania's state corrections commissioner, William Robinson, approved the request after reading the novel and saying he "loved it".

The film featured real inmates and staff as background extras, while some had small speaking parts. Inmates were paid $6 per day for working as an extra, which was at least 10 times more their typical prison salary, and the fee was considerably more for those with speaking parts. The payment was credited to their prison account as it could not be paid directly. No women were cast into the film.

Filming began on October 10, 1977, and wrapped the day before Thanksgiving, on November 23, around a week ahead of schedule.

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