Penitentiary

Penitentiary (1979)Cast and Crew

Movie"There's only one way out, and 100 fools stand in the way!"

Cast

L
Leon Isaac Kennedy
as Martel 'Too Sweet' Gordone
T
Thommy Pollard
as Eugene T. Lawson
H
Hazel Spears
as Linda (as Hazel Spear)
D
Donovan Womack
as Jesse Amos
F
Floyd 'Wildcat' Chatman
as Hezzikia 'Seldom Seen' Jackson (as Floyd Chatman)
C
Chuck Mitchell
as Lieutenant Arnsworth
G
Gloria Delaney
as Peaches
W
Wilbur 'Hi-Fi' White
as Sweet Pea
B
Badja Djola
as 'Half Dead' Johnson
C
Cepheus Jaxon
as Poindexter
D
Dwaine Fobbs
as Lying Latney Winborn
E
Ernest Wilson
as Cheese
W
Will Richardson
as Magilla Gorilla
E
Elijah Mitchell
as Nut #1
T
Tony Andrea
as Mook

Crew

J
Jamaa Fanaka
Director
J
Jamaa Fanaka
Writer
J
Jamaa Fanaka
Producer
M
Marty Ollstein
Director of Photography
B
Betsy Blankett Milicevic
Editor
R
Richard Epper
Stunts

Penitentiary Collection

Penitentiary is a 1979 American blaxploitation drama film written, produced, and directed by Jamaa Fanaka, and starring Leon Isaac Kennedy as Martel "Too Sweet" Gordone, a man who deals with the wrongful imprisonment of a black youth. The film was released on November 21, 1979. The first sequel, Penitentiary II, was released in 1982. It was a direct sequel that followed the exploits of "Too Sweet" Gordone shortly after his release from prison. It was notable for the early casting of Mr. T as Gordone's trainer, Glynn Turman as his brother-in-law, and Ernie Hudson recast in the villainous role of "Half Dead." The second sequel, Penitentiary III, was released in 1987. The plot centers on "Too Sweet" Gordone's time in prison, where he is sent after beating another boxer to death in a performance enhancing drug-fueled fugue state.