THE GLASS HOUSE (1972)

This TV movie pioneered the ugly, realistic depiction of prison life, complete with rape, sadism shakedowns, crooked guards and murder. Shot in a Utah prison with real convicts as extras, it stars Alan Alda as a college professor in for accidental manslaughter; Dean Jagger as the warden who won't reform the system; Clu Gulager as a new guard who does want to change the system (and fails); Billy Dee Williams as leader of the politicized black convicts and the one, the only Vic Morrow, Nabob of Nastiness, as the boss con running all the rackets. Although it has some rough edges, this is a near first-class film.