Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954) on Netflix
NR19541h 20mCrimeDramaFilm-Noir
Inmates of Cell Block 11 seize their guards one night. Their leader, James V. Dunn, brings their demands to Warden Reynolds, an administrator who wants the same changes.
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- Netflix4.3/5
- IMDb7.0/102,761 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
One night the men of Cell Block 11 take their guards prisoner to protest the brutal conditions of their prison. James V. Dunn leads the men and speaks to reporters outside the cell block. He sets out the demands: an end to brutal treatment by the guards, better food, less overcrowding and livable conditions. Warden Reynolds runs the prison and has argued for years that those conditions must change. Talks between the inmates and the officials stall because the state's politicians refuse to give ground. The next day, inmates in two other blocks rise as well and are driven back by the state police.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Producer Walter Wanger had recently been in prison for shooting his wife's lover, and that experience motivated Riot in Cell Block 11, whose downbeat ending fits its realistic social commentary.
- Actor Leo Gordon, who plays hardened convict Carney, had served five years in San Quentin for armed robbery; the Folsom warden objected to his casting until Don Siegel convinced him Gordon was no threat.
- Riot in Cell Block 11 was the first film work for Sam Peckinpah, who was hired by Don Siegel as a third assistant casting director.
- The warden at Folsom Prison was reluctant to let the filmmakers shoot there until he was introduced to Sam Peckinpah, whose influential family of judges from Fresno he knew.
- The film was shot on location at California's Folsom State Prison, with real inmates and guards playing background roles.
- Riot in Cell Block 11 was the most successful film in Allied Artists' history at that point, overtaking The Babe Ruth Story, and made a profit of $297,702.
