Without resorting to the type of melodrama that some of the Warner Brothers pictures of the same era tended to do, "Riot in Cell Block 11" is a fairly gritty piece of work that surprises with characters on both sides of the jail cell expressing similar views. The film attempts to influence the viewer toward a need to improve prison conditions in general, and in that regard, the warden in charge (Emile Meyer) agrees with the prisoners that something needs to be done to improve physical conditions, train them for a trade once they're released and keep the mentally challenged separate from the population at large.
That mentally challenged part gets a workout in the story from inmate Crazy Mike Carnie, realistically portrayed by veteran character actor Leo Gordon. Until researching this picture I had no idea he was once incarcerated himself for armed robbery, and I never noticed his formidable physical appearance before in a handful of Western movies and TV series appearances. Suffice it to say he could have handled himself credibly in any situation he might have encountered.
The choice of leader for the prison uprising featured here was also a casting coup; Neville Brand had the perfect face and demeanor for a convict ready to explode. His no nonsense approach demanded the killing of a guard for every prisoner who died when the authorities attempted to regain control. Interestingly, things didn't go that far even when one of the inmates died following the state police advance on the prisoners during the siege.
Though the newspaper headlines proclaimed 'Rioters Win' once the state governor signed off on the prisoner list of demands, the victory for the inmates was a short lived one. One almost feels sorry for convict leader Dunn (Brand) when he learns he'll face charges and a potential thirty year prison term for leading the riot, offset by the warden's partial victory in getting needed repairs for the prison and having the mental defectives like Carnie segregated from the main population. That was a perfect moment for Dunn to go ballistic on the warden but the picture didn't go in that direction.
For a more recent picture, 1980's "Brubaker" does a commendable job of exposing corruption in the prison system, with an emphasis on the attitude of politicians who would rather look the other way when it comes to prison reform. In that one, Robert Redford portrays a newly assigned prison warden who integrates his way into the prison population to take on corruption from the inside.
That mentally challenged part gets a workout in the story from inmate Crazy Mike Carnie, realistically portrayed by veteran character actor Leo Gordon. Until researching this picture I had no idea he was once incarcerated himself for armed robbery, and I never noticed his formidable physical appearance before in a handful of Western movies and TV series appearances. Suffice it to say he could have handled himself credibly in any situation he might have encountered.
The choice of leader for the prison uprising featured here was also a casting coup; Neville Brand had the perfect face and demeanor for a convict ready to explode. His no nonsense approach demanded the killing of a guard for every prisoner who died when the authorities attempted to regain control. Interestingly, things didn't go that far even when one of the inmates died following the state police advance on the prisoners during the siege.
Though the newspaper headlines proclaimed 'Rioters Win' once the state governor signed off on the prisoner list of demands, the victory for the inmates was a short lived one. One almost feels sorry for convict leader Dunn (Brand) when he learns he'll face charges and a potential thirty year prison term for leading the riot, offset by the warden's partial victory in getting needed repairs for the prison and having the mental defectives like Carnie segregated from the main population. That was a perfect moment for Dunn to go ballistic on the warden but the picture didn't go in that direction.
For a more recent picture, 1980's "Brubaker" does a commendable job of exposing corruption in the prison system, with an emphasis on the attitude of politicians who would rather look the other way when it comes to prison reform. In that one, Robert Redford portrays a newly assigned prison warden who integrates his way into the prison population to take on corruption from the inside.