MovieChat Forums > The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Discussion > Am I the only one who thinks that the Wa...

Am I the only one who thinks that the Warden was a relatively good guy during the 40s and 50s? (First half of the film)

posted 3 years ago by PopMusicFan1927 (114)
8 replies | jump to latest

So I know that lots of folks out there will probably disagree with this; but after a recent re-watch of the film, I feel like the Warden was a relatively decent guy who was admired the Bible and had a point of view that was tough yet fair.

Now, I am not saying that he was the Dalai Lama - the Warden clearly had no issue with authorizing Hadley's use of corporal punishment - yet this was the 40s/50s, the era in which drill sergeants were allowed to physically beat recruits during basic training/initial entry training for the military -corporal punishment was essentially seen as a "norm" in that era.

In the first half of the film- I really got the impression that the Warden was an austere and (relatively) honest guy who genuinely had some form of integrity. His behavior during this part of the film does not seem to be similar to how he was during the portion set in the 60s. Something I noticed was the fact that the Warden wears a cross pin on his lapel during the 40s and 50s segments and does not wear it during the 60s segments. I feel like once we see the Warden with the authoritarian crew cut and the wayfarer glasses, this is when he really has given in and become the corrupt/cruel SOB that he is known for.

Thoughts?

[–] strntz (12735) 3 years ago

I'm sure there was a lot of good to the warden at some point - he would have had to have been a pretty good administrator to get that position.

But people change. It wasn't for a long time into the story that the Warden started to employ his consigns to working paid projects for which he skimmed money.

Regarding wearing or not wearing the cross, I didn't notice that, but in real life, many religious people do illegal, immoral, and even heinous things anyway. I've always said the greatest human talent is to justify anything to themselves. Even if the warden retained his faith, he could have convinced himself that what he was doing was moral *enough* to keep himself out of hot water with the almighty even if it didn't protect him from the feds.

[–] Ranb (10310) 2 years ago

I thought the warden was crap from the beginning. Notice how he simply turned his head away right before the guard used his club on the prisoner who asked "when do we eat around here"? The warden was a coward and cruel from the start.

[–] Mattc164 (618) 2 years ago

The 40s were a different time. I wouldn’t look at the warden turning his head at the beating of a prisoner as a sign of him being a piece of shit.
Prisoners got their assess beat in that day. Hell, they do now when no one’s looking.
I feel the warden was an average man in the beginning. Not overly great, not mean and detestable. Just an ordinary guy living his life within the confines of the law. It was the money and the greed that drove him over the edge. The two things that have corrupted men since the dawn.

[–] Ranb (10310) a year ago

Norton was a coward. He turned his head so that he could deny, even if just to himself, that he allowed routine beatings of prisoners.

[–] strntz (12735) a year ago

I don't think he turned away to not see the beating - the way I remember it was that after the prison wised-off, he turned to Hadley to silently assert his authority by having Hadley pound the guy. He was looking straight ahead to watch the other prisoner's reaction to the discipline.

[–] Melton (5034) a year ago

I always liked that gesture. It looked like a disappointed sigh at the impertinence of the new prisoner’s question and the sad ‘need’ to beat him… and also a signal to Hadley to deliver said beating.

I’d like to do it one day before punching someone for asking an obnoxious question 🤣

I sort of agree with the OP that the warden was an OK guy at the start, a hard-ass but basically doing his job. Greed slowly drives him nuts, though, and he has zero scruples around torturing and killing men who threaten his gravy train, which makes him a total hypocrite given his religious sermonising.

[–] csweetleaf2 (3722) 19 days ago

I thought Norton started off as a decent character in the first half of the film, I didn't think he became hateable until when he sent Andy to the hole after he got angered over Andy mentioning anything to him about the money.

[–] Bucky (342) 19 days ago

Absolute power corrupts.