Betrayed Women

Back in the 1950s, following the movie "Caged", there were a whole bunch of so-called 'women in prison films'. Initially, they were films featuring a lot of violence and a whole lotta cat fights, though into the 60s and 70s they evolved into soft-core porn in many cases. Well, "Betrayed Women" was made during the earlier years of the genre and is pretty chaste by comparison. Heck, even the violence is minimal and the usual hints at lesbianism aren't even present. I would consider it to be a women in prison-lite sort of film!

The film is supposedly set in the bayou, though it's a strange sort of bayou. No one speaks with a Southern accent and there isn't any swamp. The ladies also all sport nice perms and makeup! And, oddly, there are mountains! This clearly was NOT filmed in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama nor Florida...and the filmmakers did a terrible job trying to disguise it.

The prison has been visited by a do-gooder from the state (Tom Drake). He's concerned about the way the inmates are being treated, though, oddly, you never really see much in the way of maltreatment...just folks TALKING about it. Later, a few of the inmates stage an escape...taking him and the warden. What's next?

In every possible way, this film avoided violence, salaciousness and smut....so lovers of the genre might feel disappointed. As for me, it needed a bit more...just to make the prisoners' demands seem more reasonable. As it is, it's a watchable film with more than its share of cliches.

Since discovering noir actress Beverly Michaels, I've looked for her films. This one, Betrayed Women, was made in 1955. The film featres Carole Mathews, Peggy Knudsen, Tom Drake, and Sara Haden.

When her boyfriend Baby Face is killed, Honey Blake (Michaels) is sent to a woman's prison. It's known for its bad conditions and over-the-top discipline. The funniest scene to me was seen these women, in dresses, digging ditches.

When Blake arrives, there is a government agent, Jeff (Tom Drake) there to examine prison conditions and make recommendations to the governor. It just happens his own girlfriend (Knudsen) is imprisoned and does work in the office.

Blake is actually thrown in solitary the first day due to a fight with another inmate, but she's released from solitary due to the fact that it will look bad to the government person there.

Honey goes in on an escape plan with another inmate, and they take off, using Nora and Jeff as hostages. The other prisoner who escapes (Mathews) has hidden $50,000, and Honey wants a cut.

What I like about Michaels is that she can be absolutely mean as dirt as she was in Pickup, totally vulnerable as in The Girl on the Bridge, and in between, as here. The other thing is, she had to be tallest woman in show business - she just towers over the other actors.

Ordinary type of woman in prison story, but worth seeing for Michaels.

Perhaps one of the most effective Edward L Cahn movies ever made. A woman's prison tale. One more. I was afraid it would be a sort of Poor Man - or Woman's - CAGED or WOMEN'S PRISON. Of course, it's a B movie. But pretty well done. Characters are described in the right manner. The movie talks about life conditions in jail for women, cruelty exerted by ward sisters on the inmates. Solitary cells, for instance. A social drama film noir. Not bad for Edward L Cahn. It proves that our sweet Eddie could do very good things when he wanted to, and when he could, when he had producers to let him do what he wished to do.

The film is fast paced, with some sequences we usually find in greater productions. And the music score is also adequate to the rhythm of the feature.

In short, a film noir that deserves to be seen.

Tough-tawkin' gun moll Beverly Roberts is sent to the women's work prison, where she is promptly thrown into solitary. Esther Dale runs the joint with a heavy hand, and when her brother takes one of the inmates joy-riding, she isn't pleased. Still, some of the women break out and take hostages, but the state troopers are hot on their trail.

There's not much lesbian symbolism going on in this one. Director Edward L. Cahn seems more interested in offering the script's message about prison reform, the need for more money, and the salvation of individuals through good will in this one. Some of the dialogue sounds awfully bad, particularly when Darlene Fields tells John Damler to come back, and he asks in reply if she wants him or the money. Listening to the girls playing the cons trying to act as if they're Wallace Beery is a bit of a hoot.

Having been cornered by the police "Honey Blake" (Beverly Michaels) watches as her mob boyfriend "Babyface" (Paul Savage) decides to go out in a blaze of glory and comes out shooting. Since she is unarmed she is taken prisoner and is subsequently sent to the "State Prison for Women" which is surrounded by swamps and has been compared to a "female Devil's Island". Anyway, while she may have been captured, her attitude is quite combative and as a result she is placed in solitary confinement on her very first day. It's at this time that an inspector from the governor's office arrives by the name of "Jeff Darrell" (Tom Drake) and he is alarmed by the conditions of the prison. Complicating matters is that his former girlfriend, "Nora Collins" (Peggy Knudsen) is a convict there and he feels somewhat responsible for her imprisonment. In any case, he promises to try to improve things but once he leaves things return to normal and one particularly hardened criminal named "Kate Morrison" (Carole Mathews) decides to take matters into her own hands. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk ruining it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was pretty much what one might expect from a grade-B "women-in-prison" movie produced in the 50's. I suppose the acting was adequate but the dialogue was obviously dated and the plot was rather basic as well. Additionally, the supposed location of the prison was obviously not in Louisiana as the terrain bore no similarity to that part of the country. In short, this was an okay movie and probably worth a look for those who enjoy films of this type.