Pénitencier de femmes

Flower shop assistant Sylvia Sidney (Kathleen) falls in love with Gene Raymond (Stan) and they marry. Just as they are about to embark on a new life together, Sidney's jealous ex-lover and wanted gangster Earle Foxe (Athens) sneaks into their house to kill them. However, he kills a detective instead who coincidentally shows up at the house on the same night. Bad guy Foxe frames the newlyweds for the murder and Sidney gets a stretch in prison whilst Raymond gets the death sentence. Are the lovebirds doomed?

Weirdly, the first half of the film is more tense than the main themed second half that is set in the prison. Once, the film moves to the prison, I was expecting tension and action but got very little. The film loses its way, gets a bit sentimental in parts and a bit boring. We need a more concerted effort to spend time with the girls so we can begin to relate. The only character who comes off well is bad girl Wynne Gibson (Susie). There should have been way more characters like her vying to be 'top dog'.

Plot-wise, all of a sudden, there's going to be a jailbreak! That's all very well but at least warn us of this so the audience can get a bit more involved. The whole experience is just emotionally uninvolving. The second half of the film brings things down after an interesting start.

Flower shop girl Sidney has the bad luck to have a vicious hoodlum fall for her in a big way. When she prefers Raymond, the hood has them both framed for murder. Some powerful moments when they're allowed to see each other for a few brief moments in the penitentiary not long before he's to be executed, and it turns out that the meeting been arranged merely to give a tabloid a photo op. The conventions of "the big house" story seem to have been already firmly established by 1931: the snitch with the facial tic, the girl with phony society airs, the tough gal, the big break, the heavy-set matron (Jane Darwell, unbilled), Beavers as a friendly "hot music" loving mama. The story, the characterizations, the writing, all have the familiarity of the mid-thirties; solid entertainment, but not with the freshness found in so many pre-Code films.

It's a little contrived how two young lovers end up in prison on false charges, and you'll have to suspend disbelief over the judicial processes in this film. If you can get past the set-up, you will probably enjoy the performances, particularly those behind bars. Sylvia Sidney is a revelation, and really delivers here. We see close shots of her pretty face amidst flowers early on, and she progresses through scenes of outrage over their false imprisonment, and passion in saying good-bye to her husband in his jail cell, all of which are wonderful.

When you hear 'pre-code women's prison film' you may have an impression based other films, such as 'Ladies They Talk About' (1933), but this one is refreshing in its portrayal of the inmates. There are no lecherous references or other exploitation, for one thing. The performances are also strong, from the inmate who hates Sidney's character (Wynne Gibson), to the one who befriends her (Louise Beavers). It also has an edge in its dialogue, and in showing a row of agitated prisoners rattling their bars and hollering, something we've seen many times through the years, but this is 1931. On the men's side of the prison (...as for the 'Gentlemen of the Big House'), Gene Raymond has some touching moments with a fellow inmate on death row, played well by Rockliffe Fellowes. There are also some nice camera angles employed from director Marion Gering, as well as a dramatic scene on the water that looked scarily realistic. Overall, not great, but a reasonably good film.

Ladies of the Big House (1931) is worth hunting down. Never getting a official DVD release Sylvia Sidney gives her all with those big soulful eyes and deep vulnerability balanced with real strength. This Pre-Code drama could have been a throwaway movie but all the actors make you deeply care about what they are facing. This movie balances heart,a compelling story and Pre-Code drama at it's finest. A obscure movie I hope more people discover and see it's value past it's exploitation sounding title.It's so much more.

When the film begins, nice girl Kathleen (Sylvia Sidney) learns that her boyfriend is a gangster and she dumps him. A bit later, she meets a nice guy, Stan (Gene Raymond) and they fall in love and marry. However, the old gangster boyfriend is enraged and vows to get even. So, he sneaks into her place and shoots a cop...and plants evidence to make it look like she did it. Then, she and her new husband are sent to prison. The film mostly follows her during her incarceration but you also see Stan...on Death Row!

What happens inside prison to Kathleen is what makes this film interesting. The inmates, for the most part, are NOT shown as homicidal maniacs and deviants...nor is the prison staff. Instead the main focus is on Stan's upcoming execution and the efforts of women in the prison to help Kathleen. However, the prosecutor is corrupt and evil...and in league with the real murderer!!

The cast of this film is very good and I particularly liked Louise Beavers and thought it interesting that a black prisoner would be so sweet and decent in a 1930s film. Jane Darwell is also in the film but this film actually is well done all around. Perhaps not 100% believable but often underplayed and intelligently written and directed. It helped that they didn't make everyone sadistic and evil--and there was some real depth to the prisoners.

By the way, one shortcoming of the film is that the evidence that convicted both people seemed flimsy--especially since they didn't have criminal records nor was there any motive for their killing him...none.