YouHeart I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

HeadlinesExotic Boring

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

mark.waltz A cast of familiar character actors make up prison staff, inmates, reporters and government flunkies. Brutal living conditions get the inmates in an uproar and without unnecessary plot in the way, the riot erupts immediately. This is how to tell stories like this with minimal female intrusion, and just men needing to do what they need to do to fix a horrible situation with brutal conditions. There is also the human angle with prison employees having to open their eyes to see what has lead to this day. Certainly there had been prison movies before but they softened the conditions and minimized the brutality.Among the cast in the huge ensemble are Neville Brand, William Schallert and Dabbs Greer who later played a retired prison guard looking back on his life in "The Green Mile". A brilliant script is aided with Don Siegel's fantastic direction, greatly influenced by what producer Walter Wanger had seen when he was in prison. Sltrady tense to begin with, this gets even more so as the film goes on. The film industry would greatly be influenced by these styles of filmmaking, a much needed transition as permissiveness opened up the story telling field to serious subjects like this.

seymourblack-1 "Riot In Cell Block 11" is a fast-moving, low budget, prison drama that's violent, gritty and extremely hard-hitting. Its story about a riot that's organised to achieve better living conditions for the convicts in a large prison forcefully illustrates the reasons for their grievances and highlights the numerous problems associated with trying to make any meaningful improvements. With its relatively short running time, its style is predictably punchy, direct and economical but what makes it more remarkable is the intelligent, balanced and sincere way in which the whole subject of prison reform is examined.This movie is a typical docu-noir as it features extensive location work, a newsreel-style narration and many actual prisoners and guards appearing as extras. Additionally, one of the main characters is played by Leo Gordon who'd spent time in prison for armed robbery and its producer Walter Wanger also served a sentence for shooting a man who he believed was having an affair with his wife (movie star Joan Bennett). Wanger's experience made him a passionate advocate of prison reform and no doubt, is one of the reasons why the movie provides such a powerful and authentic picture of prison life in the 1950s.A group of prisoners break out of their cells one night and start a riot before overcoming their guards and holding them as hostages. The prisoners' leader James V Dunn (Neville Brand) makes the men's grievances known to the warden and threatens to kill the guards unless he's allowed to explain the men's demands to the press. Warden Reynolds (Emile Meyer) agrees and Dunn subsequently tells a group of reporters that the prisoners want an immediate end to overcrowding, terrible food and the practice of housing mentally ill convicts with the general prison population. Furthermore, they want an end to the beatings that are routinely meted out by the guards.In response to the trouble at the prison, the governor had sent his emissary, Commissioner Haskell (Frank Faylen) to negotiate on his behalf but on hearing the prisoners' demands, he refuses to make any concessions and threatens to have all the men executed unless they hand the guards back unharmed. Dunn's second-in-command, Crazy Mike Carnie (Leo Gordon), a man who's less stable than Dunn, becomes so incensed at Haskell's stance that he throws a knife at him and wounds him in the chest.To reinforce his intransigent stance, Haskell arranges for the state police to end the problems in cell block 11 by blowing a hole in a wall and the prisoners respond by tying their hostages to the same wall. Surprisingly, however, before the planned explosion takes place, the prisoners receive a message to confirm that the governor has agreed their demands and their victory is also reported in the newspapers. The events that follow don't work out in the way that the prisoners had envisaged and ultimately, they're left with mixed feelings.The divisions that exist within both sides who are involved in the dispute at the prison are clearly described as Dunn has to control the recklessly violent Mike Carnie, see off a challenge by another psychopathic prisoner who wants to take over the leadership role and confront the apathy of another man who doesn't want to participate because he expects to be paroled soon. Similarly, the sympathetic warden, who has long advocated the reforms that the prisoners want is forced to follow the course dictated by his political bosses who have their own reasons for not wanting to make concessions.Neville Brand and Leo Gordon are well cast as the two leaders of the riot and Emile Meyer is incredibly subtle and strong in his portrayal of the warden who carries out his orders with great dignity whilst at the same time feeling completely frustrated by regularly seeing men so brutalised by their experience in prison that 65% of them consistently re-offend. "Riot In Cell Block 11" is a movie that says a great deal in a short space of time and commendably recognises the complexities involved with prison reform rather than just resorting to using stereotypes and promoting simplistic solutions.

Spikeopath The occupants of Cell Block 11 take guards as prisoners to protest at the brutal conditions in their prison. The problems are many, be it overcrowding, awful food, the mixing of psychopaths with safe category prisoners, or the treatment dished out by sadistic guards. The inmates have had enough. So led by James V. Dunn (Neville Brand), the cons draw up a list of changes they want to see enforced, changes that liberal minded Warden Reynolds (Emile Meyer) actually concurs with. But as the clock ticks down the cons are beset with in fighting, while on the outside the press and politics start to take a hold.Tho what is known as a "B" movie, and with a budget to match such a programmer, Riot In Cell Block 11 remains today one of the finest entries in the incarceration based genre of film. As relevant today as it was back then, the film has much grit and realism coursing thru its veins. Directed by Don Siegel (Dirty Harry/Escape From Alcatraz), it's written by Richard Collins (uncredited on Invasion Of The Body Snatchers), but it's with producer Walter Wanger that the core of the piece belongs. In 1951 Wanger was convicted of the attempted murder of Jennings Lang. Lang was having an affair with Wanger's wife, and when Wanger caught them in the act, he shot Lang in the groin. Wanger, after copping a plea of temporary insanity, served four months in San Quentin Prison, where his experiences there provided the genesis for Riot in Cell Block 11.Shot in a semi-documentary style on location at California's Folsom Prison, Siegel and Wanger used actual inmates and guards to authenticate their movie. This was made possible by a certain Sam Peckinpah, who here was doing his first film work as a third assistant director. Legend has it that the Warden of Folsom knew "Bloody Sam's" family and thus allowed the makers into the prison to film. The film also benefits by not having big name stars filling out the cast, Brand & Meyer are joined by Frank Faylen, Leo Gordon, Robert Osterloh, Paul Frees & Whit Bissell. Solid performers to a man, but no headliners, and this helps, as they mix with the real crims and coppers, the realistic feel the makers created.Siegel's movie isn't looking for simple answers to a persistent problem, it could have easily just gone for a death or glory violent piece of entertainment. But instead it's laced with intelligence and never sinks to preaching, in fact its finale is a rather sombre footnote to the whole episode. The characters are excellently drawn too, and it's good to see that Collins and co don't just make this a cons against authority piece, they clash with each other. Thus hitting home that not all the cons are singing off of the same page. As Warden Reynolds tells when asked about riot leader Dunn, "he's a psychopath, but he's an intelligent psychopath - just like many others on the outside" it's a telling piece of writing. As is the fact that there's no soft soaping either, there's no redemptive love interests or old sage lags to talk common sense into the ring leaders, it's tough uncompromising stuff.And while we are noting the need for reform, feeling a bond with the prisoners complaints, we are then jolted to not forget that evil men do still reside here. Evil that is perfectly essayed by an excellent Leo Gordon (a real life San Quentin resident) as Crazy Mike Carnie. Watch out for one scene involving a call to a guards wife, the impact is like taking a blow from a claw hammer. You will understand why Siegel said Gordon was the scariest man he ever met.A top draw movie that doesn't take sides, it has both sides of the fence firmly in its sights. With us the public observing from the middle. 10/10

zetes An exceptional social issue film about prisoners rioting, trying to get the press to tell the stories of their mistreatment and trying to get the government to effect change in the prison system. Everything about it is absolutely top-notch: the screenplay and the direction are realistic and very, very taut. Don Siegel, I assume, didn't have a huge budget on this one, and he accomplishes an amazing lot. I love the way Richard Collin's script pits the rioters not only against the establishment, but also against each other. In a cell block full of so many differing personalities (or perhaps "criminalities" is a better word), they're not all likely to agree. The acting is almost universally excellent, with the one exception of Emile Meyer, who plays the Warden. He's a little creaky, but all the others, including Neville Brand, Leo Gordon (who had been a real prisoner in the prison seen in this film), and Robert Osterloh among many others, are pretty much perfect. One strong moment after another makes Riot in Cell Block 11 a must-see gem, a low-budget masterpiece. 10/10.