Reform School Girl

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.

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 ****

A little word in advance: since this producer sadly passed away in 2001, several of his film received a re-release on DVD under the group name `The Samuel Z. Arkoff Library'. Which is actually a good thing because otherwise, many of his productions would be lost and undiscovered forever. The largest part of his film is extremely low-budget horror (The Undead, The war of the colossal beast, Voodoo Women…) and at first sight, this Reform School Girl seems to be a misfit in that collection. Nonetheless, it's a film definitely worth checking out.

Reform School Girl is a raw and intense social drama, which portrays the lesser attractive aspects of humanity. Some of the main topics of the film include betrayal, egocentrism, blackmail, abuse, jealousy and juvenile violence. It's about a young girl who's sent to a reform-institution after being involved in a car accident. The guy she was with threatened to kill her if she would tell his name to the police. Therefore, her lips are sealed and she brought to a closed institution. Yet, even there she has to face that the ‘code' doesn't allow her to speak freely. Disappointed by the whole world, Donna turns into an anti-social and hostile girl who has to rediscover her trust in mankind. Even though the film obviously suffers from a lack of budget and professionalism, it still manages to touch you and leave a huge impression behind. The script contains a few illogical elements (like the uncle who's scared to death because of a phone call by a youngster) but overall, it's fascinating and a much bigger triumph than most overbudgetted drama's that are only out to bring tears to eyes of the viewer by using cheap sentiment and morality lessons. The ‘message' in Reform School Girl is kept limited and the entire atmosphere is strictly dramatic. The acting is surprisingly good considering most cast members are young and inexperienced actresses. Certainly a film worth a look whenever you have the chance of seeing it. It was re-made for the TV-screen in 1994 by Jonathan Kaplan starring Matt ‘Friends' LeBlanc, among other familiar faces.

David (Edward Bymes) steals a car and collects his friends for a night out. However, he runs over a man and then escapes from the scene of the killing leaving Donna (Gloria Castillo) behind. She is warned not to squeal by David and she is sent to Reform School. However, David does not trust that she will keep quiet and is put under pressure to kill Donna by a gangster acquaintance. He sets up Josie (Luana Anders) to be sent to the same Reform School in the belief that her former friend, Donna, has reported her to the police for car-stripping. The idea is for Josie to get even with her former pal and once inside, Josie leads the persecution of Donna .......... Meanwhile, David also takes it upon himself to quieten Donna for good......

The film has some good scenes, eg, when Donna is in her solitary cell and 4 inmates are coming to get her.....you get a sense of imminent danger........suddenly Josie's face appears at the grill staring back at her......Donna is moments away from a serious beating. However, the next part of the scene is a cop-out. The film ends abruptly leaving the audience with unanswered questions, most notably, what are the relationships between the girls and why has the governess gone back on her word and staged another party? There are some funny attempts at acting tough, eg, Roxy (Yvette Vickers) and David's amusing mouth gestures, but the cast act it out well.

Its entertaining while you watch it.

"Donna Price" (Gloria Castillo) is a teenage girl who lives with her Aunt Rita (Claire Carlton). The problem is that the man Rita has married, "Mr. Horvath" (Jack Kruschen) is always trying to make a play for Donna. So when Donna decides to get away from Mr. Harvath, by going joy-riding with a young man she hardly knows things begin to take an immediate turn for the worst. She soon realizes that "Vince" (Ed Byrnes) is a violent, hot-headed thug who has stolen the car she is riding in. To complicate matters, Vince kills a pedestrian while trying to evade the law leaving Donna alone to face charges. Fearing for her life if she testifies against Vince, she remains silent and is subsequently sent to a reform school for juvenile delinquents. But even there things begin to get out-of-control. At any rate, rather than reveal what happens next I will just say that this turned out to be a pretty good movie. The acting was decent and there were some attractive young ladies like Yvette Vickers (as "Roxy") and Luana Anders ("Josie") which certainly didn't hurt the overall scenery. I also liked the 50's slang the girls tossed around at every opportunity. Even so, this film may not suit everyone's taste. Slightly above average.