The Shawshank Redemption, released in 1994, follows the story of a banker named Andy Dufresne, who is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife and lover despite his claims of innocence. The film follows him across the decades, showcasing his incarceration experiences and the relationships he forms along the way. The picture did not perform as well as expected upon its initial release, but it went on to be nominated for seven Academy Awards and is today acknowledged as one of the best films of all time. Check out these lesser-known Shawshank Redemption facts.
It’s Based On A Novella By Stephen King
The Shawshank Redemption is based on King’s novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, which differs from many of his other writings. Different Seasons was a compilation of four novellas, three of which were made into films, including The Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, and The Body (Stand By Me).
King received $5,000 for the picture rights to his novella, but he never paid the check. Years later, he framed the cheque and delivered it to director Frank Darabont with the remark, “In case you ever need bail money.” Steve, love.”
Almost Every Director Was Different
After obtaining the rights from King, filmmaker Frank Darabont was offered $2.5 million by Rob Reiner to relinquish control of the project. Despite the allure of the offer, Darabont turned it down, arguing that it was his “chance to do something really great,” and he was ultimately correct.
The picture would have taken a completely different turn if Reiner had cast Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise as Red and Andy, respectively. Nobody is unhappy about Darabont’s decision to keep the film.
Red Had Other Options Besides Morgan Freeman
Red is portrayed in King’s novella as a middle-aged Irishman with graying red hair. Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Harrison Ford were all strongly considered for the job in order to fit the description.
However, because of Morgan Freeman’s natural temperament and voice, Frank Darabont made the ultimate choice to recruit Freeman. Darabont added “Maybe it’s because I’m Irish,” to respect King’s original character, when Andy inquired about Red’s moniker.
The Maggot Dilemma
Brooks, an elderly guy who works in the jail library, owns a pet crow in the film. The American Human Association closely observed the sequences with the crow because they were working with a live animal.
The AHA intervened in the moment where Brooks feeds his crow a maggot, arguing that it was harsh to the maggot and that they would have to use a maggot that had died naturally. Surprisingly, the production team discovered a maggot that met the AHA’s specifications, and the sequence was shot.
The Number 237 Appearance
If you’re familiar with Stephen King’s work, you’ll know that he enjoys hiding Easter eggs in his stories and connecting them in some way. The number 237 is a minor tidbit that he has scattered throughout some of his books.
When the guards cry “Open 237!” before asking Red about where Andy went, Frank Darabont opted to include this in the film. The number 237 also corresponds to the room in The Shining and the amount of money the guys have in Stand By Me.
Red’s Past
When Andy questions Red about why he’s in Shawshank, he answers, “I committed murder.” While the film leaves most of his story unsolved, the book delves into much greater detail. Ellis Boy “Red” Redding is serving three life sentences for the murders of his wife, his neighbor’s wife, and his neighbor’s son.
Red had disabled the brakes on his wife’s car in order to collect an insurance policy, but he hadn’t expected his neighbor’s wife and son to be in the vehicle.
The Film Aided in the Growth of the Local Economy
Despite the fact that the film is set in Maine, it was shot in Mansfield, Ashland, and Upper Sandusky, Ohio. The three towns shared 13 filming locations, which have now become increasingly famous tourist destinations since the film’s release.
Tourism has increased every year since 1994, according to the Mansfield/Richmond County Convention and tourists Bureau, bringing over 18,000 tourists to the area and an estimated $3 million to the local economy in 2013.
Not Andy’s Hands
Although Tim Robbins played Andy Dufrense, the close-up pictures of his hands belong to filmmaker Frank Darabont. Darabont finalized the moments in which Dufrense’s hands load the revolver in the opening scene then carve his name onto his cell wall in post-production.
Darabont wanted the sequences done a certain manner and felt he needed to execute them himself to get the final product he envisioned, thus Robbins’ hands were not used.
It Was Seen as a Box Office Flop
While The Shawshank Redemption is now considered a masterpiece, movie did not perform well at the box office when it was first released. In fact, the film’s initial gross of $18 million did not even cover the cost of production. Despite receiving multiple Oscar nominations, the film made an additional $10 million but was still dubbed a box office bomb.
Despite the film’s failure in theaters, Warner Home Video distributed 320,000 rental copies across the United States. Despite the fact that its distribution was considered hazardous, this helped the film become one of the year’s top-rented films.
There Is More Than One Freeman
Most people are unaware that the mugshots of a young Red attached to his parole papers are not of Morgan Freeman or anyone else. They are photographs of Morgan Freeman’s son, Alfonso Freeman.
Alfonso even made an appearance in the film, yelling “Fresh fish! Fresh fish!” Today’s catch is fresh! We’re bringing them in!” This would not be Alfonso’s first appearance in one of his father’s films. A year later, he appeared in the film Seven as a fingerprint technician.
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Working With A Bird
Brooks’ crow Jake is squawking when Andy arrives at the library to begin his new job as Brooks’ assistant. Robbins had to time his line, “Hey Jake, where’s Brooks?” so that the bird didn’t squawk as he was speaking.
Robbins became acquainted with the bird over time and began to pick up on its squawking habit so that it never interrupted a scene, something Darabont praised him for. If you look closely, you can see Robbins watching the bird and waiting for it to squawk before delivering his sentence.
The Scene That Took 9 Hours To Film
Red is throwing a baseball back and forth with Heywood at the scene where Andy and Red first speak. Although it is a simple scene, it was anything from simple to shoot.
The brief dialogue was shot over the course of nine hours, with Freeman throwing a baseball the entire time. Nonetheless, he didn’t protest and tossed the baseball every time the camera was turned on. Because of the injuries to his shoulder, Freeman arrived on set the next day wearing a sling.
Deleted Scenes
Although the film feels full, a few moments that gave a little more depth to the plot were deleted. One of these was the inmates discovering Brooks’ pet crow dead in a field and burying it properly after Brooks was released. In another scene, Tommy’s wife pays him a visit, encouraging him to change his ways and focus on getting his GED.
Finally, Red suffers a panic episode in a grocery store and runs to the bathroom because it reminds him of his jail in another deleted scene. This makes his visit to the tree and rock wall all the more meaningful because it is the polar opposite of what Brooks chose to do.
There Was A Problem With The Recording
The voice-over by Morgan Freeman was actually recorded before to filming and was played out loud during production to set the rhythm for each scene. In Iowa, Freeman recorded the full narration in 40 minutes.
However, something went awry, and the track had a significant hiss that the sound professionals in Los Angeles were unable to remove. As a result, they had to re-record the entire thing in a proper studio, which took three weeks to accomplish.
Altering the Title
Although the novella’s original title was Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, it was subsequently condensed to The Shawshank Redemption. This was done because some in Hollywood were beginning to believe that the film was a biopic about actress Rita Hayworth’s life.
Director Frank Darabont was even receiving audition requests from young actresses and supermodels who wanted to play Rita Hayworth in the film before shortening the title. The secret is that she only appears when the inmates see Gilda’s video.
Not Entirely A Real Jail
The interior of Shawshank Prison is extremely impressive, but it is not a real prison. The exterior scenes of the institution were shot at the decommissioned Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, but the interior was too damaged to save.
As a result, many of the interior sequences were shot on a sound stage since the producers reasoned that it would be less expensive to build one than to try to rehabilitate the interiors of the aging prison. We were definitely duped!
Shawshank Redemption Allusions
The Shawshank Redemption, like many of Stephen King’s previous works, is set in Maine. He does, however, make references to the penitentiary in a number of his other novels, short tales, and novellas.
For example, in the film Dolores Claiborne, based on another of King’s novels, Dolores threatens her husband with time in Shawshank for what he did to their daughter. Shawshank Redemption is mentioned in a number of other works by King, including The Fifth Quarter, Needful Things, Sun Dog, and others.
Ex-convicts as Extras
The residents of Mansfield, Ohio were initially overjoyed that The Shawshank Redemption was being filmed in their community. It would not only help to enhance tourism, but it would also mean that some of the locals would appear as extras in the film.
Many people signed up to play extra inmates, but their regular jobs interfered, and many could only labor for one day. To fill the roles, the filmmakers went to a halfway house to collect extras. Many of them had even served time in prison.
Correctly Portraying Correctional Officers
Several real-life correctional officials approached Clancy Brown prior to production to help him make his portrayal of Captain Hadley as authentic as possible. Brown, on the other hand, turned them all down.
Captain Hadley was written to be a villain, and he didn’t want to mislead actual jail guards. As a result, he decided to make the position his own, turning Captain Hadley into one of the most unlikable characters by far.
Making Sewage
Andy Dufresne escapes from Shawshank Prison in the film’s climax by digging through the walls and exiting into the sewers. During his escape, he is forced to crawl through a sewer pipe filled with prisoner waste.
The sludge Andy crawls in is obviously not human waste. It’s a concoction of chocolate syrup, sawdust, and water. Visitors to the prison claim that the pipes still smell like chocolate decades later.
The Set Was Almost Completely Destroyed by Fire
The prison cell building was created on a set, and they used opaque plastic sheeting over windows to mimic daylight with lamps. Director Frank Darabont and extra Michael C. Poole decided to grab a cup of coffee during a break between scenes.
They were on their way to grab coffee when they noticed a lamp that was too close to the plastic. It caught fire, and the two swiftly put it out, saving the set.
Charlie Sheen Was Quite Interested in the Project
After reading the script, a young Charlie Sheen fell in love with the film’s plot. He even went so far as to tell a Castle Rock official, “I’ll do this movie for [expletive] scale,” referring to the bare minimum an actor can be paid.
He even offered to do a 30-minute test reel as Red to demonstrate his suitability for the role. Ultimately, the company decided against using Sheen and soon after hired Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins.
The Trailways Coach is still Operational
We see Red board a Trailways coach (bus) near the end of the video. The actual bus is a 1960 GM PD-4104 that was delivered to the Carolina Scenic Trailways.
The late John Holbein, proprietor of Blue Ridge Trailways, discovered and rebuilt the bus seen in The Shawshank Redemption in 1990. It is currently owned by Capital Trailways, a company based in Montgomery, Alabama. Some have been fortunate enough to ride in it.
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Coincidence of Names
When Andy is first assigned to the jail library for work, the first correctional officer who comes in looking for financial advice introduces himself as “I’m Dekins.” Coincidentally, the film’s cinematographer was named Roger Deakins.
Strangely, because the character of Dekins appeared in King’s novella, Frank Darabont wrote him into the script before employing any of his other crew members. However, it turned out to be just coincidental because the character and Deakins spell their names differently.
Frank Darabont Had a Different Ending In Mind
Frank Darabont originally intended for the film to end with Red searching for Andy after he was released from prison. Darabont argues that if he had his way, the final scene would have been Red on the bus on his way to the field specified by Andy.
However, Castle Rock executives refused, urging that the film conclude with Andy and Red reuniting in order to delight viewers. This is why, as Darabont stated, we don’t see a close-up of the two rejoining, but rather from a distance.
Similarities to The Count of Monte Christo
The Shawshank Redemption shares many similarities with Alexandre Dumas’ epic novel, The Count of Monte Christo, which is also featured in the film. The protagonist in The Count of Monte Christo is wrongly imprisoned for a crime he did not commit and subsequently escapes by excavating a tunnel that takes him years to complete.
Following his escape, he discovers a buried treasure that he learned about in prison and uses it to carry out a plot to get revenge on those who had harmed him.
In the Novella, There Are Several Wardens
One distinction between Stephen King’s novella and the film is the presence of various wardens during Andy’s term in prison. This explains why Warden Norton’s demeanor and attitude appear to shift so quickly on several times.
The warden who is friendly to Andy and lets him send letters and work on the library is not the same as the warden who punishes Andy severely near the end. To make things easier, they combined the several characters into a single individual.
It Was First Available in a Limited Quantity
On September 23, 1994, The Shawshank Redemption was released in North America in a restricted release. The picture was only available in 33 cinemas until October 14, when it was released in 910 more locations on the same day as Pulp Fiction.
Both films received seven Academy Award nominations and developed cult followings. Both films are also among the top ten of IMDB’s top 250 films.
Fines Were Threatened
Because the film’s production schedule in Mansfield, Ohio was so tight, the production crew made it plain that anyone who was late or slowed down production in any way would be punished.
Despite the fact that they were working with successful performers, they felt it would be a nice incentive for everyone to arrive on time. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman both arrived late once but were never penalized. Finally, filming in Mansfield was completed ahead of schedule.
On Set Anxiety
Although most people won’t believe it, the set setting wasn’t all sunshine and lollipops. There was “extreme tension” during filming, according to Morgan Freeman, due to continual arguments between performers, producers, and director Frank Darabont.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Freeman described the mood as “very strange,” but declined to disclose. This is unexpected because it appeared like all of the actors had at least some chemistry.
Did Walter White from Breaking Bad Cause The Apocalypse?
Darryl Dixon recounts in the second season of The Walking Dead that his brother, Merle, was a drug dealer before everything went bad. The show then switches to a package of blue pharmaceuticals identical to those created by Walter White in Breaking Bad.
The reference to AMC’s other successful program fueled suspicion that the zombie apocalypse began with Walter White. Of course, this is implausible, but it’s amusing to consider. Other theorists believe that contaminated water is to blame. The most widely held belief is that biological warfare gone bad caused the globe to… you know.
