Women's Prison

The fifties provided from Hollywood the most terrific movies ever made about women behind bars: this one WOMEN'S PRISON and CAGED, directed by John Cromwell and starring Eleonor Parker in an inmate role. Here, on the contrary, the female lead is actually the evil one of the film; the awesome Ida Lupino in the cruel warden's role. One of my favourites of hers. I never get bored, tired, watching this absolute perfect prison drama, as much, if not more, riveting as any men's prison tales, in the line of BRUTE FORCE or RIOT IN CELL BLOCKK 11. Because with women, you have something different, not only brutal physical violence but emotional cruelty, so typical with women's atmosphere. Jan Sterling and Phillis Thaxter are also excellent in this story, where, I repeat, character study, face off, rivalry is purely outstanding.

(There may be Spoilers) Prison drama set in a woman's prison where the head superintendent Amelia Van Zandt, Ida Lupino,is far more dangerous to the inmates as well as the prison staff then the most hardened criminals in there.

Constantly having the women under her control beaten and abused, which Amelia herself is very found of doing, creates a climate of terror in he clink that erupts into a full-scale prison riot at the end of the movie. We first get to see Amelia in action as soon as the movie "Women's Prison" starts with her handling of new prisoner Helene Jensen, Phillis Thaxter. Helene convicted of manslaughter, she ran over a little girl, is put into isolation and by the next day is almost dead from shock. This despite the objections by the prison doctor Crane, Howard Duff,that keeping Helene in a cell by herself for any period of time may well kill her.

The women's prison being connected to a mans prison is also causing problems with prisoner Glen Burton,Warren Stevens, sneaking into the women's lockup and having, among other things, conjugal relations with his wife who's a prisoner like himself Joan, Audrey Tottor, that leads to her becoming pregnant.With the news of Joan's pregnancy hitting Warden Block, Barry Kelly, like a lighting bolt he has Women Superintendent Amelia Van Zandt put on the carpet. Warden Block warns her that if she doesn't find out how Joan's husband Glen, it seems obvious to everyone that he's the baby's father,got into the women's section of the prison she'll be out of a job.

Amelia now in a panic of losing her job as head of the women's prison has poor Joan, who doesn't know how Glen got into the women's prison, beaten and tortured to the point where she lapse into a coma. Dr. Crane finding out what was happening to Joan has both Amelia and Warden Block put on notice that he'll report them to higher ups by, if Joan passes away, signing Joan Burton's death certificate with the cause of her death being murder. Thing quickly start to get out of hand when the women prisoners lead by Joan's friend and cell-mate Brenda, Jan Sterling, start a hunger strike over the treatment Joan got from Amelia and that leads to a prison takeover by the women prisoners with Amelia taken hostage.

Glen again breaking into the womens wing of the prison finds his wife in the hospital ward on life-support being attended by Dr. Crane. After Joan tells Glen she'll be waiting for him, no matter how long it takes with their child, to greet him when he's finally released from prison she suddenly passes away! That drives Glen into a mad frenzy pulling out a gun and going looking for his wife's murder the universally, by now everyone in the movie, hated Superintendent Amelia Van Zandt.

Wild shootout with Glen braving bullets and tear gas canisters to get to Amelia and meet out justice for what she did to his wife Joan. Amelia is save by Dr. Crane from being beaten and shot to death by the women inmates and Glen, who's himself shot by the prison guards. You can see by now that Amelia's mind already snapped and she's to end up in a straight-jacket and padded cell like many of the women prisoners she put under the same conditions due to her sadistic and hateful dislike of the women that she was in charge of.

It later turned out that Amlia's inhuman actions were the result of her not being able to attract any man, even though she was very attractive, to marry her because of her rottenness and unbalanced and overly suspicious mindset.

Ida Lupino gets one of her juiciest roles here. It may not be one of her subtlest but she gets to sink her teeth into it. She is the conniving, heartless, loveless warden of the title institution.

The inmates include blowzy dames from various studios. It's a great cast. We have Jan Sterling, Audrey Totter, and Cleo Moore. Moore is sans Hugo Haas.

It's a trifle hard to believe the plot. A co-ed prison where the women are abused. But though it may not be terribly cogent, it's strong. It's forceful.

Early in the movie Juanita Hall, playing a character named Polly, is introduced. She says she was named after the hospital where she was born: Polyclinic. Hey, I was born there, too. Maybe I should have been named Clint.

Watch this one. It's not campy. It can be taken very seriously. But it's also fun to see all these dolls cracking wise and playing tough.

Ida Lupino is the warden of a women's prison, which holds all kinds, those in for the long haul, those trying to rehabilitate, those who keep coming back because they don't know any better or just don't care, and those who through a terrible accident don't really belong there. The excellent cast includes Jan Sterling (one of those who keeps coming back), Cleo Moore, Audrey Totter, and Phyllis Thaxter (as one who doesn't really belong with rough characters) as those serving time in the clinker, and Howard Duff as the doctor there for their wellbeing. But it seems that under the treatment of Ida, they are not encouraged to rehabilitate. She treats them all like beasts, like all they understand is the whip, when they need a helping hand to turn their lives around, if they will. The movie seems to sensationalize or over-dramatize the-revolting- prisoners-and-the-warden-with-no-heart plot, but as viewers we tend to eat it up, with such a great cast of actresses. The film may be rather formulaic and predictable, but we still enjoy it all, down to the last drop. Ida has never been more sadistic, even up against her real life husband Mr. Duff! Watch an extreme example of a women's prison! Hopefully!

Women's Prison is directed by Lewis Seiler and jointly written by Jack DeWitt and Crane Wilbur. It stars Ida Lupino, Jan Sterling, Cleo Moore, Audrey Totter, Phyliss Thaxter, Howard Duff and Warren Stevens. Music is orchestrated by Mischa Bakaleinikoff and photography by Lester H. White.

Cheap but entertaining piece of prison shlock, Women's Prison gets in and simmers on the heat for an hour and ten minutes until the inevitable explosion for the finale. The standard roll call of prison staples adheres to formula, new fish who clearly doesn't belong, sassy good time gal, sadistic warden, beatings, emotional hell, sexual frustration and of course a riot! There's solid traces of psychological discord in the narrative, not least with Lupino's splendidly vile warden, who, because she can't function with men on the outside world, promptly vents her pent up frustrations on the female inmates. A nice addition to the plot is that it's a co-ed prison, the mens prison is but a bricked wall away from the girls. Cue a neat little thread of a lustful Warren Stevens popping next door for some fun time with his also incarcerated wife.

Problem with the film is its look. Mood is fine but this is one of the nicest, cleanest and airiest prisons seen in film! Isolation and claustrophobia are a key ingredients of a good prison film, but those feelings are missing here, with Lester White's photography hardly utilising the chances on offer. How the film has come to be regarded as a "prison noir" is a mystery, unless the mere presence of Lupino warrants it a place?! The steam press room scenes work well, and the tear gas finale is nicely realised, but mostly this is good because of some neat lady acting performances and the afore mentioned psychological smarts in the story. Also of interest is the play off between Lupino and Duff's kindly prison doctor, which since they were married (an on off marriage that would last for decades), carries with it a bit of spice as they jostle for the sanity of meek Helene Jensen (Thaxter).

Subtle as a sledgehammer but ever so enjoyable, Women's Prison just about deserves its cult classic status. 7/10