It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Here is a jail flick made in sympathy to the prisoners, not that this was so rare before criminals became much more violent in the 1960's. Fed up with the inhumane conditions within the penal system, the inmates rebel. A guard is knocked out and locked up, his keys used to free the other prisoners, and the jail is overtaken in short order. The scene where the prisoners yell and empty the contents of their cells everywhere makes for powerful cinematography.The prisoners make their demands known, and they want them printed in the papers for all the public to see. They want to be involved in a work program instead of sitting idle; they want the jail to be less crowded and better organized. If their needs are not met, guards will be killed, and the blame will be placed on the penal system authorities. The liberal warden of the prison actually wants to grant their demands, but his budget is constrained by politicians far removed from the system, and thus he is helpless as the clock ticks down. The film is non-stop excitement and drama. I liked seeing the relationship between the prisoners, and their roles in the revolt. Neville Brand, with a gravelly voice and a build like a Sherman tank, is perfectly cast as the group leader and negotiator.The movie is based on a story of an actual prison riot in the 1950s, and producer Walter Wanger's experiences as an inmate. Isn't it odd that celebrities get religion on the issue of prison reform AFTER they have been behind bars? Dan Rostenkowski comes to mind too.

Using nothing but character players and the personal recollections of what producer Walter Wanger saw while he did a stretch in the joint Don Siegel crafted a real masterpiece of a prison film in Riot In Cell Block 11. In fact the lack of star players gives this film a nice ring of authenticity to it.Cell Block 11 in this particular prison is the solitary ward, the place where the toughest cases are assigned. With a pair like Neville Brand and Leo Gordon in that block would you think otherwise.Anyway to protest the conditions they're in the prisoners led by Brand stage a riot where they take the guards assigned to that block hostage. When Brand is wounded in a quarrel, Leo Gordon takes over leadership and he's belonging in the psycho ward. But he's the toughest guy in the joint and nobody is going to argue with him.Emile Meyer does a great job as the warden who is a decent and compassionate individual trying to affect a few reforms. His pleas fall on deaf ears because then as now, convicts don't have any votes and by definition they are an anti-societal group. Meyer's humanity is contrasted with that of Frank Faylen who is a political appointee and tries a grandstand play with the convicts that almost gets him killed.This is as realistic a prison drama as you will ever get. Big accolades go here to Walter Wanger who had an incredible unique perspective of life on the inside and turned it with Don Siegel's help into a great motion picture.

Hook the 80-minutes to a generator and LA would light up for a week. Staging action at Folsom Prison replete with their convicts was a real coup. But the action is not meaningless or action for its own sake. Instead the raw physicality underlines sheer frustration and tactical maneuvering between fed-up cons and hamstrung officials. Prison conditions are woeful, while administrators have little money to fix them. So now there's a trash filled riot raining down. Still, it's the 1950's, so don't expect language or conduct that's too explicitSurprisingly, there are no heroes on either side, nor is anyone particularly likable. And thank goodness, movie stars were not hired for the leads. That would have gotten in the way of the message. Instead, it's a familiar if no-name cast. But Brand and Gordon are chillingly perfect in their tough-guy roles, while Meyer delivers subtly as the conflicted warden.Also, don't expect one side or the other to be vindicated. Instead, both are shown as on the receiving end of a John Q. Public that basically doesn't care what prison conditions are like or what it takes to maintain them. That's the movie's point—to alert the public of the time as to why prison riots occur. And also, to humanize the cons without sugar coating them.Essentially leaders on both sides act rationally given their aims and needs. (Except for Crazy Mike who should be institutionalized.) Director Siegel films in fairly straightforward style, putting camera emphasis where it belongs. On the whole, there may be more theatrical or bigger budget prison movies, e.g. Brute Force (1948). But none reveals more about dynamics between state, warden, guards, and cons. Besides it's a heckuva compelling movie despite the passing decades. And thanks producer Wanger for turning your own stint in jail into a public benefit.

Several prison inmates, to protest brutal guards, substandard food, overcrowding and barely livable conditions, stage an uprising, in which most of the inmates join, and take several guards hostage. Negotiations between the inmates and prison officials are stymied, however, by politicians interfering with the prison administration, and by dissension and infighting in the inmates' own ranks.The producer Walter Wanger (known for Ford's "Stagecoach" and Hitchcock's "Foreign Correspondent") had recently been in prison for shooting his wife's lover, and his experience there motivated this production. The film was shot on location at Folsom State Prison with real inmates and guards playing background roles."Riot in Cell Block 11" was the first film work for Sam Peckinpah, who was hired as a third assistant casting director by Don Siegel. Wanger and Siegel would team up again two years later for "Invasion of the Body Snatchers".The Criterion release is a must-have, with plenty of background information on those involved, the inspiration, related writings and an excellent audio commentary from a noted film historian.