Girls on Probation

To go out partying, sweet Jane Bryan (as Connie Heath) borrows an evening dress from sassy Sheila Bromley (as Hilda Engstrom). The dress turns out to be stolen (from smartly attired Susan Hayward, in an early appearance). Thus, innocent Ms. Bryan is guilty by association with Ms. Bromley, a "wench" who answers job priority queries with, "Boys are my work."

Soon, Bryan becomes one of many "Girls on Probation". Consequently, she loses her job, and sees her "criminal past" jeopardizing her romance with Ronald Reagan (as Neil Dillon). Veterans Elisabeth Risdon & Sig Ruman (as Roger and Kate Heath) and handsome Anthony Averill (as Tony Rand) help make this cheap tale of degradation fun to watch. Bromley is an irresistibly trashy "bad girl".

**** Girls on Probation (1938) William McGann ~ Jane Bryan, Ronald Reagan, Sheila Bromley

Despite the title, like something for National Enquirer Studios, "Girls on Probation" is quite good.

Being from Warner Brothers, naturally the cast is first rate. As was so common, there were great actors such as John Hamilton in small uncredited roles.

Jane Bryan, as Connie Heath, is the star, and what a lovely young woman she is here. And what a shame she retired from motion picture making so early. She died almost two months before this writing, 8 April 2009, and as actress and as human being and as American citizen her death is a great loss.

Sheila Bromley plays the ... uh, "friend" who gets Connie into trouble, not on purpose but just by being irresponsible.

She is perhaps familiar to Western fans as Sheila Mannors, the last name being spelled at least three different ways.

She got the last line here in a moving scene.

Reagan's character was one of his most sympathetic and likable, probably much like him in real life, according to friends.

It's easy enough to be cynical about Warner "B" movies, but for those of us who understand the context, and those of us who can see the sense of life, this is a good movie.

"Girls on Probation" is a B-movie whose biggest claim to fame are a couple very early performances by supporting actors Ronald Reagan and Susan Hayward. Otherwise, it's full of plot holes and often irritating to watch....especially as the film progresses.

Connie (Jane Bryan) is a working lady who doesn't know that she's got a friend who is a bad egg. Hilda is very larcenous...and ends up getting Connie into trouble twice. First, when they go out dancing, Hilda lends Connie a dress...a dress that turns out to be stolen. Naturally, Hilda lies about it and Connie is left holding the bag. Second, Connie moves to another town following this and, surprise, suprise, she finds Hilda in her car....and demands Hilda tell the truth. But Hilda is in the middle of a robbery...and she's waiting in the getaway car....and soon Connie is forced at gunpoint to get in the getaway car! Soon they are chased by cops and Hilda begins shooting at them. Connie strips the gun away from her and forces the accomplice to pull over and the police arrest them.

The cops believe Connie was part of the robbery and Hilda insists she was as well...though WHY and why Connie is so vicious makes little sense. And, it makes no sense that the women are tried TOGETHER (which is odd since Connie is testifying against Hilda) and they are locked up in jail together!

Can the probation department straighten all this out and get to the truth of the matter? Or, is Connie destined to be her girl-toy in the big house?

The plot to this film strains credibility well past the breaking point. So often, Connie behaves stupidly and Hilda's strange actions just don't make much sense either. It's especially confusing and stupid when Hilda re-appears much later...trying to blackmail Connie! So, despite being made by Warner Brothers, it's a B-movie with a script with more holes than a pound of Swiss cheese!! Watchable but pretty dumb.

Connie Heath is a good girl. Her friend Hilda Engstrom is a bad girl and a bad influence. Hilda gets Connie arrested for a stolen dress and spreads the rumor of her shame. Neil Dillon (Ronald Reagan) is a lawyer from the insurance company. He believes Connie's story and gets her off from the charge. Connie leaves home away from her father to get a job in the big city. She's eager to repay Neil but she is caught in another one of Hilda's problems. Hilda is robbing a bank with her boyfriend and Connie is arrested with the pair.

I have no problem with the acting. Even Reagan is perfectly fine. He is a stiff self-assured boy scout and that's his character. I do have an issue with the blocking of the bank robbery getaway scene. The probation officer is too nice. The roles are too simple and the situations are too convenient. It makes for a simple melodrama and a fine crime drama. It's a basic afterschool special warning against the influence of the bad girl friend. It's an old fashion Lifetime movie.

Girls on Probation (1938)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Extremely silly but highly entertaining crime picture from Warner is "B" movie from start to finish. A good girl (Jane Bryan) gets arrested after her bad girl friend (Sheila Bromley) steals a dress and blames her. The girl gets off due to a insurance inspector (Ronald Reagan) but a little while later is arrested for conspiracy to commit robbery with the same bad girl and her now boyfriend. Once again, innocent but in the wrong place, the girl gets put on probation but soon her past catches up with her as she's now about to marry Reagan's character and is afraid of what he'll think about having a girl on probation. It's amazing how much "story" gets packed into this 65-minute movie but there's quite a bit and it never slows down. I must admit that the movie kept me entertained from start to finish but the biggest reason as to why I can't give this a higher rating is because Bryan's character has got to be the dumbest in screen history. This is coming from someone who watches over a thousand movies a year but this is without question the dumbest character I've seen in any movie. Bryan's character gets herself into so much trouble and it's all because of her doing dumb things and of course all of this blame goes to screenwriter Crane Wilbur who also directed many shorts for Warner. With that said, the performances are all pretty good with Bryan turning in fine work but the picture certainly belongs to Bromley who is perfect as the bad girl. Reagan is fine in his supporting role and early on it's Susan Hayward playing his girlfriend. The ending is downright stupid and brought me to laughs but that's just part of the entertainment to this thing. Fans of "B" movies will certainly want to check it out. Others beware.