Tonight's double feature films at Spaulding Auditorium deals with the tribulations of people who find themselves caught on the wrong side of the law.
In director Fritz Lang's "You Only Live Once," an ex-con gone straight named Eddie Taylor (Henry Taylor) is falsely convicted of robbery. Director Don Siegel's "Riot in Cell Block 11," which depicts a prison riot with frightening intensity and attention to detail, will form the second part of the double feature.
Both films probe the inadequacies of the American penal system and the injustices inflicted upon sometimes innocent individuals. Yet while "You Only Live Once" comprises a psychological case study of Taylor, "Riot in Cell Block 11" takes a documentary-like look at the violence of revolt without focusing on the individual.
At the start of the film, Taylor's identity as a released convict is established, and he marries Jo (Sylvia Sidney). Although he tries to "live within the law," his reputation follows him, and he is wrongfully convicted of robbing a bank. Taylor is sentenced to death.
After his sentencing, Taylor attempts suicide but fails. The doctors at the prison pronounce him "well enough to be executed," an ironic commentary on the morality of capital punishment.
Eddie does escape successfully from prison later, but when he reunites with his wife, the two are forced to live as fugitives until the film's overly sentimental and melodramatic ending.
"You Only Live Once" was Lang's second American feature, following in the footsteps of the successful "Fury," which focused on similar themes. The film is also marked by Lang's characteristic symbolism and taste for abstraction.
"Riot in Cell Block 11" was shot on location in Folsom Prison in California and follows the prisoners' resentment toward their unfair treatment and their desire for reform.
The leader of the harangue, Dunn, is played by Neville Brand, the fourth most decorated soldier in the US military at the time. In his first acting venture, Brand gives an insightful and passionate performance.
Walter Wagner '15 produced the film after being incarcerated for shooting his wife's lover's genitalia upon discovering her secretly having an affair.
Wagner's time in prison made him sensitive to the miserable conditions and inhumane treatment of inmates, and this picture was his call for reform.
