The Glass House

Professor Jonathon Paige [Alan Alda] accidentally kills a man during an argument, and is convicted of manslaughter, sent to prison. He and Allan Campbell [Kristoffer Tabori] enter the facility on the same day that idealistic veteran Brian Courtland [Clu Gulager] begins his new post as a prison guard. Inside, the prison is ruled by prison gangs, while the guards and the warden operate within a web of corruption that pervades every corner of the facility. Paige is assigned to the pharmacy, where [Vic Morrow] as Hugo Slocum pressures him to run drugs for Slocum’s gang, and Paige refuses, earning the respect of Lennox [Billy Dee Williams], a prisoner with a reformist mindset who believes real change is possible from within the system.

Allan Campbell is brutally gang-raped after resisting Slocum’s advances, and, overwhelmed by trauma, chooses to end his life by leaping from a high tier. Sinclair [Edward Bell], pressured by Slocum to push drugs through the pharmacy (a position Paige now holds), hands Paige a book—a ledger of corrupt transactions between Slocum and the guards—that could expose the entire network if published. Sinclair is later shanked on the yard, and the book disappears from his cell; Slocum and his gang hunt Paige through the corridors as chaos swirls around them. The riot alarm sounds, and most inmates retreat to their cells, but Slocum remains, forcing Paige to defend himself with a homemade weapon Lennox secretly provides, allowing him to slip out through the now-empty guard booth.

Outside, Paige runs into Courtland, who shoots him in a sudden, shocking confrontation. Courtland then finds the book on Paige’s body and refuses to surrender it when a corrupt guard demands its return. He reports the discovery to the warden and submits the book as evidence, but the warden denies any knowledge of the document and presses Courtland to sign the official version that the incident was a race riot, excluding any mention of prison corruption. Faced with a choice between complicity and truth, Courtland refuses and walks away from the prison, quitting his job.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 09:32