Mannstoll und gefährlich

Donna is a girl who got in with the wrong crowd; so much so that a car she was a passenger in kills an unlucky pedestrian. The driver, a young hoodlum acquaintance of hers, escapes justice and loyal Donna takes the rap, refusing to implicate him she is sent to a reformatory school.

Reform School Girl was released by the B-movie kings AIP in the high days of the drive-in, when the baby boomers were getting old enough to create a large market for teen exploitation schlock. This one was one of the movies that looked at the dangers that those teens faced if they pursued wayward directions in life. It's a juvenile delinquency melodrama that is an early example of a women in prison film. From the late 60's onwards, these types of pictures became staples of the sexploitation genre. Reform School Girl, obviously is considerably tamer than those given it was released in the more innocent 50's. All we get here are a few cat fights, implied lesbianism and a little bit of moderate violence such as an arm stabbed by scissors and a girl smacked on the head by flying baseball bat. But in the main, it's very understated by subsequent standards of the genre; although admittedly the heroine does have to put up with the borderline incestual advances of her aunt's boyfriend earlier on in the movie.

Once the plot-line kicks in, it focuses on the code of silence practiced in the school, with Donna being the victim of group bullying as a result of them wrongly thinking that she is a police informer. It's a pretty serviceable story-line with a reasonable amount of drama. It does end in a somewhat rushed manner though, with Donna escaping a beating by her antagonists on account of them merely being unable to find the right key! The film ties up the loose ends of the plot immediately afterwards in an abrupt and not especially impressive way. But hey ho, it was good while it lasted. The only actor on show that I recognised was Luana Anders, who played one of Donna's tormentors, she appeared a few years later to great effect in Francis Ford Coppola's debut feature Dementia 13.

I expected a really bad film. The cheesy photograph in the cover of the DVD package didn't announce any great findings. Obviously, the film is low-budget, but this time it didn't equal with terribly bad.

I liked the script. The film had good rhythm, the characters were either extremely good or bad, the action was interesting, there were touches at the psychology of the girls... Many scenes take place at the reform school, but Donna's flat, the courtroom, the flat of Vince's girlfriend, there is even a very short scene at the workplace of the aunt's boyfriend... make it more varied for my taste. I also liked outdoors scenes: the run-over, Vince asking for directions when he's after Jack... I liked them because I don't usually appreciate films which look like theatre plays and all the action happens in just one location.

It's an interesting and probably an underestimated film, which in fact I liked. I didn't know the director, the script-writer, the main actress (Gloria del Castillo, which sadly didn't have much success in Hollywood), but some other actresses would become well-known with time, Luana Anders and especially Sally Kellerman. Maybe they are not at their best here, because they were just beginning their careers, and they'd become much better but everybody has to begin somewhere, and this was a flick to be proud of.

Reform School Girl (1957)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

A good but troubled girl gets into a car with a psycho who runs over a man, killing him. The girl refuses to give the psycho's name so she's sent to reform school where she gets into more trouble but thankfully there's a teacher there who wants to help her. There were countless juvenile films released during the 1950s due to the success of Rebel Without a Cause and this one here was one of the more popular ones but it hasn't aged too well. The film is stupid, pointless and rather boring from start to finish, although the film does contain a few campy moments. The performances are all rather bad but this adds a little charm to the film.

Before getting into a car with Edd "Kookie" Byrnes, ask if it's stolen. Before getting into your bed, check to make sure Yvette Vickers has not placed a snake in it. Before turning your back on Sally Kellerman, make sure she is not holding a baseball bat. Before getting beaten up by everyone for squealing, ask if you're going to get beat up whether you squeal or not. (If the answer is yes, you may as well squeal.) Before signing on to do this picture, fire your agent.

Gloria Castillo plays the title character, a nice girl living with her beyotch of an aunt and step-uncle, played creepily by Jack Kruschen (the uncle, not the aunt). Castillo goes out for a drive with her friends, unaware that the driver (Byrnes) is a thief, a scumbag, a cad, and future sidekick of Efrem Zimbalist Jr. And Roger Smith. After Byrnes tosses Luana Anders and Castillo's date out of the car, he proceeds to mow down a pedestrian. He heads for the hills, leaving Castillo holding the bag.

Speaking of bags (in particular, old ones), Castillo is sent off to the Hastings School for Girls, run by some of the oldest and/or chubbiest dames you will ever see. The school's head is played by Helen Wallace, and the "matron" is played by Dorothy Crehan. I have no idea if Crehan is related to the character actor Joseph Crehan - then again, Dorothy Crehan may be Joseph Crehan in drag.

Castillo more or less manages to fit in. Meanwhile, the new teacher, played by Ross Ford, who is also a practicing psychologist, has some difficulty adjusting to the school. Let's see - a school full of girls (well, there are about ten anyway, including one who looks like Jane Powell) and one man - what could possibly go wrong here? He asks his class to name the decisive battle of the Civil War. "Bunker Hill," is the snide reply. Close. At least they have the country correct. This would earn an A+ in today's classroom.

After Castillo and another girl are caught smooching with a couple of locals in a barn, Ford suggests that the school sponsor a dance, so everything will be out in the open. This is not one of Ford's better ideas. Meanwhile, back at 77 Sunset Strip, Byrnes, who wants to make sure Castillo keeps her trap shut, gets one of his bimbos (a woman listed in the credits as "Blonde") to drop a dime on Anders. Anders winds up at the school and blames Castillo for turning her in. This development suddenly makes the film interesting, even though it's almost over. Castillo is put in solitary after stabbing Kellerman on the arm with scissors. Anders manages to sneak a call out to Byrnes, saying Castillo is ready to spill everything. Byrnes heads for the school, determined to shut Castillo up for good.

The supporting cast is interesting, I must admit. Besides Kellerman (who towers over everyone) and Anders in their film debuts, we get to see perennial town tramp Yvette Vickers without much makeup, and veteran Thomas Jackson (the guy who gunned down Little Caesar ) in a bit part as a judge. The Statue of Liberty appears unbilled. And if you've been dying to see Jack Kruschen in an undershirt and suspenders, your wish has come true.

Low-budget crud with a great, campy title and a marvelously-designed graphic poster, instantly calling up nostalgic memories for baby-boomers of the drive-in movie era. Sleazy, hilariously awful melodrama from A.I.P. stars Gloria Castillo as a harried young woman, pawed at by all men, who gets sent to a girls' home where she fights with the other teenagers. Edward Byrnes, 'Kookie' to his "77 Sunset Strip" fans, is odious as a windbreaker-wearing delinquent, although a very green Sally Kellerman (in her debut) isn't too bad as one of the inmates (watch out for those scissors!). Supporting players Jack Kruschen and Luana Anders look properly embarrassed. Remade (sort of) in 1994 for cable TV. *1/2 from ****