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Mrs. Soffel
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Wikipedia article
'Mrs. Soffel' is a 1984 American drama film directed by Gillian Armstrong, starring Diane Keaton and Mel Gibson and based on the story of condemned brothers Jack and Ed Biddle, who escaped prison with the aid of the warden's wife, Kate Soffel.
It was filmed on location in and around the Serez family farm in Mulmur, Ontario, as well as Wisconsin (train sequences) and establishing shots in Pittsburgh. The jail sequences were filmed in both the Allegheny County Courthouse and old Allegheny County Jail. The film was entered in the 35th Berlin International Film Festival.
Plot
Kate Soffel is the wife of a Pittsburgh prison warden in 1901. They have four children. After several months of being sick in bed for no discernible reason, she suddenly regains her strength. She visits inmates to read Bible scripture to them and meets Ed Biddle and his brother Jack, both of whom may be innocent of the crimes that brought them there.
Mrs. Soffel falls in love with Ed and enables him and Jack to escape, smuggling bar-cutting blades to them at the prison. They go on the run together, with tragic results.
Cast
Reception
Pauline Kael wrote:
On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a approval rating based on reviews, with an average score of . Roger Ebert only gave the film two stars, calling it "an anemic Bonnie and Clyde" and concluded that the performances were unconvincing. Vincent Canby called it a "very strange and maddening movie", but praised the performances of Keaton and Gibson.
References
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