Riot in Cell Block 11

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Coming as a big surprise to me, the forgotten gem Riot in Cell Block 11 is being released by Criterion on DVD soon.

The film is a semi-documentary noir released in the early 1950s. The film documents a fictional riot at the famous California prison, Folsom.

The film has none of the dramatic shadows found in classic noir. It's shot like a documentary. No showy camera angles. But don't let the films look -- or its lack of stars keep you from seeing it. It's one of a kind.

Directer Don Siegel was still years away from becoming Eastwood's mentor and the director of slick 70s and 80s big-budget productions. Some film historians will tell you he made his mark in the 70s while learning his craft in the 40s and 50s. I think they might be wrong. Siegel directed some of the best noir -- many of which we've showcased here. They were Noir of the Week selections not because of the director, but because the films are just so good. The locked-room mystery The Verdict (1946), Mitchum's The Big Steal (1949), Count the Hours (1953), Ida Lupino in Private Hell #36 (1956), and Eli Wallach in The Lineup (1958) have all been written about here. All are outstanding. Those titles could put Siegel up there with some of the best noir directors. And I didn't even mention the still-imitated but never topped sci-fi noir Invasion of the Body Snatchers!

Riot in Cell Block 11 is a story ripped from today's headlines. It begins like other semi-documentary noirs with newsreel footage over a booming voice. The footage shows prison riots around the country.

The Folsom riot is started after mistreatment of prisoners. The combination of no-name actors and actual prisoners and prison personnel give the film a real feel. And it's shot on location.

My only criticism of the movie is they downplayed some of the horrors of prison life. The filmmakers do a bit of a soft shoe and doesn't show any real brutality. It's certainly not hopeful like Shawshank Redemptio...

This begins with a television interview given by real-life prison reformer Richard McGee who reacts to a well documented spate of prison riots by informing the audience that they, too, must bear their share of responsibility for the conditions endured by the inmates. We are then taken to Block 11 where it does prove remarkably easy - especially given the prevailing tensions across the system - to nobble a guard, take his three colleagues hostage and then within a few hours take control of their entire prison. It's "Dunn" (Neville Brand) who came up with their plan, and escape isn't his intention. He wants both the prison governor (Emile Meyer) and the state one (Thomas Browne Henry) to agree to a series of demands that will ensure a more humane form of incarceration in future. What now ensues is a delicately played game of chicken. The prisoners reckon they don't have much to lose by killing one of the hostages if they don't get what they want. The authorities are terrified that acquiescing might just be a taper to light fires in institutions all across the country. Don Siegel delivers quite a poignant drama as the inmates begin to factionalise whilst the powers that be struggle to resist a more direct intervention and Brand, Meyer and Robert Osterloh's "Colonel" help create a story that offers food for thought. We have no idea why these men are in prison, which means we must make our evaluations as to the modern-day version of torture and solitary confinement imposed to keep discipline or to break spirits, or both, blindly? Yes, it is a bit predictable, but still worth eighty minutes.