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.

Ida Lupino and Howard Duff head a cast in a story about a Women's Prison. But these two who were married in real life at the time are hardly romantic leads in this film.

Ida plays the head of a female division of a state prison, the overall warden is Barry Kelley. The message the film is trying to give although the reason for it is pretty exotic is that boys will be boys and that women ought to be in a separate facility altogether. The main plot line of this film is convict Warren Stevens trying to get over to the women's division to see his wife Audrey Totter. Stevens's successful visits which get Totter pregnant get the whole thing crashing around Lupino's head.

It's all been done before, especially by some in this cast. Howard Duff was one of the convicts in Brute Force and there are definite elements of that film carrying over here. More so even than the classic Caged in which Jan Sterling also played the same kind of brassy dame who knows the ropes.

In Caged you'll remember the chief villain was the sadistic guard Harper played by Hope Emerson, the warden was the sympathetic Agnes Moorehead. Here the corruption stinks at the top where Lupino takes out her own unfulfilled life on the inmates. The entire cast performs remarkably well, especially Lupino and Sterling.

As for how it ends, if you've seen another Ida Lupino classic, They Drive By Night than you kind of know what happens to her. Still Women's Prison is worth seeing it again.

Dismissed by the critics at the time of it's release as a mediocre copy of 1950's prestigious "women's prison" drama CAGED, 1955's WOMEN'S PRISON has eclipsed that Oscar-nominated movie at least in terms of latter-day fame and as a iconic piece of 1950's Hollywood. The movie, more sensational and lurid than it's predecessor, opened the door for countless low-budget "women in prison" films in subsequent decades, most of which had characters more than a little similar to the ladies on display here. Clearly when it comes to babes behind bars pix, the public at large prefers bad sexy chicks on the rampage than a serious study of the prison system.

That's not to say WOMEN'S PRISON isn't a fairly terrific movie - it is, with a sensational performance as Ida Lupino as the coolly professional yet sadistic lady prison warden Amelia Van Zant. Ms. Lupino may have appeared in a number of classier films but she rarely had such an iconic role as she does here and she's superb. There aren't many actresses who would choose to underplay such a malevolent character as Lupino does; one could well imagine some of her contemporaries making Amelia a fire-breathing dragon from scene one.

Lupino is joined by a cast that includes virtually every "bad girl" actress of the era as one of the inmates - Jan Sterling, Cleo Moore, Audrey Totter, and even (most deliciously) the casting of erstwhile 1930's "bad girls" Mae Clarke and Gertrude Michael as prison matrons. There's also perpetually sweet Phyllis Thaxter as the "new fish in the aquarium", serving one to ten years for vehicle manslaughter when she killed a young child. Already traumatized by the incident by the time she arrives at prison, meek little Phyllis is no match for Lupino's sadistic set-up at the prison which only makes things worse for her. Audrey Totter, often quite the bad girl in other movies, is another inmate who is more sinned against than sinner, innocent but jailed as an accessory to her husband's theft. Indeed, it's a bit incredible that none of the inmates seems to be remotely a person of violence or immorality - friendly floozy Jan Sterling is in the slammer for writing a bad check!! The whole cast is quite good and Sterling is excellent as basically the leader of the girls. Mae Clarke does very well in one her larger roles post-1940; on the other hand, the always appealing Cleo Moore is wasted in a rather thin smallish role as one of the inmates, a comic part as a Southern blonde bombshell. Vivian Marshall, an actress with only a handful of credits (most of them unbilled bits) comes close to stealing the picture as the inmate whose gift for mimicry (check out her fantastic burlesques of Bette Davis and Tallulah Bankhead) comes in handy when the women revolt. Overwrought it may be but WOMEN'S PRISON deserves it's status as a cult film with terrific performances and it's melodrama smoothly handled by underrated director Lewis Seiler.

The female wing of a maximum security prison welcomes bosomy peroxide blonde Jan Sterling (as Brenda Martin), a returning inmate. Alongside her is remorseful first-time offender Phyllis Thaxter (as Helene Jensen), a plain housewife convicted of vehicular manslaughter after accidentally killing a child. In the men's division, armed robbery convict Warren Stevens (as Glen Burton) is caught trying to sneak over to the women's side, where his wife Audrey Totter (as Joan) is serving time as an accomplice. Watching over the women is slightly sadistic director Ida Lupino (as Amelia van Zandt). In a turned-up collar and high heels, Ms. Lupino runs a tight ship. Her cruelty is balanced by kindly prison doctor Howard Duff (as Doctor Crane)...

Whatever its intentions, "Woman's Prison" is more amusing than hard-hitting. Producer Bryan Foy appears to have been aiming for realism heavily dosed with lurid popular appeal. The result is perversely fun. Performances are starchily stilted, which is appropriate. Lewis Seiler and his crew follow and flatter the characters. Best scene may be the inevitable riot, which is accomplished by simply stating. "Throw the master switch that opens all the gates." Without fuss, Mr. Seiler and photographer Lester White are effective with smooth inmate panning and shadowy close-ups. In a nice supporting cast, 1930s star Mae Clarke (as Matron Saunders) delivers some great comments about "prison pictures," before seeing one at the Bijou.

****** Women's Prison (1955/02) Lewis Seiler ~ Ida Lupino, Jan Sterling, Howard Duff, Phyllis Thaxter

Women's Prison (1955)

This highlights Ida Lupino, and though her role is central it is small. She plays that hardened, selfish "dame" she pulled off in many of her movies like no one else, in this case a prison warden. Lupino is never campy like Bette Davis, or sultry like many others (even when she wants to be). She's also not idiosyncratic like Gloria Grahame, and this is good and bad. Lupino here and often elsewhere is a stalwart presence--she holds up her end of the bargain in any scene, without stealing the scene.

Her counterpart, even though this is mainly a woman's movie top to bottom, is the doctor played by Howard Duff. But the real stars are the prisoners, an array of women both confident and downtrodden. (Look for Juanita Moore, from "Imitation of Life.") Having these women revolt against Lupino's evilness is what we all want, and it's quite a drama.

There are many times when you will groan or laugh at what the plot gets away with (like the husband who sneaks in to see his wife, or the warden of the men's prison in general), but you'll really love the best parts, the best character actors who are really filled with character, and the fast plot. A good short fun one.