Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
- General info
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- Synopsis:
Producer Walter Wanger, who had just been released from a prison term after shooting a man he believed, was having an affair with his wife, wanted to make a film about the appalling conditions he saw while he was incarcerated. He got together with director Don Siegel and they came up with this film, in which several prison inmates, to protest brutal guards, substandard food, overcrowding and barely liveable conditions, stage an uprising, in which most of the inmates join, and take several guards hostage. Negotiations between the inmates and prison officials are stymied, however, by politicians interfering with the prison administration, and by dissension and infighting in the inmates' own ranks. - Actors:
- Neville Brand, Emile Meyer, Frank Faylen, Leo Gordon, Robert Osterloh, Paul Frees, Don Keefer, Alvy Moore, Dabbs Greer, Whit Bissell, James Anderson, Carleton Young, Harold J. Kennedy, William Schallert, Jonathan Hole, Robert Patten, William Phipps, Joel Fluellen, Roy Glenn, Joe Kerr
- Directors:
- Don Siegel
- Producers:
- Walter Wanger
- Voiced By:
- James Matthews
- Narrated By:
- James Matthews
- Writers:
- Richard Collins
- Genres:
- Drama
- Collections:
- Behind Bars: Visit These Essential Prison Films, Films & TV by topic
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Reviews (1) of Riot in Cell Block 11
Prison Realism. - Riot in Cell Block 11 review by Steve
Neorealist prison drama shot at Fulsom State Penitentiary, which used inmates as extras. One of the leads, Leo Gordon, had served five years in San Quentin for armed robbery! The title covers the plot pretty well but the action is a vehicle for social protest. While there is balance, this is a liberal film which argues for the kind of progressive changes usually resisted by the tax payer.
Producer Walter Wanger had just served time for shooting his wife's lover and wanted to make an exposé of his experiences. We witness the systemic thuggery which leads to the (costly) violence and vandalism which a more enlightened approach might avoid. The mentally ill, the sex offenders, the first timers and the lifers are all kettled under the cudgel of the demoralised staff.
There was a glut of films in the decade after WWII in response to news reports about prison riots. There is a lot of editorialising, but this is easily the most realistic. Its cast looks authentic even if at times the cons are too articulate. Neville Brand and Gordon are convincing as the leaders of the unrest, with contrasting methods.
Gordon is a psycho who just wants to waste the screws from the start. Brand, who is usually cast as a thug, actually has a strategy! This was Don Siegel's breakthrough as a director. It is a work of procedural social realism, modelled on a real prison riot, and it still feels relevant.