As with most prison movies, the setting is merely a vehicle for telling the story. Prison ain't like that; talking to a couple cons and ex-cons, or even, god forbid, doing a little research from printed material, would really go a long way.<br /><br />That said, if this movie wasn't so poorly acted and mis-cast, this might have been more watchable, because the plot is interesting enough, exploring male roles and male sexuality. The problem is in the acting - it's dreadful. And the mis-casting of the antagonist - it is impossible to suspend disbelief enough believe he's a big bad sexual predator who could possibly over-power the protagonist, who is bulkier, more "butch", and more physically imposing.<br /><br />I suspect the main culprit for these flaws is simply the era. I'm sure in 1971 it was impossible to find more qualified actors who would touch this kind of subject matter with a ten foot pole, for fear of torpedoing their careers. Times have certainly changed since then.<br /><br />A better prison fable about male sexuality and male relationships is the HBO series OZ.<br /><br />We've come a long way, baby.