Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954) review

There's a troubling - and costly - wave of prison riots occurring all across the United States, and the inmates at Folsom State in California (later immortalized by Johnny Cash) decide to join in, with ringleaders James Dunn (Neville Brand), Carnie (Leo Gordon) and The Colonel (Robert Osterloh) taking the guards hostage and making a list of demands for both the Warden (Emile Meyer) and Commissioner Haskell (Frank Faylen) to consider.  It's flat out remarkable that this movie, which is currently 68 years old (it's 2022), still holds up: Siegel's direction is cold and exacting and it couldn't feel any more authentic, using actual prisoners (actor Gordon served time in San Quentin) and security personnel in supporting roles.  The concerns also seem timeless and unresolved: the inmates complain about overcrowding, a lack of adequate nutrition, no mental health counseling, physical abuse from employees of the facility, mixing the insane with the general population, no reasonable work training, etc.  I like how Siegel and screenwriter Richard Collins make the Warden tough but sympathetic to the plights of the incarcerated: there are plenty of smart people working in the criminal justice system who recognize changes need to be made ... but it's probably a lost cause.