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Dead Man Out

Play trailer Dead Man Out 1989 1h 26m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 1 Reviews 38% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Ben (Ruben Blades) is a violent criminal on death row after a heinous quadruple murder. In prison, Ben's behavior becomes increasingly unstable and deranged, which causes an unusual and difficult problem for the courts, as a mentally ill person cannot be executed. In response, they bring in psychiatrist Dr. Alex Marsh (Danny Glover) to try and stabilize Ben's behavior so his sentence can be carried out. However, this presents a moral dilemma for Dr. Marsh.

Critics Reviews

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David Parkinson Radio Times A thought-provoking treatise on social inequality, mental health and capital punishment. Rated: 3/5 May 9, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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David G The dialogue between, prisoner and doctor is nothing short of brilliant. The Convict, accepts responsibility and his fate for murders In exchange for a little one on one time, with someone trying to help him. Then the doctor realized he's the instrument of death to kill this man ! Epic acting by Glover and Blades, i give them 4 stars and an ovation. No spoiler from me, you have to watch it. I've only found it on vhs format on Amazon. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/24 Full Review william s Ruben Blades added a lot to most of the movies he was in just like here. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Movie still available in VHS, but not DVD. Don’t let this stop you. You can get it used on Amazon for about $2.00. If you’ve never seen Rubén Blades act, you’ll be hooked for life. Here he plays violently angry death-row inmate Ben, who seems unbalanced and has stopped speaking. Since Ben can’t legally be executed if he’s mentally ill, a shrink (Glover) is assigned to make Ben better—although he knows he will lead his patient closer to the gas chamber. Blades deserves an Academy Award, and Glover comes pretty close, yet no one but me has ever heard of this movie. Why is it that so many good films never get the audience they deserve, while others that bring new meaning to the word “crap” get repeated endlessly on cable? Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Talky but interesting prison drama, well acted by Danny Glover and Ruben Blades. The director does a good job of developing a relationship between the two stars. It's well written. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Dead Man Out

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Movie Info

Synopsis Ben (Ruben Blades) is a violent criminal on death row after a heinous quadruple murder. In prison, Ben's behavior becomes increasingly unstable and deranged, which causes an unusual and difficult problem for the courts, as a mentally ill person cannot be executed. In response, they bring in psychiatrist Dr. Alex Marsh (Danny Glover) to try and stabilize Ben's behavior so his sentence can be carried out. However, this presents a moral dilemma for Dr. Marsh.
Director
Richard Pearce
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 26m