Femmes en prison

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.

This is NOT a film that would ever be mistaken for an episode of "Masterpiece Theater"! In fact, in many ways it's a sensationalistic piece of junk...but also a very well-made and entertaining piece of junk! In the 1950s, there were a ton of women in prison films and this might just rank among the best. Part of the reason for this being better than average is the excellent cast. Ida Lupino is a treat to watch as a sadistic warden who is more screwed up and vile than the inmates! And, among the inmates are such colorful dames as Jan Sterling, Cleo Moore, Audrey Totter and Phyllis Thaxter.

The film begins with a lady (Thaxter) being sent to lady for accidentally killing a child due to her negligent driving. Thaxter is emotionally fragile and the prison doctor is concerned about her. However, the warden is insistent that Thaxter be broken just like the rest of the prisoners and pushes the woman to a mental breakdown. In fact, throughout the film Lupino pushes the prisoners to near-riot and she seems to have people skills that would make Attila the Hun seem like a member of the Peace Corps by comparison! There's a lot more to the film--but I don't want to spoil the suspense.

The bottom line is that the film is highly entertaining by being unapologetically loud and over the top. Sensational but far from subtle--this is a great guilty pleasure.

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.

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

(There may be Spoilers) Prison drama set in a woman's prison where the head superintendent Amelia Van Zandt, Ida Lupino,is far more dangerous to the inmates as well as the prison staff then the most hardened criminals in there.

Constantly having the women under her control beaten and abused, which Amelia herself is very found of doing, creates a climate of terror in he clink that erupts into a full-scale prison riot at the end of the movie. We first get to see Amelia in action as soon as the movie "Women's Prison" starts with her handling of new prisoner Helene Jensen, Phillis Thaxter. Helene convicted of manslaughter, she ran over a little girl, is put into isolation and by the next day is almost dead from shock. This despite the objections by the prison doctor Crane, Howard Duff,that keeping Helene in a cell by herself for any period of time may well kill her.

The women's prison being connected to a mans prison is also causing problems with prisoner Glen Burton,Warren Stevens, sneaking into the women's lockup and having, among other things, conjugal relations with his wife who's a prisoner like himself Joan, Audrey Tottor, that leads to her becoming pregnant.With the news of Joan's pregnancy hitting Warden Block, Barry Kelly, like a lighting bolt he has Women Superintendent Amelia Van Zandt put on the carpet. Warden Block warns her that if she doesn't find out how Joan's husband Glen, it seems obvious to everyone that he's the baby's father,got into the women's section of the prison she'll be out of a job.

Amelia now in a panic of losing her job as head of the women's prison has poor Joan, who doesn't know how Glen got into the women's prison, beaten and tortured to the point where she lapse into a coma. Dr. Crane finding out what was happening to Joan has both Amelia and Warden Block put on notice that he'll report them to higher ups by, if Joan passes away, signing Joan Burton's death certificate with the cause of her death being murder. Thing quickly start to get out of hand when the women prisoners lead by Joan's friend and cell-mate Brenda, Jan Sterling, start a hunger strike over the treatment Joan got from Amelia and that leads to a prison takeover by the women prisoners with Amelia taken hostage.

Glen again breaking into the womens wing of the prison finds his wife in the hospital ward on life-support being attended by Dr. Crane. After Joan tells Glen she'll be waiting for him, no matter how long it takes with their child, to greet him when he's finally released from prison she suddenly passes away! That drives Glen into a mad frenzy pulling out a gun and going looking for his wife's murder the universally, by now everyone in the movie, hated Superintendent Amelia Van Zandt.

Wild shootout with Glen braving bullets and tear gas canisters to get to Amelia and meet out justice for what she did to his wife Joan. Amelia is save by Dr. Crane from being beaten and shot to death by the women inmates and Glen, who's himself shot by the prison guards. You can see by now that Amelia's mind already snapped and she's to end up in a straight-jacket and padded cell like many of the women prisoners she put under the same conditions due to her sadistic and hateful dislike of the women that she was in charge of.

It later turned out that Amlia's inhuman actions were the result of her not being able to attract any man, even though she was very attractive, to marry her because of her rottenness and unbalanced and overly suspicious mindset.