There Was a Crooked Man... is a 1970 American Western film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and starring Kirk Douglas and Henry Fonda. It was the only western made by Mankiewicz. It was written by David Newman and Robert Benton, their first script after Bonnie and Clyde. Plot In 1883, Paris Pitman, Jr. and his crew enter the home of wealthy rancher Mr. Lomax, and rob him of $500,000 Lomax keeps in a safe disguised as a table. Watching the ensuing shootout between the crew and the Lomax family, Pitman kills a number of his own men, then flees. Now the lone surviving crewmember, he hides the loot in a nest of rattlesnakes in the desert. One night, a broke and despondent Lomax goes to a bordello, where he is a regular. Taking pity on him, the madam allows him to go upstairs to look through a peephole to watch two of her girls entertain a client—Pitman. Pitman is convicted and sentenced to 10 years at a penitentiary in the Arizona territory. Pitman's cell mates are: two con men who attempted to fleece some parishioners; a young man who inadvertently killed his girlfriend's father with a billiard ball; an oafish yet hardened gunman who drunkenly shot a sheriff in the leg; a mute immigrant from China, reputed to be a homicidal maniac; and legendary train robber The Missouri Kid. The corrupt warden, LeGoff, is willing to let Pitman break out for an even split of the loot. Pitman agrees, but the plan goes awry when LeGoff is killed during an inmate uprising. Woodward Lopeman (the sheriff who was shot by the gunman, which ultimately cost him his job) becomes the new warden. A reformist, he abolishes hard labor, restricts cruel punishment, and teaches the prisoners self-respect. Recognizing his leadership qualities, Lopeman has Pitman supervise the construction of a dining hall. All the while, Pitman cajoles his fellow inmates into breaking out by promising each man a share of the hidden loot. On the day the governor visits, Pitman makes his move, and sparks a riot as cover for his escape. Three inmates are killed in the melee, and Pitman himself does away with two more partners. Pitman heads for the loot, with Lopeman in hot pursuit. As he retrieves the moneybags, Pitman is bitten by a rattlesnake. By the time Lopeman catches up, Pitman is already dead. Lopeman collects the