Post by StevePulaski on Apr 14, 2016 21:30:06 GMT -5
Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
Directed by: Don Siegel
Directed by: Don Siegel
Carnie (Leo Gordon) threatens Snader (Whit Bissell) with a shank in Riot in Cell Block 11.
Rating: ★★★
Riot in Cell Block 11 depicts a horrifying instance where your average, medium-security prison turns into a Lord of the Flies-esque nightmare without rules or established groundwork to keep its inmates and staff safe. It concerns a massive uprising of inmates due to the atrocious conditions of their prison, and the fate of several guards being in the hands of rowdy, overall uncontrollable prisoners that have a very specific series of demands they're unwilling to compromise.
The film opens with archive footage that showcase a series of massive and violent prison uprisings that have taken place in major cities across the United States, resulting in deaths and subsequent damages estimated at $2.5 million. Finally, we zero in on a prison that's about to receive the same sort of treatment, with a couple of bold men starting what will go down as one of the most notable prison riots in history. The riot is led by James V. Dunn (Neville Brand), and assisted by the reckless and uncontrollable Carnie (Leo Gordon) and somewhat guided by a man known as "the colonel" (Robert Osterloh) for his previous war sentence.
The men make their series of demands for better food, less crowding, particularly in the solitary confinement cells in the currently rioting cell block, No. 11, and visitation privileges to Reynolds Warden (Emile Meyer), a man who has been, if nothing else, conscientious of the poor conditions the inmates face. Nonetheless, sweeping changes to the facility rest in the hands of the state congress, which has been anything but malleable on this particular issue, creating escalating tensions between the prisoners and the officials themselves.
What unfolds is total chaos, with Dunn advocating for brute force, Carnie exacting brute force on anyone that disagrees with them, in one instance, throwing a knife at Warden's shoulder blade, and the colonel trying to keep the prisoners' best interests at the forefront of their motive for the uprising. Meanwhile, director Don Siegel keeps the film positioned in a way that's both naturalistic and extremely unsettling. The appropriately timed musical scores and early emphasis on long, ominous hallways that offers little other than shadows and echoes are all features that makes the prison, in this case, Folsom State Prison, the same one Johnny Cash made famous, a character in itself.
Riot in Cell Block 11 is heavily predicated upon the abilities of actors of varying ages and experience-levels in their careers, and most of them do a strong job at conveying the unbridled anger and unrest that has plagued these individuals ostensibly since being incarcerated. The most notable force here is Gordon, who plays the most unpredictable soul of the bunch; a man who uses his strength, intimidation abilities, and his hot-headed lack of tolerance as a means of getting his way. Gordon looks like a more brutish Patrick Swayze, but instead of challenging you to a dance-off, he'd challenge you to a boxing match, and you could be damn sure he'd win. Every time.
Riot in Cell Block 11 is one of those films that forces you to look at life on the opposite side of the railroad tracks; the side you try to avoid or speed past in your vehicle if you just so happen to come in contact with it. It's easy to say that prisoners are the scum of the Earth, and a great many of them indeed are, but when they bring up valid points, and such points are portrayed in a fairly commendable light in a film that has gone on to receive recognition from The Criterion Collection, is it really that easy to write it off as some kind of propaganda that gets you to sympathize with the "wrong" side? Through grimy cinematography and brutally effective performances, it's a film that gets you to contemplate what you could formerly generalize and speak ill of without ever being faced with the problems yourself. That's the pesky recurring element of cinema that I, and I hope you, keep running into.
Starring: Neville Brand, Leo Gordon, Robert Osterloh, Emile Meyer, and White Bissell. Directed by: Don Siegel.