Saturday, January 23, 2010

1954 - RIOT IN CELL BLOCK 11, this is a great film


Finally a great movie.  The producer Walter Wanger, had shot a guy who was having an affair with his wife Joan Bennett.  He ended up going to jail for assault and while in jail he was shocked at the horrific conditions that the convicts were living in.  When he got out he decided to make a film about prison life.


Wanger hired Don Siegel a talented B movie director in the best sense of the word.  Siegel brought speed to this film.  Riot in Cell Block 11 moves fast and doesn't have a dull moment in it.  Siegel and Wanger got permission to shoot a lot of the film on location in Folsum Prison and that really adds to the look of the film.

 

The cast has a bunch of talented character actors.   The film is around 76 minutes long and makes it's points about overcrowding and the poor treatment of the convicts without hammering your head over it like a good liberal would.

 A very impressive film.

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