Women's Prison (1955) User Reviews

Not "Caged" But Good On Its Own Terms

[Handlinghandel · 7/10 · 14 June 2007]

Ida Lupino gets one of her juiciest roles here. It may not be one of her subtlest but she gets to sink her teeth into it. She is the conniving, heartless, loveless warden of the title institution.

The inmates include blowzy dames from various studios. It's a great cast. We have Jan Sterling, Audrey Totter, and Cleo Moore. Moore is sans Hugo Haas.

It's a trifle hard to believe the plot. A co-ed prison where the women are abused. But though it may not be terribly cogent, it's strong. It's forceful.

Early in the movie Juanita Hall, playing a character named Polly, is introduced. She says she was named after the hospital where she was born: Polyclinic. Hey, I was born there, too. Maybe I should have been named Clint.

Watch this one. It's not campy. It can be taken very seriously. But it's also fun to see all these dolls cracking wise and playing tough.

Some great smaller parts grow large, and Lupino is up against them all...

[secondtake · 6/10 · 25 February 2011]

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.

She's suffering from a guilt complex that's close to madness.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 1 December 2011]

Women's Prison is directed by Lewis Seiler and jointly written by Jack DeWitt and Crane Wilbur. It stars Ida Lupino, Jan Sterling, Cleo Moore, Audrey Totter, Phyliss Thaxter, Howard Duff and Warren Stevens. Music is orchestrated by Mischa Bakaleinikoff and photography by Lester H. White.

Cheap but entertaining piece of prison shlock, Women's Prison gets in and simmers on the heat for an hour and ten minutes until the inevitable explosion for the finale. The standard roll call of prison staples adheres to formula, new fish who clearly doesn't belong, sassy good time gal, sadistic warden, beatings, emotional hell, sexual frustration and of course a riot! There's solid traces of psychological discord in the narrative, not least with Lupino's splendidly vile warden, who, because she can't function with men on the outside world, promptly vents her pent up frustrations on the female inmates. A nice addition to the plot is that it's a co-ed prison, the mens prison is but a bricked wall away from the girls. Cue a neat little thread of a lustful Warren Stevens popping next door for some fun time with his also incarcerated wife.

Problem with the film is its look. Mood is fine but this is one of the nicest, cleanest and airiest prisons seen in film! Isolation and claustrophobia are a key ingredients of a good prison film, but those feelings are missing here, with Lester White's photography hardly utilising the chances on offer. How the film has come to be regarded as a "prison noir" is a mystery, unless the mere presence of Lupino warrants it a place?! The steam press room scenes work well, and the tear gas finale is nicely realised, but mostly this is good because of some neat lady acting performances and the afore mentioned psychological smarts in the story. Also of interest is the play off between Lupino and Duff's kindly prison doctor, which since they were married (an on off marriage that would last for decades), carries with it a bit of spice as they jostle for the sanity of meek Helene Jensen (Thaxter).

Subtle as a sledgehammer but ever so enjoyable, Women's Prison just about deserves its cult classic status. 7/10

Good cast in melodramatic prison film

[rosscinema · 6/10 · 29 March 2005]

This is clearly a "B" level film but it's a well made one that handles itself pretty well and possesses a cast that uplifts the material just enough to make most critics look at it with some fondness. Story is about a state prison that has a giant wall separating the men's side from the women's and the superintendent in charge of the female inmates is Amelia van Zandt (Ida Lupino) who is very strict and issues out harsh discipline at every turn. A new inmate is brought in named Helene Jensen (Phyllis Thaxter) but she's mentally unable to adjust to her new surroundings and after being put in a padded cell with a straight jacket on she lapses into a coma.

*****SPOILER ALERT***** The prison doctor is Dr. Crane (Howard Duff) who dislikes van Zandt's methods and he tries to protect Helene but once she gets better she's thrown back into the prison population where the other inmates try to help her get along. Another inmate named Joan Burton (Audrey Totter) is married to Glen (Warren Stevens) who's on the other side but he's found a way of sneaking over so that he and his wife can get intimate and eventually Joan must confess to everyone that she's pregnant. The warden cannot get Glen to divulge how he is able to make it over to the female side so it's up to van Zandt to try and get Joan to tell and she beats her senseless to the point that she and her unborn child die. Things get out of hand when word spreads about Joan's death and they take van Zandt hostage with the intent of killing her but Dr. Crane attempts to talk them out of it.

This is directed by Lewis Seiler who was a very popular and capable director and he does a good job of giving this film a distinct noir look with good uses of shadows in many scenes. While this is regarded more or less as a "B" movie I thought there were a few intangibles in the story that give this something of an edge. First, Totter sneaks off to have sex with her husband and the script doesn't shy away from the purpose of their trysts, and secondly, later in the film the story actually has her and her unborn baby die! You never really saw something that tragic occur in movies (at least not in those days) and this event gives the audience a reason to root for the inmates. Strangely, I thought the female prison looked like a pretty decent place to go! The other inmates are all kind to one another and help each other without a hint of gangs or even a single fight occurring and not only are they sociable but we see actress Vivian Marshall doing Bette Davis impersonations. Sounds like a place to go for a vacation! Although, I did laugh when I saw actress Juanita Moore on her hands and knees scrubbing the prison floor and singing "Sweet Chariot". Lupino was such a terrific actress that even though her performance can best be described as hammy it's still an incredibly effective one and there are scenes where her eyes display an evil glint. We have all seen our share of women's prison flicks and while this is clearly not one of the best it's still a well made film that boasts a good cast and is entertainingly made.

Don't Chain Up The Gals Near To The Guys

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 27 August 2009]

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.

"Make trouble, you get trouble..."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 20 June 2007]

The title pretty much says it all, and conveys what the viewer might expect to see in a low budget feature like this one from the 1950's. Ida Lupino stars as the tough minded, non-compassionate superintendent of a woman's prison, in a picture that starts out fairly mundane but gets rolling with all manner of evil machinations on the part of Van Zandt (Lupino). The core stories involve a housewife serving a manslaughter sentence for the accidental death of a young girl, and a female prisoner who gets pregnant by her husband during a surreptitious visit from the men's side of the prison. Should tell you what kind of a life this kid would have had.

To say there are plot holes and continuity problems galore here would be an understatement. As if to underscore the point, I got a kick out of the conversation between the two prison matrons about half way through the movie, when Miss Saunders (Mae Clarke) states she likes to pick out the flaws in prison movies. I came up with a bunch without even trying. First off, when inmate Brenda (Jan Sterling) dropped the newly laundered and pressed clothes upon discovering Joan and Glen in the storeroom, she picks up a pile of completely disheveled garments as if they just came out of a dryer! Secondly, soon after Brenda burns her hand intentionally in the clothes press, she's shown helping Joan get to her feet after she faints, and her hand clearly shows no injury. Later on in the story, when Dr. Crane (Howard Duff) goes looking for Van Zandt, he wakes up a woman prisoner who tells him that the inmates have taken over - how did she know that if she was sleeping?

A break before I continue. Though she didn't have a large role, Vivian Marshall was entertaining as the would be Shakespearean actress doing Bette Davis and Talullah Bankhead impressions. That was a clever set up for her to imitate the voices of Matron Sturges and Van Zandt later in the flick when all heck is about to break loose.

Back to the goofy stuff. How was it that after only one day in jail, Dr. Crane tells Helene Jensen that he'll bring her three letters from her husband. And after she's read them, he'll exchange them for three more! That Mr. Jensen sure must have liked to write!

I don't even want to get into how easily Glen Burton (Warren Stevens) managed to make his way from the men's prison to the women's side at will. You'd think that after the first time, the warden would have put a tail on him to figure out how he did it, instead of relying on Van Zandt to beat it out of the Mrs. By the time Burton whips out a gun during the hectic finale, it looks like one of the more believable elements of the story.

But you know, even with all this nonsense going on, the story managed to keep my interest during it's entire hour and a half run. Each of the characterizations, even the minor roles was entertaining. It was worth it to get to the point where Crane orders the straight jacket for Van Zandt as she's about to take off for la-la land.

OK, two more. How is it that Jensen, serving one to ten for that manslaughter charge gets released after about the two weeks of the film's story?

And the name of the black woman prisoner in the role call - O'Shaughnessy???

Were Taking Over This Joint!

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 15 January 2006]

(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.

Highly entertaining junk...

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 5 March 2010]

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's Just Plain Mean!

[JLRMovieReviews · 7/10 · 26 October 2011]

Ida Lupino is the warden of a women's prison, which holds all kinds, those in for the long haul, those trying to rehabilitate, those who keep coming back because they don't know any better or just don't care, and those who through a terrible accident don't really belong there. The excellent cast includes Jan Sterling (one of those who keeps coming back), Cleo Moore, Audrey Totter, and Phyllis Thaxter (as one who doesn't really belong with rough characters) as those serving time in the clinker, and Howard Duff as the doctor there for their wellbeing. But it seems that under the treatment of Ida, they are not encouraged to rehabilitate. She treats them all like beasts, like all they understand is the whip, when they need a helping hand to turn their lives around, if they will. The movie seems to sensationalize or over-dramatize the-revolting- prisoners-and-the-warden-with-no-heart plot, but as viewers we tend to eat it up, with such a great cast of actresses. The film may be rather formulaic and predictable, but we still enjoy it all, down to the last drop. Ida has never been more sadistic, even up against her real life husband Mr. Duff! Watch an extreme example of a women's prison! Hopefully!

Ida Lupino is fantastic!

[cgvsluis · 2/10 · 12 November 2020]

Great shadowy shots in this black and white drama about a women's prison that is being run by a cold unsympathetic Ida Lupino. Her harsh rule leads to the death of a pregnant inmate and the near mental breakdown of another. There are some inner jokes within the prison mainly guards joking about how unrealistic prison films are and an inmate who does spot on impersonations...her Bette Davis was great! Ida steals your attention when she is on the screen somehow making her harsh and unyielding character still feminine and sexy. It is hard to believe her blood runs with ice. The black and white cinematography used lighting to its advantage focusing in on Ida steely eyes. Worth seeing once, if for nothing else some of the one liners... "You won't like it at first, but when you get used to it you'll really hate it." "That's why i'm Back here, I need a holiday." "Here are the rules for the institution. I dare say you've broken every one of them" "Poly, poly clinic jones. My mama named me after the clinic where I was born." "Don't think you can con me, you jailhouse lawyer." "You see, doctor, you are not the only one who knows the quality of mercy."-Van Zandt

Women's Prison Movies Are Always Hilarious!

[jadedalex · 6/10 · 26 December 2015]

I reluctantly gave this film a six star rating, although it deserves a four. It sticks in my mind as one of the funniest women's prison films I've ever seen, and that's saying something!

This is like the 'grandmammy' of all women's prison pictures, being released way back in 1955. The cast contains so much promise and talent. I usually love Ms. Lupino in just about everything she did. There's a real 'b' girl ensemble cast with the very talented Jan Sterling (so good in Wilder's 'Ace in the Hole'), the beautiful Cleo Moore (who is given very little to do in a minor role), and the always interesting Audrey Totter.

But I found it hard to sit through this flick without my tongue in my cheek. Let's face it: Ida Lupino's prison ward is Cruella De Ville, Lady MacBeth and Nurse Ratchet rolled into one psycho package. I do enjoy her banter between her and husband Howard Duff (one of the few sympathetic characters in the piece). But Duff simply 'duffs' along. A good looking guy, I've found him pretty blank-faced as an actor.

Another sup-plot involves inmate Phyllis Thaxter. (Another fine actress, I know she did work in films, but she did a lot of nice television work, too.) She is losing her mind being around all of these conniving females, and she's 'almost' innocent. She killed a young girl with her automobile, but she was not 'drunk' and it is described as an 'accident'.

It's interesting to note here that perhaps today's society would be much tougher on a woman based on this crime, accident or no.

The 'coed' prison is right out of the filthy perverse mind of Albert Zugsmith. I supposed institutions similar to this may have existed, and this gave the movie another silly sub-plot to have male inmate Warren Stevens sneak over and get his wife Audrey Totter pregnant.

I know this is supposed to be grim stuff, but I was chuckling by this time. Lupino goes crazy after her murder of the inmate Totter. I thought Ms. Lupino was rather good in a role that Bette Davis would have probably relished. It reminding me of Ida's performance years earlier, going crazy in the courtroom scene at the end of 'They Drive By Night'.

Having said all that, I must confess that I found this movie pretty ridiculous. Is it a bit strange? Sure. But Lupino, who was fine playing tough, sultry, beautiful babes in so many films strikes out with a real loser here. Unintentionally hilarious.

hilarious, fun junk

[jgepperson · 5/10 · 23 September 2007]

This movie is nirvana for trashy B-movie lovers. The cast is incredible. I believe Ida Lupino played a similar role in a 70s TV movie called "Women In Chains." In this one, "Women's Prison," one of the female inmates (there are male inmates, too) is a movie star impersonator, a trait that hilariously figures into the plot. Some of the actresses in this film also appeared in the earlier and much better "Caged": Gertrude Michael, Jan Sterling. There was another women's prison movie called "House of Women" soon to come. Don't miss this absurd movie! They showed it on Turner Classic Movies recently as part of their gay series. It will probably show up again.

Women Behind Bars

[wes-connors · 6/10 · 14 February 2016]

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

Gifted cast and campy histrionics do not a "Caged" make

[bmacv · 6/10 · 13 November 2001]

John Cromwell's great "Caged" remains the finest "women's prison" (and possibly just plain "prison") movie ever filmed; its success probably accounts for this knock-off five years later. It promises a lot, what with Ida Lupino heading the cast as a borderline-psycho superintendant, aided and abetted by Jan Sterling, Audrey Totter, Cleo Moore and Mr. Lupino, Howard Duff. Yet while Lupino worked wonders with tough-as-tarpaper women like Lily Stevens in Road House, she was too good an actress to block out her vulnerable, humane side; her characters had character. Here, however, she goes for caricature and ends up with overcalculated camp.

The far-fetched plot of Women's Prison derives from the fact that it's half of a co-ed correctional facility, separated by the walls of Jericho. Somehow, Totter's hubby breaches the defenses, resulting in her unfortunate pregnancy. This breach of prissy morality causes such a ruckus that all hell breaks loose; yet the scene where Lupino beats Totter up, resulting in her death, is far too heavy for this basically lightweight, unsubtle vehicle. Women's Prison has its moments (the Tallulah Bankhead and Bette Davis imitations are -- in more ways than one -- a hoot), but it suffers by its inability to leave the indelible impressions that even the cameo actresses left in Caged, as well as that movie's horrifyingly plausible portrait of an institution dedicated to dementia. Women's Prison is part of the reason that "women's prison" movies turned into sleazy exploitation flicks.

A fine tacky B

[marcslope · 7/10 · 2 September 2009]

Rife with prison-movie clichés and hyperactive music, this B starts with the unlikely premise of adjoining men's and women's big houses, with a female inmate married to a male inmate, and escalates the incredibility from there. Ida Lupino, apparently realizing she's in an implausible movie, eye-pops like Bette Davis and exaggerates every gesture and line reading, most entertainingly, and squares off against hubby Howard Duff, as a too-good-to-be-true prison doctor. The cells are jammed with good actresses, most notably the always-underrated Jan Sterling as a practical-minded blonde floozy, and Phyllis Thaxter as the not-really-guilty newbie quickly driven insane by Lupino's sadistic hysterics. Warren Stevens is especially good as an inmate from the other side who unconvincingly breaks into the women's side and impregnates his wife, setting the stage for an exciting we're-taking-over-this-joint climax. It is, as another poster noted, no "Caged," and you'll giggle more than you'll really feel for these dames, but it's a great time-waster, with a hilariously unlikely, tacked-on happy ending.

Pretty Good Woman's Prison Movie

[boblipton · 6/10 · 11 March 2024]

Phyllis Thaxter goes to prison for running over a child. In there, she doesn't adjust, but is an unwilling witness to the brutality of the system. Warden Ida Lupino is a well-manicured, buttoned-up sadist. When Audrey Totter turns up pregnant, it's obvious that her husband, Warren Stevens, has snuck over from the men's side of the prison. He refuses to talk untill Miss Totter is released. Under orders from men's warden Barry Kelly, Miss Lupino tries to beat the information out of Miss Totter, but she doesn't know; she winds up in the infirmary, possibly dying, and the women riot.

Crane Wilbur had a hand in the script, which goes way overboard in terms of exposing the problems of the system, but the performances are terrific, with Jan Sterling a standout and Cleo Moore and Juanita Hansen are very good. It's also good to see Gertrude Michael and Mae Clarke on the screen. But the men's parts are sketches, with Howard Duff as the prison doctor reciting his canned reproaches to his real-life wife adequately to advance the plot.

Still, it's Miss Thaxter who's the real problem. She remains feeble throughout the entire movie, and despite her suffering, never loses the perfection of her permanent wave. Good thing the script only touches in with her occasionally. Or perhaps that's the way it was edited.

The mother of all women's prison movies

[mls4182 · 10/10 · 10 May 2021]

With three of the best movie "bad girls" how can you go wrong? Jan Sterling, Cleo Taurus Moore and Audrey Totter! Add Ida Lupino as an incompetent, hard nosed warden and snivelling Phyllis Thaxter and you have movie camp magic! Its so entertaining you'll forget to wonder where the gals got girdles and tailored uniforms or how they got their roots done while in the pen.

Stunning, stunning, stunning

[searchanddestroy-1 · 19 December 2023]

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.

Women's Prison (1955)

[MartinTeller · 6/10 · 3 January 2012]

Your standard babes behind bars flick with the usual assortment of scenarios. This one is slightly different in that the men and women share a prison, separated only by a wall. This leads to an unusual scenario where a fella sneaks in to the other side and impregnates his wife, which eventually provides the film with its inmates-take-over-the-prison climax. Most notable is the star-studded cast. Ida Lupino is the sadistic warden, hamming it up delightfully. Howard Duff is the sympathetic doctor. Among the more memorable inmates are Cleo Moore, Audrey Totter, Phyllis Thaxter, Juanita Moore (introduced in the painfully undignified position of scrubbing floors while singing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"), Jan Sterling and Vivian Marshall. The movie is kind of fun and moves swiftly, but is too formulaic and lacking in nuance. CAGED is a far better option.

Ida Slapped'r...

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 1 May 2014]

Still quite a looker here, the versatile Ida Lupino took on quite a interesting role here as the controlling superintendent of the women's section of a state prison. Men are next door, separated by only walls. She obviously has some mental issues as well, evidenced by an obvious hatred of her charges who have broken the rules of society which she now breaks in the sanctity of her own office. Not even the innocent newbee (Phyllis Thaxter), a housewife who accidentally killed a child while speeding (those women drivers!) can escape her non-empathy. Thaxter almost dies after Ida orders her to be strapped into a straight jacket and thrown into a rubber room.

Only the prison doctor (Howard Duff) seems to be on the side of the women behind bars, but that is doomed by Lupino's constant threats to report him for going against practically every order she makes. The sudden pregnancy of one of the girls (whose husband is conveniently tucked away in the men's prison) erupts the prison into violence when Ida's own vile temper (threatened with loosing her job) leaves the pregnant inmate in critical condition.

A superb cast supports Ida here, especially Jan Sterling and Cleo Moore as other inmates, and includes a few sympathetic moments from the prison guards (most memorably Mae Clarke) and an amusing anecdote from one of them commenting on the inconsistencies of women's prison movies which she likes to pick out. An over-the-top moment of camp involves an inmate who does uncanny impressions of Bette Davis, Tallulah Bankhead, and yes, Ida herself. Look closely for "Imitation of Life's" beloved Juanita Moore who plays a black inmate unfortunately reduced to singing "Swing Low, Swing Chariot" while scrubbing the floor, an unlikely detail for 1955.

The revenge of the Quackenbush Sisters

[kalbimassey · 8/10 · 18 May 2022]

Not a directorial effort from Ida Lupino, but an essential companion to some of her illustrious achievements from behind the camera, which often took noir to unusual locations, whilst confronting important moral and social issues.

In Women's Prison, she is the intractable, autocratic chief, who oversees a repressive regime. She talks a good rehabilitation game, but her heart is full of hate and retribution. As decent and vulnerable new girl, Phyllis Thaxter painfully discovers, Lupino gives no quarter and recognizes no distinction between the hardened criminal and the criminally negligent. Barry Kelly, warden of the adjoining men's prison is cut from the same abrasive cloth. Prison doctor, Howard Duff, provides the voice of enlightenment, reason and empathy, in attempting to take Thaxter under his wing, but finds himself swimming against the current. When he tries to psycho analyze Lupino, her hostility goes into orbit.

In stark contrast, there is an admirable loyalty, unity and camaraderie amongst the cell mates, who openly support each other in the face of the harsh conditions. Not so much a potboiler as a pot about to boil over. That moment arrives, when the heartless Lupino is responsible for an easily avoidable tragedy.

Intelligently written and conceived, to incorporate an interesting romantic subplot involving an inmate from the men's quarters, Women's Prison is not a classic, but a highly charged, emotive and often harrowing drama. Lupino is on top form as the domineering, deranged head honcho, receiving strong support from familiar noirites Jan Sterling and Audrey Totter. The joker in the pack is little known Vivian Marshall, doing splendid impressions of Bette Davis and Lupino's character, with her 'Look here Quackenbush,' routine, offering memorable comic relief in this frequently grim tale. Her sentence?....Probably for stealing Alphabetti Spaghetti!

Well directed, scripted, and acted B-movie

[rockymark-30974 · 6/10 · 25 March 2021]

Though a low-budget B movie this film was extremely well directed, scripted and acted with some amusing moments of impressions by Vivian Marshall, nicely integrated into the plot when she has to mimic one of the custodians in the film (name omitted for those who haven't seen the film). Howard Duff was great as the prison Dr. with a great line about signing the death certificate. The funniest line in the film is undoubtedly the malapropism on the word "diaphragm" as "diagram." Phyliss Thaxter, as usual, was a standout. Fans of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents series will be happy to see her here, since she was a frequent performer in that series. Also noteworthy was Juanita Moore, though in a relatively minor role.

The one puzzling thing about this film is it may well have the worst movie title in film history. I can't imagine a duller title than "Women's Prison." It sounds more like a temporary title used until someone could come up with something better but they were unable to.

An Interesting Prison Movie for the Most Part

[Uriah43 · 5/10 · 16 October 2013]

"Helen Jensen" (Phyllis Thaxter) is a young woman who accidentally killed a child in an automobile accident and has been sentenced to prison for a period of 1 to 10 years. To make matters worse she isn't as tough as some of the other female inmates and has a nervous breakdown within only a day of her arrival. The main female matron, "Amelia van Zandt" (Ida Lupino) has a lot to do with it due to her cold and heartless decision to deliberately disobey the doctor's orders of not having her confined in isolation. But this isn't the first instance of abuse by Amelia as other instances occur during this film which finally reach a breaking point. At any rate, rather than detail the entire plot and possibly spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was an interesting prison movie for the most part. The acting was decent with both Ida Lupino and Jan Sterling (as "Brenda Martin") probably standing out the most. But while some of the movie seemed quite realistic there were other parts which seemed a bit too over-the-top. Likewise, there really wasn't anything that unique from other prison movies. As such, although it certainly wasn't a bad movie, I find it difficult to give this film anything higher than an average rating.

Powerhouse Cast -- Lame Movie

[dougdoepke · 29 January 2012]

What possibilities!—two brassy blondes both behind bars. It's Jan Sterling and Cleo Moore who've spread on more cheap perfume and more hair dye in more cheap movies than I can count. I figure it should add up to a best two-out-of-three-falls grudge match, at least. But no! Not only don't they strip down, but they're even best friends against mean old warden Ida Lupino in this babes behind bars flick.

Actually, the sex angle isn't played up at all. In fact, the prison dresses are shapeless and darn near reach the floor, so I'm about to hit the off button. But truth be told, with that powerhouse line-up of really good actresses—Lupino, Thaxter, Sterling, and Totter—I hang in there expecting maybe a good heavy drama like Caged (1950), even if the girls do keep their clothes on.

But no, the writers have penciled in about every old tired gimmick in the "screws versus cons" book. And what genius thought up Lupino's wacko final scene. Plus the sets look like they cost about ten bucks, tops. I don't know how the producers got such top-notch acting talent for such a lame production, but they did. Anyway, I'm giving a jailhouse Oscar to the great Phyllis Thaxter for coming up with an A-grade sweaty performance in a Z-grade project. Meanwhile, I've sworn no more babes behind bars flicks unless I see at least one bra-strap in the first ten minutes.