Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

In 1947, in Maine, Andy Dufresne, a banker, is tried and convicted for the double murder of his wife and her lover, despite his claims of innocence. He is sent to Shawshank State Penitentiary to serve a double life sentence. There, he meets Red, a prisoner who is known in the prison for his ability to smuggle in contraband items. Andy asks Red to get him a rock hammer, which he uses to shape rocks he collects from the exercise yard into small sculptures. He later requests a large poster of Rita Hayworth, which he hangs on the wall above his bed. Over the ensuing years, Andy regularly requests updated posters from Red of the latest pin-ups, including Marilyn Monroe and Raquel Welch. Andy tells Red that he likes to imagine he can step through the pictures and be with the actresses.

For his first three years in Shawshank, Andy is repeatedly the target of a gang of prison rapists called "The Sisters,” led by the inmate Bogs Diamond. One day, Andy and other prisoners are tarring a roof when Andy overhears a senior guard named Byron Hadley complaining about the amount of tax he will need to pay on a sum of money bequeathed to him. With his banking knowledge, Andy tells Hadley how he can legally shelter the money from taxation and offers to complete the necessary paperwork, in exchange for three beers apiece for the other men on the tarring job. From then on, Andy is given increased protection from the guards, and attacks from the Sisters cease.

Andy's work assignment is shifted from the laundry to the prison's library. The new assignment also allows Andy to spend time doing financial paperwork for the staff. Andy applies to the Maine State Senate for funding to expand the library. His diligent work results in a major expansion of the library's collection, and Andy helps several prisoners earn equivalency diplomas.

The newest corrupt warden of Shawshank, Norton, starts a program called "Inside-Out", where convicts complete work outside the prison for minimal wages. Normal companies cannot compete with the low cost of Inside-Out workers, so they offer Norton bribes not to bid for contracts. Andy helps Norton launder the money, among several other illegal enterprises orchestrated by Norton.

In February 1963, Andy hears from another prisoner, Tommy Williams, that Williams’ former cellmate Elmo Blatch had bragged about killing a rich golfer and his lover – the wife of a "hotshot banker". On hearing Tommy's story, Andy realizes that this evidence could result in a new trial and a chance at freedom. However, Norton quickly dismisses Tommy’s claims. When Andy accuses Norton of being deliberately obtuse, the warden has him placed in solitary confinement for 20 days.

By the time Andy is released from solitary and the warden agrees to meet with him again, Norton has had Tommy moved to a minimum-security prison. Norton implies to Andy that he used his connections to get Blatch released onto a parole program, making it nearly impossible for Andy to hire a lawyer and pursue a new trial. When Andy threatens to cease all his money laundering and other bookkeeping activities, Norton threatens to put him back into solitary for another 30 days, take away all his protections and privileges, and shut down the library. Andy concedes and things resume as they were before Tommy's revelation, though Red notes that Andy's demeanor becomes dark for the next four years.

In October 1967, Andy tells Red about “Peter Stevens,” a pseudonym under which Andy had sold off his assets and invested the proceeds. Andy tells Red that the key needed to access “Stevens'” documents and assets is hidden beside a wall lining a hayfield in the small town of Buxton, not far from Shawshank. Andy tells Red that one day "Peter Stevens" will own a small seaside resort hotel in Zihuatanejo, Mexico.

On the morning of March 12, 1975, after 28 years in prison, Andy disappears from his locked cell. After a search, Norton discovers that the poster pasted to Andy’s cell wall (Raquel Welch) covers a man-sized hole – Andy had used his rock hammer to slowly chip a tunnel through the wall. Once through the wall, he broke into a sewage pipe, crawled through it, emerged into a stream 500 yards beyond the prison's outer perimeter, and escaped. Norton resigns amidst public disgrace shortly afterward. In September 1975, Red receives a blank postcard from McNary, Texas, a "tiny town" near the Mexican border, and surmises that Andy crossed the border there.

In March 1977, Red is paroled. He hitchhikes to Buxton, searching for the hayfield Andy had described. Upon discovering the spot, he finds a letter wrapped in plastic addressed to him from "Peter Stevens" inviting him to join Andy in Mexico and $1,000 in cash. The story ends with Red preparing to break his parole and follow Andy to Mexico.

The novella has been adapted into a film, The Shawshank Redemption, starring Tim Robbins as Andy, and Morgan Freeman as Red, and a play of the same name. The film version is considered one of the most celebrated movies of all time, being nominated for seven Oscars at the 67th Academy Awards in 1995, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Freeman. Morgan Freeman stated in an interview that this novella is his favorite book.[3]

• Stephen King short fiction bibliography

• The Shawshank Redemption at IMDb