So Evil, So Young

A watchable British exploitation quickie incongruously shot in extremely pretty Technicolor, most of which takes place in a reform school for young ladies where common sense and self-control among both the inmates and the staff prove in unfortunately short supply; but where none of the girls otherwise live up to the film's lurid tabloid title. All the usual women's prison clichés are present and correct - the well-meaning matron (Joan Haythorne) whose good intentions are undermined by her brutal second in command (Ellen Pollock), lots of hair-pulling when the dormitory lights are out, and so on - but all presented in a genteel British fashion far from the unflinching brutality currently being depicted so graphically in the St.Trinian's films. The film keeps you sufficiently interested for the plot holes to be ironically more glaring than they would otherwise be in a less engrossing film.

The last of five productions on which The Danzigers had recently splashed out on Technicolor; the girls look incongruously pretty in their pink uniforms, as well as the pink pyjamas they wear in the numerous scenes set in their enormous dormitory, which cameraman Jimmy Wilson never tires of showing off, energetically dollying back and forth and up to the ceiling to give us a good view of it. Unfortunately, as earlier commentators have complained, the film has also been saddled with an insistent jazz score of the kind ubiquitous in British and Continental crime films of the early 60's (in this case lifted from previous Danzigers productions) which keeps barging in when least called for, and providing just the requisite trashiness lacking elsewhere.

Well this is not John Cromwell's CAGED nor Lewis Seiler's WOMEN'S PRISON, the best of the best in terms of gals behind bars, in the can, but this one is different of the exploitiation stuff that will emerge in the seventies, providing nude, sex, violence - maybe realistic though, regarding what really happens in jail - but unfortunately meaningless, destined to male audiences seeking girls else than law abiding students living in a quiet suburb dating for the first time. This film is definitely smoother, nearly destined to family audiences, than the previous movies which I first talked about here. And Jill Ireland had an actress life before meeting Charles Bronson.

This rather reminds me of Boys in Brown because the inmates,who would be in their teens,are played by actresses who were in their mid twenties.Some of the dialogue is priceless eg"tell it to the marines".As has been mentioned by others the music is a major irritation,drowning out dialogue.Ellen Pollock as Chief Warden is a real hoot.She reminds me of Cloris Leachman as Nurse Diesel in High Anxiety.

This one is pretty tame. One usually watches these old exploitation pix for their camp value. You know, girls/women in prison with girdles and push up bras under their tailored uniforms and perfect bought hairsmdos. This one is pure as the pink pressed dresses they all wear.

The plot picks up by way of the usual melodramatic misunderstanding and a riot ensues.

Jill Ireland is very lovely but what this film really needed was a Diana Dors type, in a tight uniform, cotton colored hair and walking around slinging her hips in a tight uniform chomping gum and chain smoking.

This was bad, but no reason for John Charlesworth to gas himself over.

Lucy Owens robs a safe in a mansion where she used to work. She is spotted by the butler but the other girl Claire gets away. She's jealous of Ann Turner (Jill Ireland) over a musician named Tom and frames her as her accomplice. Ann is sentenced to three years and gets imprisoned along with Lucy. The Matron is trying to be a modern reformer while the brutal Miss Smith has other ideas. Mary becomes Ann's only prisoner friend.

Tom is really dumb. His ex is caught stealing and his new girlfriend is supposedly her partner. Sometimes, I call movie characters too dumb to live. Tom starts out as one of those. In the real world, he would be called to testify. In order to make the movie not dumb, he needs to be scared of being pulled into the whole affair. He wouldn't want to be called a co-conspirator. Anyways, it would be better for the story to have him abandon her. It needs to be her alone against the world. As for her escape, she needs a better reason like Miss Smith telling her that she is going to hang her next. Like a lot of this movie, the writing is not quite well thought out. This is not good enough to be taken serious and it's definitely not camp.