Straight Time
After 6 years in prison, Max Dembo, a career criminal is released on parole. Max wants to go straight, but doesn't like the restrictions of parole, much to the chagrin of his parole officer, Earl Frank. Some conditions -living in a half-way house, not associating with past friends and associates, no driving, and no drugs, all may be more difficult than he imagines especially as his encounters with Earl become increasingly tense. The way Max deals with Earl is the same way he deals with everything: his way or no way Through his life in the outside world, Max embarks on a relationship with Jenny Mercer, an employment agency clerk whom he meets while looking for a job. Jenny knows about his past criminal history, but he ends up only telling her so much of his current life if only to protect her - just in case.
Despite its modest budget of $4.0M, Straight Time became a financial success, earning $9.9M worldwide—a 148% return.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Straight Time (1978) exemplifies strategically placed narrative architecture, characteristic of Ulu Grosbard's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 54 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.0, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Max Dembo is released from prison after six years, collecting his belongings and entering the outside world as a parolee attempting to go straight.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when Earl Frank illegally searches Max's room, plants heroin, and violates him back to prison on false charges, demonstrating the system's corruption and impossibility of going straight.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 28 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to Max makes the active choice to confront and assault Earl Frank in his home, forcing him to admit to planting the drugs - crossing the line back into criminal behavior and abandoning any attempt to go straight., moving from reaction to action.
At 57 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Notably, this crucial beat Max and his crew successfully pull off a major jewelry store heist, netting significant cash and jewels - a false victory where Max feels in control and professionally accomplished, believing he can manage both crime and his relationship with Jenny., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 85 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, During a botched robbery, Max's partner Jerry Schue is shot and killed by police - a literal death that represents the collapse of Max's illusion that he could successfully manage a criminal life., demonstrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 91 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. Max fully accepts his identity as a career criminal and abandons any pretense of normalcy - he commits to running from the law permanently, rejecting Jenny and any possibility of a legitimate life., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Straight Time's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping Straight Time against these established plot points, we can identify how Ulu Grosbard utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Straight Time within the crime genre.
Ulu Grosbard's Structural Approach
Among the 3 Ulu Grosbard films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.3, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Straight Time takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Ulu Grosbard filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional crime films include The Bad Guys, Batman Forever and 12 Rounds. For more Ulu Grosbard analyses, see The Deep End of the Ocean, Falling in Love.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Max Dembo is released from prison after six years, collecting his belongings and entering the outside world as a parolee attempting to go straight.
Theme
Parole officer Earl Frank tells Max that the system is designed to help him, but Max must follow the rules exactly - introducing the theme of whether an ex-con can truly escape the system.
Worldbuilding
Max navigates his new life: dealing with his condescending parole officer Earl Frank, finding a job at a canning factory, living in a halfway house, and reconnecting with old friends while trying to stay clean.
Disruption
Earl Frank illegally searches Max's room, plants heroin, and violates him back to prison on false charges, demonstrating the system's corruption and impossibility of going straight.
Resistance
Max debates his options while temporarily jailed, gets released due to lack of evidence, and contemplates revenge against Earl Frank while wrestling with whether to return to crime or continue trying to go legitimate.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Max makes the active choice to confront and assault Earl Frank in his home, forcing him to admit to planting the drugs - crossing the line back into criminal behavior and abandoning any attempt to go straight.
Mirror World
Max meets Jenny Mercer, a young employment agency worker who represents normalcy and the legitimate life he could have had - she becomes romantically interested in him despite his criminal past.
Premise
Max fully embraces the criminal life he knows best, reconnecting with old accomplice Willy Darin, planning and executing robberies, while maintaining his relationship with Jenny and experiencing the rush and competence of his criminal expertise.
Midpoint
Max and his crew successfully pull off a major jewelry store heist, netting significant cash and jewels - a false victory where Max feels in control and professionally accomplished, believing he can manage both crime and his relationship with Jenny.
Opposition
The consequences close in: Willy becomes unreliable and paranoid, partners prove incompetent or untrustworthy, Jenny becomes aware of Max's criminal activities, and the police investigation intensifies as Max's violent instincts escalate.
Collapse
During a botched robbery, Max's partner Jerry Schue is shot and killed by police - a literal death that represents the collapse of Max's illusion that he could successfully manage a criminal life.
Crisis
Max flees the scene alone, processing the death of his partner and the reality that his criminal path leads only to death or imprisonment - he's isolated, hunted, and faces the dark truth that he cannot escape what he is.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Max fully accepts his identity as a career criminal and abandons any pretense of normalcy - he commits to running from the law permanently, rejecting Jenny and any possibility of a legitimate life.
Synthesis
Max executes his escape plan, robbing a final store for traveling money, attempting to take Jenny with him but facing her rejection, and fleeing alone as a fugitive with police in pursuit across the California landscape.
Transformation
Max drives alone on the highway, fully isolated and on the run, having transformed from a parolee attempting to go straight into a hardened fugitive criminal - the same but worse than his opening image, confirming the tragic impossibility of redemption within a corrupt system.