Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)

Director:

Don Siegel

Writer:

Richard Collins (writer)

Release Date:

28 February 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Walter Wanger's RAW-TRUTH EXPOSE!

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Prison

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Neville Brand	...	Dunn
Emile Meyer	...	The Warden
Frank Faylen	...	Haskell
Leo Gordon	...	Carnie
Robert Osterloh	...	The Colonel
Paul Frees	...	Monroe
Don Keefer	...	Reporter
Alvy Moore	...	Gator
Dabbs Greer	...	Schuyler
Whit Bissell	...	Snader
James Anderson	...	Acton
Carleton Young	...	Capt. Barrett
Harold J. Kennedy	...	Reporter
William Schallert	...	Reporter
Jonathan Hole	...	Russell

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:(Banned) (1954) | Norway:16 (1955) | West Germany:18 (nf) (original rating) | West Germany:12 (nf) (re-rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1955) | UK:15 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Folsom State Prison - 300 Prison Road, Represa, California, USA

Company:

Allied Artists Pictures

Trivia:

Producer Walter Wanger served a four month prison term for shooting Jennings Lang whom he suspected of having an affair with his wife, Joan Bennett. The experiences he had in prison so unnerved him that upon his release he resolved to make a film about what prison was "really" like, not the typical Hollywood prison film made by people who had never been anywhere near a prison or who had never had any experience with the justice system. He shot the film at California's Folsom Prison and used both guards and inmates as extras and technical advisors. Wanger's cast and crew also differed from the Hollywood "norm"; among them were actor Neville Brand, a Marine veteran of WW II who had killed dozens of Japanese soldiers in battle and was the third most decorated American soldier of the war; actor Leo Gordon, another combat veteran who had once served a stretch in Folsom Prison for armed robbery; and then-production assistant Sam Peckinpah, whose father, Denver Peckinpah, was a widely known and respected law-and-order judge in northern California (and whose name alone was enough to get the warden to allow the film to be shot in Folsom).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Invasion of the Body Snatchers... An Interview with Kevin McCarthy (1985) (TV)

Not to be confused with 'Prisoner Cell Block H'.

Gritty, realistic, semi-documentary style, early film from Don Siegel - two years before 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'. Essentially a social comment film about the poor conditions in prisons, 'Riot in Cell Block 11' doesn't force its point with cliches and manages to be an effective 'B' Movie.

The storyline starts quickly with a group of prisoners taking their warders hostage and barricading themselves in their cell block. Narrative then follows the proceedings to their conclusion, the action never straying from the prison itself.

Film succeeds mainly as a result of not having any forced characters - none of the prisoners are particularly likable and there are none of the usual dumb characterisations usually found in prison movies. The various authority figures deal with the situation they are presented with in a matter of fact way, and the films stark style remains through to the end.

As I was watching 'Riot in Cell Block 11' I was dreading some wise old sage prisoner coming out of the woodwork, due for parole the following week, who was somehow going to contrive to get himself shot just as the riot was coming to a close, to enjoy a lengthy death scene in someone's arms. Thank goodness nothing like this occurs.

Film made me think of 'Killer's Kiss', in that they are both 1950's low-budget movies with great potential, from a soon-to-be famous director. 'Riot in Cell Block 11' succeeds in all areas, and while its targets may be low it certainly deserves more recognition.