I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Shawshank Redemption. Twenty? Thirty? I’ll probably see it that many times again before I shuffle off. It is one of my favorite motion pictures. It is one of the best ever made. Out of all of its magic — and every freakin’ frame is nothing but the stuff — the one slice that never fails to break my heart and reduce me to a blubbering snuffling wreck no matter how many times I see it is this brilliant, brilliant one — a short film in and of itself, starring James Whitmore:
The actor died today in Malibu at the age of 87. Rest in peace.