Jonas Candide, a former carnival showman,[3] travels around the South, in 1918, with his own portable electric chair, going from prison to prison with his young assistant, Jimmy, charging one hundred dollars per execution. Two of Jonas' potential victims are siblings Willy and Gundred Herzallerliebst. While Jonas successfully executes Willy, he falls for Gundred, hoping to fake her execution. He does, but then things turn dark for him.
Dyan Cannon was originally announced for the female lead.[4]
Filming Locations
The movie was filmed mainly in Montgomery, Alabama, at the old Kilby Prison location at the NE corner of Federal Drive & Coliseum Boulevard behind the railroad tracks.[5] Part of Federal Drive was renamed Congressman Dickinson Drive for U.S. Representative William L. Dickinson of Alabama in 1988 starting at that intersection eastward, so the old prison fronted what is now the renamed portion.[6] The prison was shut down in 1970 right before filming began. The Kilby Correctional Facility on Wares Ferry Road in east Montgomery is a newer & different type of lower-security prison facility that took on the name after the old prison shut down and used mainly to process new inmates and as a medical center for inmates.
Reception
Variety wrote, "A macabre, tastefully seamy comedy-drama about bayou prison life, circa 1918."[7]
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