The Longest Yard

With seconds to go and the prisoners down by five points, the ball is in the prisoners' possession on the guards' one-yard line, the "longest yard" of the title. If horses are being tested (especially in jockey racing) they will be put on a specially constructed treadmill. However, by this time the prisoners have rallied and their spirit cannot be broken. As it is basically a conveyor belt, the treadmill can be used for activities other than running. Nate, despite his bad knee, goes into the game to score a touchdown, and, after doing so, is immediately cut down at the knees by a guard, crippling him. The treadmill used to be a prison punishment element, consisting of a horizontal axis and a wheel with steps on the external part, which the prisoners were made to climb endlessly to produce energy. However, he quickly wins them back and, with the help of a quick touchdown and a drop kick, soon gets the "Mean Machine" back into the game. .

At first, the prisoners are angry with Crewe and provide him with no protection or aid. Thus the speed of the run can easily be set or measured (the rate at which the belt moves is the rate at which the runner moves). Pop states that, for himself at least, it was worth it, and Crewe goes back into the game with a renewed sense of purpose. The principal is a belt system (a motor or flywheel driving a circular run of material) where the top of the belt moves to the rear so as to allow a runner to run an equal, and necessarily opposite speed. At this point, a stunned Crewe turns to Pop to ask him if it was worth it - trading the opportunity to strike the warden in exchange for a life sentence. The word treadmill originally designated a type of mill which was operated by a person treading steps of a wheel to ground grain. With the prisoners demoralized, the guards as orderd take out their anger on the prisoners, causing several injuries. A treadmill is an indoor sporting tool used to allow for running without moving any distance.

Crewe quickly makes several deliberate mistakes putting the "Mean Machine" down by three touchdowns, then purposely takes himself out of the game. Runners training for outdoor races should minimize time on the treadmill. Will Knauer (Ed Lauter) to order his players to "inflict as much physical punishment on the prisoners as possible" as soon as they are ahead by 21 points. Treadmill running is easier than running outside or on a track because there is no wind resistance. However, the conniving warden secretly breaks this promise, telling the leader of the guards' team, Capt. Many runners find treadmills boring, especially for longer distances. Crewe obtains a promise from Hazen that if he cooperates and throws the game as ordered, the prisoners will not be harmed. Some treadmills have loud motors.

He corners Crewe in the team locker room and says that the arsonist will testify Crewe had been an accessory to Caretaker's murder if the prisoners do not lose the game by at least 21 points. They can be used in the home, and takes away the hassles of going out allowing the rider to watch television, reading, and many other things while using it. Hazen has always believed he must rule by fear, brutality and intimidation. Some treadmills have special features such as step count, heart rate monitors, amount of calories burnt, etc. However, Warden Hazen is angry the prisoners have gained a newfound sense of self-respect, teamwork and accomplishment and are in a good position to win the game. Run indoors in bad weather. As the game starts, the "Mean Machine" does well, and at halftime the game is close. As all factors of the run are known, the exact energy expended may be calculated.

Unfortunately, the trap is accidentally sprung on Caretaker instead, who is killed in the blaze. Allows for exact adjustment of various factors (gradient and speed). However, before the game, a jealous homosexual arsonist named Unger (Charles Tyner) schemes to kill Crewe by setting off an incendiary device in his cell. Known speeds at all times of the run, and being able to change speeds as needed. With the help of the clever Caretaker, veteran former pro player Nate Scarboro (Michael Conrad), "Granny" Granville (Harry Caesar) and long term prisoner Pop (John Steadman) who remains prison far past his original sentence for having struck Warden Hazen when the warden was just a rookie guard, as well as being aided by the warden's amorous secretary, Crewe molds the otherwise violent, distrustful, rebellious men into a smoothly working football team which comes to be named the "Mean Machine". Equal ground for the duration of the run. Among the most impressive are Samson (Richard Kiel), a huge prisoner and former professional weightlifter and Connie Shokner (Robert Tessier), a fearsome serial killer and martial arts expert. Remain at the same location for the duration of the run.

However, he builds trust amongst the cons, and all of them, including the black inmates, eventually come out to support Crewe and his cause. Many other prisoners are skeptical too mainly because they see it as an opportunity for the guards to beat on them harder and they are skeptical of Crewe for selling out his NFL teammates. Adding to the difficulties, the black inmates at first refuse to play for they "no longer play ball for the Honkie's amusement" and want nothing to do with the white inmates who are playing. Crewe finds difficulties however because several of the people inside the prison have no football experience, and he has no idea if the prisoners have enough talent to take on the guards.

He is allowed to recruit the most dangerous and violent prisoners. Eventually, under pressure, Crewe relents and agrees to form a prisoner team to play the guards' team in an exhibition game. The guards at this prison are also very different from those at other prisons in that they are all big and fast enough to make an NFL roster. You could have robbed banks, sold dope or stole your grandma's pension checks and none of us would have minded, but shaving points on a football game, well that's un-American!" Moreover, the sadistic, power-hungry warden Rudolph Hazen, (Eddie Albert), a football fanatic who operates a semi-pro team made up of the prison's guard force, wants Crewe to form an inmates' team, but Crewe refuses and is harassed by the guards and given backbreaking work as punishment.

You on the other hand, had it all and threw it away. As his only friend, an inmate nicknamed Caretaker (James Hampton) put it, "Most of these boys have nothin', never had anything to start with. The convicts despise him because he was caught point shaving, the reason he was dismissed from the league. He has difficulty getting along with the guards as well as with his fellow inmates.

After a fight with her, he gets drunk and steals and then wrecks her expensive Maserati car (the car in the film is a Citroen SM; Citroen owned Maserati back in the 1970s), crimes landing him in prison for a 3 - 5 year sentence. The protagonist is Paul "Wrecking" Crewe (Burt Reynolds), former star pro football quarterback living with his wealthy girlfriend in Palm Beach, Florida. Green Bay Packers legend Ray Nitschke appeared in the 1974 version. The 1974 original was also the basis for the 2001 movie Mean Machine, starring Vinnie Jones as Danny Meehan, based on the character of Paul Crewe, and featuring Soccer instead of American football.

Burt Reynolds played the hero, Paul 'Wrecking' Crewe in the original, and the coach Nate Scarboro in the 2005 remake starring Adam Sandler, Chris Brown, and Nelly. The Longest Yard was a 1974 movie about inmates at a prison who play American football against their guards.
. "I think I broke his freakin' neck!" - Samson after clotheslining one of the guards.

Let's do it!'" - Paul 'Wrecking' Crewe in the huddle for the last play. For Caretaker.. For Nate.. "For Granny..