The Shawshank Redemption is based on the novella "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King. The movie tells the story of Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins), a successful banker who is wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. Andy is sentenced to life imprisonment at Shawshank State Penitentiary, where he is met with corruption, cruelty, and despair.