Brubaker (1980) review

Henry Brubaker (Robert Redford), a warden "pretending" to be a convict, is taken to Arkansas' Wakefield State Prison where he witnesses inmates get beaten and tortured, fed slop, forced to work, not provided adequate medical care ... and then he sets out to correct the wrongs of the past and uncovers a mass grave where they buried murdered prisoners.  If you didn't read a synopsis (or glance at the poster) going into this you might think the Redford character is guilty of some crime - the "big reveal" (around the 28 minute mark) for his presence comes out when he confronts frantic Walter (Morgan Freeman), who's gone mad from being in solitary confinement.  But after that it goes exactly where you expect it to, with him acting like a W.A.S.P. Messiah who has no personal life and only exists to aid minorities and the poor.  It is based on true events, particularly the writings by penologist Thomas O. Murton and reformer Thomas Mott Osborne - the latter actually volunteered to spend time as a prisoner in Auburn Prison in New York.  Over forty years later, this topic sadly remains relevant....