Page "The Longest Yard (1974 film)" Paragraph 3

Crewe eventually builds trust amongst key members of the prison community.

Promising them that they can inflict excessive injuries on their opponents, he manages to form a team capable of playing the guards.

The team includes the most dangerous and violent prisoners.

Among the most impressive are Samson ( Richard Kiel ), a former professional weightlifter, and Connie Shokner ( Robert Tessier ), a fearsome serial killer and martial arts expert.

With the help of the clever Caretaker ( James Hampton ), veteran former professional player Nate Scarborough ( Michael Conrad ), " Granny " Granville ( Harry Caesar ), long-term prisoner Pop ( John Steadman ) — who remains in prison far past his original sentence for having struck Warden Hazen when the warden was just a rookie guard — and the warden's amorous secretary, Miss Toot ( Bernadette Peters ), Crewe molds the prisoners into a smoothly working football team named the " Mean Machine ".