Richie-67-485852 What stands out mostly in this movie you are about to watch or have seen is the story of innocence and all it represents being slowly and over time replaced with its counter-part better referred to as "loss" of innocence. The main actor Ms. Parker pulls it off quite nicely with the help of others who play their roles with realism making one buy the premises hook, line and sinker. Once you start rooting for the character in the beginning of the film, you cannot stop and whatever happens to her in the movie emotionally happens to you. This is called entertainment because it engages you. That's what us viewers and movie goers yearn for and pay for too. The fact that this takes place decades ago helps sell it even more as todays prisons wouldn't allow the innocence to linger or unfold but snatch and destroy immediately. The movies of the 1950's tended to put emphasis on storyline with an actor or actress that can deliver it thus earning a return for time and effort and perhaps either launch a new star or carry one forward. This movie has memorable characters and scenes which makes it a pleasure to review more than once. I have seen it several times and have it in my queue right now to go again. Note the power that some prisoners have over others and how the people who run the prison are always trying to catch up or compete. One is in control while the other feigns control. Who will prevail? Lets just say that only the fittest will survive. Have a tasty drink and a decent snack with this movie. One more thing. Place a premium on your own innocence and that of others. Enjoy

frankwiener It happens quite often. I'll watch an actor in maybe a half dozen movies and then--boom--the same actor performs in the role of a lifetime, which forces me to sit up and take notice of them. As a result of that one role, I become an instant fan overnight. This was the case as I watched Eleanor Parker play Marie Allen here. She forever won me over.What impressed me was Parker's portrayal of a naive, 19 year old widow who is convicted as an accessory to an armed robbery committed by her husband, who is killed during the $40 heist. In the course of the movie, her character gradually develops into an embittered, toughened, career criminal as a result of her experiences in a prison that produces seasoned lawbreakers rather than even attempting to rehabilitate them.The entire supporting cast is excellent, but Agnes Moorehead, Hope Emerson, and Betty Garde especially stand out. Moorehead appears in an unusually softened role as a reform minded prison warden who is overwhelmed by the corruption that prevails among both superiors and subordinates. Whether subdued, villainous, or deranged, Agnes never disappoints. Her presence alone always adds value to any movie. Hope Emerson is perfect as the corrupt and despised prison guard with desk drawers overflowing with candy obtained as bribes, and from the looks of this gal, she likes plenty of candy. The scene of her all dolled up and ready to step out for a night on the town is not to be missed as she is appears to be the very last person to realize how ridiculous she looks. Avid "Honeymooners" fans, such as myself, will immediately recognize an unforgettable Garde, who once played Thelma, the maid, in one of the most hilarious episodes among many enacted in the unadorned Kramden apartment. In this case, however, you won't be laughing at Betty's portrayal of a tough but targeted Kitty Stark.This film is based on the true experiences of the screenplay writer, Virginia Kellogg, and I think that these real life origins serve to enhance the story's credibility and authenticity. There is nothing lonelier than the forlorn sound of a distant train heard from a jail cell because these prisoners aren't going anywhere. Even if they finally gain their temporary freedom, they'll be back. Flop out, flop in. Repeat.

classicsoncall Is there a better opening line in the entire history of cinema to hook a viewer than the one in my summary line above? Man, I've seen prison flicks before but this one tops just about all of them. It borderlines those exploitation films of the Thirties and Forties, but with a twist - this one is actually pretty good. There's a coherent story and the characters are generally believable, and whoever did the casting for the picture deserves a blue ribbon.Take prison matron Evelyn Harper for example. Portrayed by Hope Emerson, this gargantuan cell keeper will give you nightmares for a week after you've seen the picture. You know, I couldn't figure out who she reminded me of and then it came to me. Picture an overweight Larry Fine of the Three Stooges shot up on steroids and you'll be in the right neighborhood. I couldn't resist looking up her bio here on IMDb and her stats are six foot two and two hundred thirty pounds! In the Fifties she did a series of TV commercials as the voice of Elsie the Cow - how appropriate was that?!?!You know, if you go down the cast list for the picture, there's really a lot of talent on board here. Agnes Moorehead is probably the most recognizable name, but Ellen Corby, Jan Sterling, Lee Patrick and Jane Darwell are all respected actresses of the era, and Eleanor Parker in the lead role had just the right amount of doe eyed innocence to make you share in her agony. Sterling probably had the best inmate name - Smoochie the CP ('Common Prostitute'), while Olive Deering's character June was the most tragic, playing out in an almost obligatory prison movie scene in which she hangs herself after 'flopping back in' following a rejected parole board review.Filmed in 1950, this was one of the latter day Warner Brothers films documenting the harsh conditions of prison life while attempting to promote reform as exemplified by superintendent Ruth Benton (Moorehead). She's thwarted in her attempts by a limited budget, conniving politicians and her own matron Harper who's personal connections inside the system make her virtually untouchable. It's like hitting your head against a brick wall, except these were cell block gray.If you go for stuff like this, you might try 1933's "Parole Girl" with Mae Clark in the lead role, or better yet, 1955's "Women's Prison" starring Ida Lupino as a tough minded, non-compassionate prison superintendent. Unlike this movie, "Women's Prison" is chock full of plot holes and continuity gaffes but in it's own way it's just as entertaining as this one. All these flicks are just the ticket if you ever find yourself in solitary.

Spikeopath Caged is directed by John Cromwell and adapted by Virginia Kellogg from her own story Women Without men that was co-written with Bernard C. Schoenfeld. It stars Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, Ellen Corby, Betty Garde and Hope Emerson. Music is by Max Steiner and cinematography by Carl E. Guthrie.Teenager Marie Allen (Parker) is sent to a women's prison after being found guilty of being an accomplice in a robbery, a robbery that saw her husband killed. She's also pregnant and will have to have the child in the prison. Struggling to come to terms with her incarceration and the tough regime overseen by brutish warden Harper (Emerson), Marie comes to realise that she may have to go through a major character transformation to survive.Unfairly tagged as camp and sounding on synopsis like what would become a cheese laden staple of women's prison movies, Caged is actually rather powerful film making. The deconstruction and subsequent transformation of a young woman who clearly doesn't belong behind those walls, is bleakly told. The prison is a foreboding place, the lady character's reactions to their surroundings and way of life are emotionally charged.Frank in its portrayal of prison life back then, but sly with its insinuations of sexual proclivities and criminal doings on the inside, the writing has a crafty edge most befitting the sombre tone that pervades the picture. Parker leads off the list of great performances to bring the drama to life, and with Guthrie's black and white photography superbly emphasising claustrophobia and pungent emotional turmoil, it rounds out as a thoroughly gripping piece of film. With an ending that's appropriately biting as well. 7.5/10