Riot (1969)

A riot in a state prison is staged to cover up an escape attempt, during which many inmates and guards are killed. Shot on location at Arizona State Prison.

Director:

Buzz Kulik

Writers:

Frank Elli (novel), James Poe

Stars:

Jim Brown, Gene Hackman, Mike Kellin

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jim Brown	...	Cully Briston
Gene Hackman	...	Red Fraker
Mike Kellin	...	Bugsy
Gerald S. O'Loughlin	...	Grossman
Ben Carruthers	...	Surefoot
Clifford David	...	Mary Sheldon
Bill Walker	...	Jake
Jerry Thompson	...	Fisk
Ricky Summers	...	Gravel Gertie
Mr. Gerri	...	Queen #1
John Neiderhauser	...	Queen #2
Frank Eyman	...	The Warden (as Warden Frank A. Eyman)

Storyline

Cully Briston is serving a 5 year sentence in an Arizona prison. He's not getting along well with the Sergeant of the guards who, on finding a bottle of moonshine near Cully, sends him to the isolation block. Arriving there Cully discovers that inmates have taken over the block and have taken the guards as hostages to demand better living conditions. Inmate Red Fraker, leader of the revolt, has a secret plan to escape with a few other inmates and asks Cully to join them. Red explains there's an old tunnel under the prison auditorium of which prison staff is unaware. Cully plans to brew moonshine to get the other inmates drunk while the select few escape.

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Plot Keywords:

corrupt warden | corrupt | stabbing | prison | arizona | 

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Taglines:

Freedom ... by any means necessary.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 May 1969 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Motín

Filming Locations:

Eloy, Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

William Castle Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is based on a non-fiction novel by Frank Elli. The novel described a real riot that took place in an Arizona state prison.

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Soundtracks

RAG MOP
Words and Music by Johnny Lee Wills and Deacon Anderson

User Reviews

it's okay if you could put your reasoning aside

okay, here are what i don't think this movie and its screenplay are good enough: 1) never thought the black prisoners and the white ones could be so united in any prison history 2) the leader of the white prisoner, and the leader of the black ones seemed to respect each other quite well, they also cooperated with each other like brothers. the movie was released in 1969, and probably shot in the year before. do you think in that era and time frame, the blacks could have mixed with the whites so smoothly? they were used to be oil and water, they never could be mixed together, no matter what. 3) the black guy got a thick and high quality cow hide belt, and when he wanted to punch somebody, he just unbelted it from his waist and wrapped around his right fist. are you sure, dude? prisoners could have regular belts around his waists and never considered a dangerous weapon to other inmates and the prisons authorities? if shanks made in plastic or metal are considered deadly weapons, what about the belts? they could also be used as deadly weapons, don't you think? there are so many details that didn't feel all right but you can also let them go if you really need to watch a not quite exciting prison riot film but either a black prisoner's day dream or fantasy.