MovieChat Forums > Harper (1966) Discussion > Harper in Shawshank Redemption

Harper in Shawshank Redemption

posted 20 years ago by lovelyludgwigvan
8 replies | jump to latest

A clip of Harper is shown in the film The Shawshank Redemption. It is the film the inmates are watching.

[–] Alex-506 20 years ago

Unless I missed another scene in "The Shawshank Redemption" where the prisoners are watching a film, I'm positive that the movie the prisoners are watching is "Gilda"...which pre-dates "Harper" by about twenty years. "Gilda" starred Rita Hayworth, and it's the movie where she does the famous hair-flipping.

[–] gottfrid 19 years ago

I hav the same oppinion. Didnt see a single scene of Harper in Shawshank..

[–] darryl-tahirali 10 years ago

Unless I missed another scene in "The Shawshank Redemption" where the prisoners are watching a film, I'm positive that the movie the prisoners are watching is "Gilda"...which pre-dates "Harper" by about twenty years. "Gilda" starred Rita Hayworth, and it's the movie where she does the famous hair-flipping. - Alex-506

It's been a while since I've seen Shawshank, but it would make perfect sense for the prisoners to be watching Gilda, not just for the reason here, but because the Stephen King novella upon which the film was based is titled Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, and it is a Rita Hayworth poster that Andy Dufresne first uses to conceal the hole in his cell.

Man, to be stuck in prison and watching Rita Hayworth singing "Put the Blame on Mame"--talk about eating your heart out!

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"Build high for happiness." - Red Kangs. Red Kangs are the best Kangs.

[–] markymarkcox 19 years ago

I think you may be getting confused. The scene your thinking of is in the film Sleepers (1996). It's a very similar scene to the Shawshank.

[–] pjwoodall1 19 years ago

Unfortunately Ralph Tabakin, who played the warden in SLEEPERS passed away a few years ago and can't answer the question. I don't remember which movie they were watching. When I asked Ralph if his character knew what was going on in the juvenile detention center(?) he said he knew the true story and the man wasn't aware. Hard to believe.
I was working for Loew's Theaters when SLEEPERS came out, and I asked Ralph if he could help promote the film. He was agreeable, but his back was giving him trouble from a wound he received at Normandy. He also said Levinson had virtually cut him out of the movie and didn't think people would get a kick out of seeing him in person.
Ralph appeared in all of Levinson's movies until his death. My favorite scene is where he figures out how Hoffman and Cruise are cheating at blackjack in RAIN MAN.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] pjwoodall1 18 years ago

The original title was RITA HAYWORTH AND THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION which was too long and confusing. I thought it was one of the best King adaptations. It did good business when I worked at a theater as did THE GREEN MILE. Along with STAND BY ME, the advertising made little mention of these being Stephen King-based movies.

Sometime, I'll tell how King murdered a friend of mine in THE DARK HALF.

[–] 18 years ago

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