Belle giovani e perverse

This film was produced in New York City and is very similar to the film "Caged" also filmed in California in the same year. In this film the girls are not in a prison but a reform school but it is ruled just like a prison and even worse. Mr. Riggs, (Cecil Clovelly) runs the institution along with Mrs. Beuhler,(Grace Coppin) who have no regard for the girls and have them working in a potato farm and in a laundry. Dr. John H. Jason,(Paul Henreid), "Casablania",'42 is a psychologist and is a new-comer and works with Ruth Levering,(Catherine McLeod) and they both decided to change things around and treat the girls differently, allowing them to wear regular clothes and having dances and no working with potato's or a laundry. Loretta Wilson,( Ann Fancis) plays the role of a young girl who was married and had a baby and was abused by men and plays a very sexy mean sort of gal and falls in love with Dr. Jason. I was surprise to see Rita Moreno,(Dolores Guererro) play a role as one of the girls in prison who is all mixed up, but she does sing a rather pretty song in this picture. Ann Francis was very young in this picture and just starting her career and gave an outstanding performance.

Most of these films only have camp value. This one has some, but it is basically a fairly decent B movie and well acted. A definite bonus is the appearance of Rita Moreno and Anne Francis when very young. You can see what talented beauties these two women would become.

As a busload of new girls arrives at a young women's reformatory, it appears at first glance that they are going into an enlightened institution when they are met by the resident psychiatrist played by Paul Henreid who tells them that they are here to be helped. That impression is broken immediately when they are herded into the showers by the supervising matron played by Grace Coppin who, along with the other matrons, enforce the strict disciplinary policies of the institute's director played by Cecil Clovelly. From the perspective of someone watching this film, Coppin's character seems a lot more interesting to watch than does Henreid's. Her performance rivals the best of the cruel matrons that have been portrayed in women-in-prison films. A young Anne Francis plays one of the newcomers, seducing every man she meets including psychiatrist Henried. The well-known controversy about the institution's purpose of punishment or rehabilitation is fairly well-done, saved by the ending. The film has some real intensity thanks to the pace, which goes from one blatant injustice to another, but especially the photography, and much of the writing, especially for the film's smaller parts.

"Dr. John H. Jason" (Paul Henreid) is an idealistic psychiatrist who accepts a job at a reform school for females which has a very high rate of recidivism. After getting to know some of the girls he makes some recommendations which are completely ignored by his superiors, namely "Mr. Riggs" (Cecil Clovelly) and Miss Beuhler (Grace Coppin), who believe that a reform school should be run like a prison. Eventually, this leads to a conflict between Dr. Jason and the assistant supervisor, "Ruth Levering" (Catherine McLeod) on one side and the aforementioned Mr. Riggs and Miss Beuhler on the other. Now, rather than disclose the entire plot, I will just say that this film will probably be considered "lightweight" by current standards. There is no nudity, vulgar language or anything else that might be considered "graphic". However, it is an interesting movie all the same with a very capable cast. In that regard, I thought both Anne Francis (as "Loretta") and Catherine McLeod probably gave the best performances. On the other hand, I must also admit that there were some parts which were a bit corny at times. But that's probably to be expected with most films produced during this particular period. Be that as it may, I enjoyed this film for the most part and rate it as slightly better than average.

This often forgotten movie is notable for having in the cast three actresses, very early in their careers, who became long term popular favorites. They are Anne Francis, Anne Jackson and Rita Moreno. All three gave fine performances showing the promise that they would all realize.