Warden of Red Rock

In WARDEN OF RED ROCK, James Caan is John Flinders, a reformed criminal who now presides over Red Rock Prison in 1910 Arizona. As the flinty, slightly weary warden, Flinders is tough but fair, and believes the inmates should serve their time by working hard, but also that they should be treated like human beings. Flinders is in love with the beautiful, gentle Maria McVale (Rachel Ticotin), a Latino widow whose husband was sentenced to death at Flinder's prison. The chemistry between Flinders and Maria is apparent but, as he confides to his good friend Selwyn Church (Brian Dennehy), Flinders is insecure about pursuing her. Meanwhile, Flinder's former partner in crime, the cold-hearted, murderous Michael Sullivan (David Carradine) arrives at the prison to serve a life sentence. Now Sullivan's partner is his keeper, and the tension rising from this--combined with Sullivan's entirely villainous nature--gives birth to a bloody but successful escape staged by Sullivan and several of his follower-inmates. Good and evil come face to face in the form of a good old fashioned cat-and-mouse chase as Flinders sets out with his posse to track Sullivan down. Shot entirely in Durango, Mexico, the site of many famous Westerns, this humanistic, hard-edged film uses its dusty, sun-drenched scenery to great cinematic advantage. (official distributor synopsis)