Warden Hazen (Albert) wants to put together a big football game pitting his prisoners against the thuggish, but well-seasoned guards' team, so he cuts a secret deal with former-pro inmate Paul Crewe (Reynolds) to throw the game in exchange for parole. Crewe assembles his convict squad, dubbed the "Mean Machine," and morale is high. But when game time arrives, he faces a choice between freedom and loyalty to his team-mates.

Robert Aldrich's crowd-pleasing prison/football comedy makes us favor the irreverent convict-outsiders (played by a who's who of 1970s NFL stars) while disdaining the opposing bulls, led by ruthless warden Hazen and the vicious Capt. Knauer (Ed Lauter). Real-life collegiate player Burt Reynolds scored his first post-"Deliverance" hit with his assured, charismatic portrayal of Paul Crewe. Aldrich and Oscar-winning editor Michael Luciano infuse energy and urgency into the climactic game itself, spanning a whopping 47 minutes on-screen, which helps make "Yard" a winner by any measure. Beware the recent re-make.