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 | psychotronic film | dead man with eyes open | 

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Taglines:

Freedom ... by any means necessary.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

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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Alternate Versions

An edited, "PG" rated version was released to theaters in 1970. Video version is the complete "R" rated version.

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Soundtracks

100 YEARS
Lyric by Robert Wells
Music by Krzysztof Komeda (as Christopher Komeda)
Sung by Bill Medley

User Reviews

Worth a look for fans of Hackman and Brown.

"Riot" is a decent prison film, produced by William Castle (known as a director of things like "House on Haunted Hill") and directed by Buzz Kulik ('Brian's Song'). It stars Jim Brown, as cool as ever, as inmate Cully Briston, who realizes that the men of the isolation block have taken over that portion of the prison. Led by Red Fraker (Gene Hackman), they intend to pull off an escape, while pretending to the outside world to be petitioning for better conditions.

Ad copy may try to sell this as some kind of action film, but in truth it's more of a drama with some thriller elements. And it's NOT as violent as some people may fear, with some little bits of gore here and there. It doesn't attempt to show the lives of most of these inmates before their "riot". Cully has his misgivings about the whole thing, but gets caught up in it just the same, trying to talk some sense into Red.

The main asset of "Riot" is a degree of realism. It was based on a novel by Frank Elli, which was itself inspired by a real-life riot in a Minnesota prison. It features a number of inmates in supporting roles and bits, and even casts tough-as-nails real-life warden Frank Eyman to basically play himself. While it may not be truly action-packed, it has some great moments, especially the escape scenes near the end which are fraught with tension. The whole thing is professionally packaged, and nicely scored by Christopher Komeda.

Hackman is fun as the confident ringleader, while Brown remains highly watchable in his more even-keeled portrayal as a convict with some principles. Mike Kellin (who would return to the prison genre a decade later with "On the Yard"), Ben Carruthers (as the volatile, violent "Joe Surefoot"), and Clifford David (Beethoven in "Bill & Teds' Excellent Adventure") co-star as various inmates. Gerald S. O'Loughlin is good as a guard who's tried to dominate Cully for years, then turns weak after being used as a hostage.

"Riot" won't take a place as one of the great prison films, but it does entertain solidly for 97 minutes, which is all you can really ask for sometimes.

Seven out of 10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 May 1969 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

Riot

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