The first film in de Fuentes's trilogy on the Mexican Revolution (of which El Compadre Mendoza is the recognized masterpiece) deals with a tragic incident involving a corrupt army colonel (Alfredo del Diestro) who is ordered to execute a prisoner, and through his own mendacity unwittingly sets in motion a plot to sacrifice his own son. According to critic Federico Serrano, “As opposed to most of the Mexican or foreign directors who have dealt with this theme, from Emilio Fernandez to Elia Kazan, de Fuentes does not give his films an epic or grandiloquent air. In his work, the Revolution is a social phenomenon which is translated into internal movements. Prisoner Number 13 does not deal with the Revolution directly. Instead, de Fuentes uses it as a background for a moralistic tale.” The military nevertheless found the film to be offensive, and viewers will recognize the censor's hand in the film's less than satisfying ending.