Directed by Don Siegel and written by Richard Collins, Riot in Cell Block 11 is the story of a riot among prisoners toward the corrupt guards and people at the prison. The film is a look into the world of prison as it feature a mixture of real actors and real-life prisoners in a chaotic setting that is shot in an actual prison to blur the lines between reality and fiction. Starring Neville Brand, Emile Meyer, Frank Faylen, Leo Gordon, and Robert Osterloh. Riot in Cell Block 11 is a gripping and evocative film from Don Siegel.
Set in a prison during a tumultuous time where prisoners and the authority become more unease with each other. The film revolves a group of prisoners in a prison cell block who stage a riot against the guards and keep them hostage forcing the warden to be the negotiator amidst pressures from the government. It’s a film with a simple premise yet it is about a test of will and wits between the warden Reynolds (Emile Meyer) and the lead prisoner James V. Dunn (Neville Brand) as the latter is standing up for his fellow prisoners due to the horrible living conditions, terrible food, brutal guards, and overcrowding. Richard Collins’ screenplay show what these prisoners are dealing with as it would be a moment in fooling a guard where everything come into play.
While Reynolds is aware that everything isn’t perfect, he is willing to listen to the prisoners with Dunn getting advice from a reasonable inmate known as the Colonel (Robert Osterloh) and a more crazed inmate in Mike Carnie (Leo Gordon). Yet, Reynolds is dealing with the police commissioner Haskell (Frank Faylen) who refuses to listen to the prisoners. It would eventually lead to some showdown where Haskell’s approach would prove to be troubling forcing Reynolds to take matters for a non-violent resolution where he knew that if an inmate is killed that the inmates would kill a guard.
Don Siegel’s direction is definitely intense in terms of the atmosphere that looms throughout the film as it is shot on location in the actual Folsom State Prison that was provided by the connections of Siegel’s assistant/dialogue coach in Sam Peckinpah. The scenes inside the prisons show Siegel using a lot of wide and medium shots to get into the scope of how big the halls are but also playing into the claustrophobia into the lack of space for the cells the prisoners have to live in. While there are some exterior shots at the prison, Siegel does maintain an air of suspense for a sequence in which state police officers try to deal with other prisoners rioting from other cell blocks where it’s Siegel’s attention-to-detail that is key into the moment where something is going to happen. The scenes where Reynolds and Dunn would meet where they’re separated by a door with the press watching just add to the dramatic stakes as Siegel knows where to frame everything and see what would happen. Overall, Siegel creates a chilling yet engrossing film about a prison riot.
Cinematographer Russell Harlan does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography from the low-key yet mesmerizing lighting in the interior of the halls and for some of the exteriors at night to the usage of natural lights for the daytime exterior scenes. Editor Bruce B. Pierce does excellent work with the editing as it is very straightforward to play into the dramatic suspense and tension that looms throughout the film. Art director David Milton and set decorator Robert Priestley do terrific work with the look of the warden’s office as well as what the cells look like from inside. Sound recordist Paul Schmutz Sr. does fantastic work with the sound in capturing the sense of chaos in the cell blocks during the riots. The film’s music by Herschel Burke Gilbert is superb for its usage of low-key orchestral music to play into the drama and suspense.
The film’s wonderful cast include some notable small roles from Don Keefer as a reporter, Paul Frees as a guard named Monroe, Whit Bissell and Dabbs Greer as a couple of guards taken hostage, and Robert Patten as a convict named Frank. Robert Osterloh is superb as a convict known as the Colonel as a former military officer who is in prison for a manslaughter charge as he tries to be the reasonable person that doesn’t want violence to lose sight of the bigger picture. Frank Faylen is terrific as Commissioner Haskell as an official that wants to punish the prisoners severely as he doesn’t care about their demands. Leo Gordon is fantastic as Mike Carnie as a crazed sadist that is willing to beat up the guards as he is more concerned with creating chaos and beat people up. Emile Meyer is excellent as Warden Reynolds as a man trying to maintain some control and listen to the prisoners but also know that whatever he gives them wouldn’t be enough. Finally, there’s Neville Brand in an amazing performance as James V. Dunn as a prisoner who takes charge of the riot and tries to make sure things go well while also willing to take steps into the negotiation knowing what he and some of the inmates are willing to do.
Riot in Cell Bock 11 is an incredible film from Don Siegel. Featuring a great cast, a riveting story, and eerie visuals that help play into the dramatic suspense. It’s a film that explores the world of prison as well as create a sense of realism and grit that was lacking in most Hollywood films about prisons. In the end, Riot in Cell Block 11 is a sensational film from Don Siegel.
Don Siegel Films: (Star in the Night) – (Hitler Lives) – (The Verdict (1946 film)) – (Night unto Night) – (The Big Steal) – (The Duel at Silver Creek) – (No Time for Flowers) – (Count the Hours) – (China Venture) – (Private Hell 36) – (The Blue and the Gold) – (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) – (Crime in the Streets) – (Spanish Affair) – (Baby Face Nelson) – (The Lineup) – (The Gun Runners) – (Edge of Eternity) – (Hound-Dog Man) – (Flaming Star) – (Hell is for Heroes) – (The Killers (1964 film)) – (The Hanged Man) – (Stranger on the Run) – (Madigan) – (Coogan’s Bluff) – (Death of a Gunfighter) – (Two Mules for Sister Sara) – The Beguiled (1971 film) - Dirty Harry – (Charley Varrick) – (The Black Windmill) – (The Shootist) – (Telefon) – (Escape from Alcatraz) – (Rough Cut) – (Jinxed!)
© thevoid99 2017
(Co-Winner of the Palme d’Or & Best Actor Prize to Ray Milland at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival)
Based on the novel by Charles R. Jackson, The Lost Weekend is the story of a writer struggling with alcoholism as he tries to clean himself up. Directed by Billy Wilder and screenplay by Wilder and Charles Brackett, the film is an exploration into a man and his addiction to alcohol as Ray Milland plays the lead role of Don Birnam. Also starring Jane Wyman, Phillip Terry, Howard Da Silva, Doris Dowling, and Frank Faylen. The Lost Weekend is a harrowing yet mesmerizing film from Billy Wilder.
Taking place in the span of a long weekend in New York City, the film explores Don Birnam’s struggle with alcoholism as he was supposed to go away for a long weekend with his brother. Instead, Birnam’s thirst for booze has him creating trouble for himself much to the worry of his brother Wick (Phillip Terry) and Don’s longtime girlfriend Helen St. James (Jane Wyman) who had been trying to get him sober. With Wick away for the weekend and Helen searching all over the city to find Don, Don would often shut himself from the world in his apartment finding whatever booze he has or use whatever money he can find to buy liquor. It’s essentially a character study of a man at the throes of his sickness as it raises question into when he will reach his bottom.
The film’s screenplay by Billy Wilder and producer Charles Brackett creates a structure that plays into Birnam’s descent as the first act is about Birnam hiding from his girlfriend and brother while doing whatever to get a drink at his favorite bar as it takes place on a Thursday. The second act is set on a Friday where Birnam is at his favorite bar talking about how he met Helen while talking about his ambitions to create the ultimate novel about his alcoholism. The third act is about Birnam finding his bottom and his desperation to drink booze and do whatever to get money so he can buy a bottle or something. The script would not just explore Birnam’s desperation but how low he can go into doing whatever just to have a drink as he would want one more. There’s also some very strong dialogue in the script as it plays to Birnam’s own self-loathing but also his struggle to get clean as he would endure not just others who have the same problem but also the sense of terror that his addiction has taken a toll on him.
Wilder’s direction is very entrancing not just in some of the noir-look of the film but also in his approach to framing. Some of which involved some tight close-ups and medium shots where Wilder would put Don right near the camera with Wick and Helen in the background to showcase how detached he is from them. Wilder does go for some simple shots but also maintains that sense of dread about when Don would hit his bottom. Wilder also puts in a lot of symbolism into his images such as the typewriter as it’s the one thing that Don has and needs yet his thirst for booze would have him do things to that. Especially as Wilder puts into great detail in his frame over the look of Don’s apartment and the things he sees as it would include a scene where he’s in a ward in the third act as he is confronted by men suffering from alcoholism. Even a flashback scene of the night Don meets Helen at a play where Don sees images of actors drinking as it plays to his struggle where it would come into this third act and climax into the decision he would make in his life. Overall, Wilder creates a very haunting yet intense film about a man’s struggle with alcoholism.
Cinematographer John F. Seitz does incredible work with the cinematography with its use of shades and lighting schemes to play into that sense of darkness creeping around Don in his apartment and the ward he briefly stays in. Editor Doane Harrison does excellent work with the editing with its approach to rhythmic cuts to play into Don‘s sense of fear and self-loathing along with a few fade-outs for structural reasons. Art directors Hans Dreier and A. Earl Hedrick, with set decorator Bertram C. Granger, do amazing work with the look of Don‘s apartment as it would play into the chaotic world that he lives in.
Costume designer Edith Head does brilliant work with the costumes from the dresses that Helen wears to the ragged suit and clothes that Don would wear. Sound recorders Stanley Cooley and Joel Moss do terrific work with the sound from the way things sound at the apartment as well as the bar Don goes to. The film’s music by Miklos Rozsa is fantastic for its mixture of somber yet chilling orchestral music that includes some eerie accompaniments from the theremin that adds to the dark tone of the film.
The casting by Robert Mayo and Alice Thomas is superb as it features some notable small performances from Mary Young as Don’s neighbor, Frank Faylen as a nurse at the ward who knows Don’s condition very well, Doris Dowling as a fellow bar patron Don knows and sometimes flirt with, and Howard Da Silva as the bartender Nat who doesn’t want to give Don anymore but needs to run his business. Phillip Terry is terrific as Don’s brother Wick who always ensure that he helps but starts to lose his patience over his brother’s drinking. Jane Wyman is amazing as Helen as this woman who becomes aware of how serious Don’s problem is as it’s a very fierce performance that has Wyman be dramatic but also not willing to give up. Finally, there’s Ray Milland in a magnificent performance as Don Birnam as this self-loathing writer who has a hard time being sober as he falls off the wagon again as he becomes desperate for booze as it’s a very dark yet captivating performance that explores the world of alcoholism.
The Lost Weekend is a phenomenal film from Billy Wilder that features a towering performance from Ray Milland. Not only is this film one of the most sobering portraits of alcoholism but also in how dark it is as it was a very daring film to be shown in the mid-1940s. Especially from someone as brave and confrontational in a filmmaker like Billy Wilder who wasn’t afraid to push boundaries. In the end, The Lost Weekend is a remarkable film from Billy Wilder.
Billy Wilder Films: (Mauvaise Graine) - (The Major and the Minor) - (Five Graves to Cairo) - Double Indemnity - (The Emperor Waltz) - (A Foreign Affair) - Sunset Boulevard - Ace in the Hole - Stalag 17 - (Sabrina) - (The Seven Year Itch) - (The Spirit of St. Louis) - (Love in the Afternoon) - (Witness for the Prosecution) - Some Like It Hot - The Apartment - (One, Two, Three) - (Irma La Douce) - (Kiss Me, Stupid) - (The Fortune Cookie) - (The Private Lives of Sherlock Holmes) - (Avanti!) - (The Front Page) - (Fedora) - (Buddy Buddy)
© thevoid99 2014
