It has been my misfortune to have only seen a few of Don Siegel’s films. I’ve seen his major work, Dirty Harry, as well as Charley Varrick, where Walter Matthau ditches the comedy shtick to play a bank robber that steals money belonging to the mob. Matthau has said in interviews that he hated the film, but John Cusack has similar feelings regarding his two collaborations with “Savage” Steve Holland (Better Off Dead, One Crazy Summer).
Actually, it was Cusack, or rather a character he played, that sprung to mind while watching Siegel’s 1954 prison drama Riot in Cell Block 11. As the title implies there is a riot and it occurs in cell block number 11. The Cusack correlation comes from, believe it or not, Con Air. I figure if you look hard enough you can connect a lot of things to that ensemble action thriller. As United States Marshal Vince Larkin Cusack played the character more contemplative, less offensive when dealing with criminals. Quoting Dostevsky (Crime & Punishment) to make a point about prison being more about the housing and less about the rehabilitation of prisoners. Granted this observation was made in a Jerry Bruckheimer action vehicle starring Nicolas Cage but it isn’t without merit.
Debuting as part of the famed Criterion Collection, Riot in Cell Block 11 tackles politics and social issues that are still relevant today. The topic is the unfair treatment of inmates in our prison system. Those same problems as depicted in the 1954 film have yet to be fixed. That was sixty years ago. The inspiration for the film came from producer Walter Wanger after he spent time in prison for shooting his wife’s secret lover. His four-month prison sentence, though short considering the crime, had a profound affect on him and he felt the need to produce “the greatest prison movie ever made.”
Wanger’s goal was to replicate some of the experiences he endured, which included the brutal treatment of inmates and poor living conditions. He wanted America to have a cinematic portrait of how flawed the prison system really was. Opening in documentary fashion, we see a series of prison riots and the measures taken to stem the insurgence. Then the film settles into a straightforward narrative. What’s remarkable is that Siegel was able to film at Folsom State Prison with real guards and inmates in minor roles. Both Siegel and Wanger worked desperately to persuade the warden to use the facility but the warden originally gave an adamant “No!” That is until the warden met the third assistant casting director (aka the personal assistant to Mr. Siegel) and learned that the casting director’s father was a jurist in Northern California with a reputation as a “hanging judge.” That casting director was Sam Peckinpah. Riot in Cell Block 11 was Peckinpah’s first film work.
When a tough inmate named James Dunn (Neville Brand) stages an organized riot by taking a few guards prisoner he does so not to get a get out jail free card; he wants to talk to Warden Reynolds to request better living conditions and put an end to the abusive guards and torture. The warden agrees with Dunn’s requests, but it is the politicians that will not bend to the inmates’ demands. In due time a minor revolt develops between a fellow inmate named Carnie (Leo Gordon, who actually served time in Folsom years prior to production for armed robbery) who would rather kill all the guards than make a deal.
There’s an aura of authenticity to the way Don Siegel approaches the material. From getting permission to shoot inside Folsom to the destructive nature of tossing papers and twin-bed mattresses over upper-level railings to the floor below, Siegel gets the most out of every frame and knowing when to cut close to the action. Even the downbeat ending is realistic as being indicative that few good things are born from evil. The only redemption is that the riot was front-page news back when newspapers accounted for something.
Having found that theaters showed the movie in aspect ratios ranging from 1.37:1 to 1.85:1, the Criterion label went with a 1.37:1 presentation for the home release. The transfer was taken from the original 35mm negative was restored in 2K. According to the booklet inside the dual-format release, “thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices and warps were manually removed” giving this now sixty-year-old film a pristine look.
The soundtrack isn’t as overly impressive with its uncompressed monoaural soundtrack. It lacks intensity, but Criterion remains true to form with the audio, which was remastered from a 35mm optical soundtrack negative with all of the “clicks, thumps, hiss and hum” manually removed.
The supplements included aren’t many, but they are plentiful. We begin with an audio commentary from film scholar Matthew H. Bernstein who gives an overview of the film’s production. In the process he discusses how much of an impact it had upon its release in 1954 and how it was viewed among the film press of the era.
Up next is a radio broadcast of The Challenge of Our Prisoners (60 minutes). This contains excerpts from an NBC radio documentary series hosted by Peg and Walter McGraw that was produced in 1953. These are the same subjects and issues that are brought up in the feature film released the following year.
Don Siegel’s son, Kristoffer Tabori, provides narration for a pair of excerpts. The first is from Stuart Kaminsky’s 1974 book ‘Don Siegel: A Director’. It runs thirteen minutes and the focus is on the making of Riot in Prison Cell 11. It is followed by an interview with actor Neville Brand. The second excerpt (26 minutes) is from Siegel’s 1993 autobiography, “A Siegel Film,” with the focus again being about the prison drama.
Inside the keepcase is a Criterion illustrated booklet with an essay by Chris Fujiwara, a 1954 Look magazine article from producer Walter Wanger, and a written tribute to Don Siegel by Sam Peckinpah. The tribute is a great little read, especially Peckinpah’s acknowledgement that Siegel “was and is constantly amazed at the idiocy of our industry, while still being delighted by its competence and professionalism.”
Even after a single viewing I can lament that Riot in Cell Block 11 is one of the best prison movies ever made. Granted my viewing history of prison movies is small, but it is hard to ignore the way Siegel tackles the subject of incarceration and how issues that were a problem in the ‘50s continue to plague the jail system today. The use of Folsom State Prison and real-life prisoners and guards in minor roles adds to the film’s authenticity. This when matched with Siegel’s camerawork and Criterion’s painstakingly remastered audio and video and worthwhile extras makes this dual-format Blu-ray/DVD release an easy recommendation.
The Criterion Collection presents Riot in Cell Block 11. Directed by: Don Siegel. Written by: Richard Collins. Starring: Neville Brand, Leo Gordon, Emile Meyer and Frank Faylen. Running time: 80 minutes. Released: April 22, 2014.
