Caged

Plot synopsis:
A married 19-year-old, Marie Allen (Eleanor Parker), is sent to prison after a botched armed robbery attempt with her equally young husband, Tom, who is killed. While receiving her initial prison physical, she finds out that she is two months pregnant.
Marie has trouble adjusting to the monotonous and cutthroat world of the women's prison. She meets Kitty Stark (Betty Garde), a murderous shoplifter, who says once Marie gets out, Kitty will get her a job "boosting" (shoplifting). Marie does not want to get involved in crime, but Kitty explains the realities of prison life: "You get tough or you get killed. You better wise up before it's too late."
Told she can be paroled after 9 months, Marie witnesses prisoner after prisoner being "flopped back" – granted parole, but then not released from jail because no jobs had been arranged by their parole officers. One flopped-back prisoner, June (Olive Deering), kills herself given the hopeless situation. This saps Marie's hopes of getting out early.
Despite the hardships under sadistic matron Evelyn Harper (Hope Emerson), Marie gives birth to a healthy baby and wants to "temporarily" grant full custody to her mother. The intent is to get the baby back after she is released. Marie's callous step-father has decided not to allow the baby into his house. Marie's mother uses the excuses that she's "too old" and "hasn't a penny in [her] name" as reasons why she can't help Marie. Marie is denied a parole. She half-heartedly tries to escape, but is not punished. The prison forces her to permanently give the child up for adoption.
The arrival of "vice queen" Elvira Powell (Lee Patrick) sets off a rivalry with Kitty. Elvira bribes Harper to put Kitty in solitary confinement, where Kitty is beaten. When a kitten is found in the jail yard, Marie attempts to make it a pet. When Harper tries to take the kitten away, a riot ensues, during which the kitten is accidentally killed, and Marie is put into solitary confinement as well.
Before taking Marie to solitary confinement, Harper shaves Marie's head, symbolically stripping her of her innocence. Harper has disagreements with the sympathetic reformist prison superintendent, Ruth Benton (Agnes Moorehead), especially after this latest incident with Marie. However, since Harper is a political appointee, the police commissioner refuses to fire her, and asks for Benton's resignation, instead. When Benton declares that she will request a public hearing, the resignation issue is dropped.
Out of solitary confinement after a month, Kitty is distraught and mentally ill. After being picked on by Harper in the cafeteria, Kitty stabs Harper to death as the inmates watch and make no attempt to stop it. After her exposure to hardened criminals and sadistic prison guards, Marie actually urges Kitty on.
Up for parole once again, Marie has found a "cashier's job" outside—actually just a ruse to join Elvira Powell's shoplifting gang—and leaves prison a hardened woman after 15 months. Benton asks Marie why she is going into crime when she could go back to school. Marie says she got all the education she needed in prison.
After Marie leaves, an office assistant asks Benton what to do with Marie's file. Benton replies, "Keep it active. She'll be back."

Tags: cruelty, sadist

Review:
Not only is it a good prison drama, but it is a good example of film noir moviemaking as well.It was a bit of daring to show how corrupt the prison system can be and "inmates decaying" as one character put it.The lead character (Eleanor Parker) goes from being an innocent to becoming as hard as anyone else in the prison system due to the efforts of  her matron and chief tormentor (Hope Emerson).
At nearly fifty years old, 'Caged" isn't quite like today's women-in-prison sexploitation flicks--and that's good.
For reasons I cannot fathom, this film sometimes ends up on lists of the worst movies of all time; this despite Oscar nominations for Eleanor Parker and Hope Emerson.
Brilliant performances  by  Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, and especially, Hope Emerson, as the prison matron...
(And, given the milieu and all-but-all-female cast, that innuendo has a heavily Sapphic tinge.)  One need only list the characters and the players to get a map of the direction the drama will take:  "new fish" Marie Allen (Eleanor Parker); corrupt, sadistic matron Evelyn Harper (the 6'2" Hope Emerson); hard case Kitty Stark (Betty Garde); vice queen Elvira Powell (Lee Patrick);  warden Ruth Benton (Agnes Moorehead); and one tough old bird who almost steals the whole damn picture ("one more like you would be so much velvet").
There is undeniably some hokum in this 1950's crime drama, but this is still easily one of the best prison films ever, featuring top-notch performances by Eleanor Parker as the young innocent eventually hardened by the grim realities of prison life, and by Hope Emerson as the scary prison matron (both deservedly recieved Academy Award nominations for their work).
The picture obtained three nominations for Academy Award : the best principal actress (Eleanor Parker) , support cast (Hope Emerson) and the best original screenplay (Virginia Kellogg).The film is remade as ¨House of Women¨(1962) with Shirley Knight and originated a real sub-genre and spreading several sequels , imitations and copies as ¨Women's prison¨(1955) with Ida Lupino and ¨Girls in Prison¨ with Joan Taylor.
It's just that things are a lot more raw than they are on free side.The film is seen through the eyes of protagonist Eleanor Parker who drew a one to fifteen year sentence on a robbery in which her husband was killed.
Due to the influence of the prison even with a relatively compassionate warden like Agnes Moorehead, by the time she leaves she's as tough a cookie as those she met and dealt with as fellow cons and as matrons.Eleanor Parker and Hope Emerson as the wicked matron Harper both received Oscar nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively.
Yet the whole film is so well cast it seems a shame to single out just those two performers.Two of the most interesting characters were Betty Garde as a tough con who runs the cell block until an enemy in the person of Lee Patrick who is a society madam arrives for a short term.
Look also for good performances by Ellen Corby as the loopy murderer of her abusing husband and Jan Sterling in on a prostitution rap.I think if the cast of The Women were ever thrown into prison as they are in Caged, I think the behavior would be exactly the same.
For example, nineteen-year old Marie (Parker)"flops" in as a wide-eyed innocent but leaves as a hardened criminal; guard Harper's sadism and influence-peddling flourishes; day-to-day routines strip inmates of self-respect; the medical dispensary remains under-funded and filthy; while the entire package is held together by state politics, skimpy budgets, and behind the scenes string-pulling.
"Caged" is the rare kind of movie that works both as a film to take seriously and as a camp classic.Eleanor Parker plays Marie Allen, a naive 19-year-old who goes to prison as an accomplice in an armed robbery staged by her loser husband.
She doesn't really belong there, but despite the efforts of the prison administrator (Agnes Moorehead) to help her get paroled, she remains locked up, only to be turned into a jaded criminal by the very institution that's supposed to reform her.The film is full of rough stuff, atrocities and indignities heaped one after another on Marie or the other inmates.
Presiding over all is sadistic warden Evelyn Harper, played memorably by the gigantic actress Hope Emerson, who abuses her power so egregiously that she eventually gets stabbed in the chest with a fork by one crazy inmate while Parker's character hisses "Kill her!
Kill her!" The screenplay tosses out one memorable line after another -- my favorite is Parker's departing words to Moorehead when Marie finally gets her parole: "Thanks for the haircut." But for all the women-behind-bars sensationalism, the film is no joke.
I laughed a lot, but I also found myself outraged.In addition to Parker, Emerson (both Oscar nominated, by the way) and Moorehead, the cast also includes Jan Sterling and Betty Garde as two of the more memorable inmates.Grade: A.
Some of the finest character actors in the business were in the film including the aforementioned Jan Sterling, Betty Garde, Hope Emerson, Lee Patrick, Agnes Moorhead, Ellen Corby, Jane Darwell, Olive Deering and Sheila MacRae. And who can forget the stellar performance of Eleanor Parker as Marie Allen, a young woman who made a mistake and paid dearly for it.
this is one of the most under rated movies of all time.eleanor parker really did deserve an oscar for this performance, the entire cast is excellent as well.
The warden states: "She'll be back!"Eleanor Parker received the first of 3 Oscar nominations for this realistic film on the conditions of prison life.
Surprise!) rises far above the usual pitfalls of being nothing more than pure exploitation trash.As well - Kudos goes to both Eleanor Parker and Hope Emerson for their earnest conviction and sincere believability in the first-rate character portrayals that they delivered in "Caged".This gritty, unsentimental, unglamourous, tough-as-nails Chick Flick from 1950 is, without question, the best prison film (focusing on women) that I have ever seen, bar none.Yes. Caged is clichéd as only a prison picture could possibly be, but, with that aside, its cast, its director, and its screenwriter (Virginia Kellogg) were obviously so professional and self-assured about their involvement in the story that they were tackling that Caged literally stands tall as a shining gem of its genre.From its despairing opening sequence, to its even more despairing final moments, Caged certainly succeeded in holding my unwavering interest and attention for its full 96-minute running time.Yes. Indeed.
If no attempt is made to adjust felons, all a prison is good for is to further indoctrinate criminals in their pegged rackets.Of all of them, the most indelible impression is made by the gruff voice and towering physicality of Hope Emerson, who mustered all of the feelings of inadequacy one frankly imagines she suffered in her time to scald the morale of the inmates over which she abuses the power she sadistically relishes.
Subsequently, one need just run down the characters surrounding her to map the bearings of the angle the drama will take: Manipulative and vicious superintendent Hope Emerson, hard-boiled ringleader Kitty Stark played by the boldly unglamorous Betty Garde, and corruption matron Lee Patrick.
CAGED has many of the same elements as other prison films but nonetheless it's a superior movie thanks to great cinematography, action, characters, and overall intelligence guiding it.
The beginning shot is a classic noir shot inside the paddy wagon taking the women, including the protagonist Marie Allen played by Eleanor Parker in an Oscar-nominated role, to the prison.
The film conveys a dark and gritty "social realism" that Warner Brothers seemed to specialize in at this time.While the prison is run by a progressive warden played by Agnes Morehead, the prisoners are cruelly harassed by a truly monstrous matron played by Hope Emerson, who also received an Oscar nomination.
That would be Evelyn Harper (Hope Emerson), a big corrupt brute.Photographed in an impressively stark manner by Carl Guthrie, "Caged" is directed with sensitivity and intelligence by John Cromwell, who gets excellent performances out of his mostly female cast.
It stars Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, Ellen Corby, Betty Garde and Hope Emerson.
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.
A serious no laughing matter movie about prison life period,no need to consider gender.Even with all that for me the character that stood out most was the warden played by Agnes Moorehead.Having not seen her work before I went into this movie not being a follower of hers but in the end I liked her presentation.Trying to change what's wrong in the prison she keeps running into a brick wall.Visiting officials to the prison aren't really concerned about doing what is right,their main concern is keeping their positions and not upsetting persons in positions over them.The way the warden doesn't back down to these pompous,gutless bootlickers was to my liking.It seemed like a scene at many workplaces maybe yours.It reminded me of the persons that butter-up those in charge.Those in charge clean up the unit when they hear higher-ups are coming for a visit.The officials in this movie remind me of the above.I'd like to think I saw a bit of myself in the wardens character..
Eleanor Parker got a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for this gritty look inside women's prisons.
Eleanor Parker from Caged, one of the first women-in-prison movies.
Hope Emerson was nominated for a Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as the vaguely lesbian matron of the prison who treats the inmates like garbage.
After her husband is killed attempting to rob a gas station, 19-year-old Eleanor Parker (as Marie Allen, #93850) is thrown into prison as an accessory.
Hardened inmate Betty Garde (as Kitty Stark) wants Parker to join her gang, and wealthy Lee Patrick (as Elvira Powell) wants her sexual favors...Nice warden Agnes Moorehead (as Ruth Benton) provides hope...This is a well produced drama, although it is simplistic and superficial.
Her supporting cast, led by Ms. Emerson, is exceptional.******** Caged (5/19/50) John Cromwell ~ Eleanor Parker, Hope Emerson, Betty Garde, Agnes Moorehead.
A scared, 19 year-old woman named "Marie Allen" (Eleanor Parker) has been sentenced to 1 to 15 years in prison for being an accessory to a robbery that was not her fault.
Noticing how emotionally fragile Marie Allen is, another prisoner named "Kitty Stark" (Betty Garde) gives her this advice, "In this cage you get tough or you get killed." Since the movie evolves from this point and rather than spoil the film for anyone who hasn't seen it, I won't give out any more details of the story.
It wasn't award winning as a movie, but two of its actresses (Parker as the new inmate and Emerson as the sadistic guard) were nominated for Oscars!
It's a well acted and extremely well directed movie without the severe brutality and exploitation that most of the films of the same genre would become known for later in the 60's and 70's.Marie Allen played by a superb Eleanor Parker's transformation from the girl next door to a hard nosed convict is spectacular.If you are looking for the brutal, naked chick prison flick you're in the wrong place but if you are looking for one of the best if not the best then sit back and enjoy..
Great performances from Oscar nominated Eleanor Parker and Hope Emerson--as well as Agnes Moorehead and Lee Patrick.
This powerful drama inside the female prision was a turning point to reform the inhuman system which ruled in America,this picture was a warning for changing the rotten and vicious circle at this period of time a crime's school, Eleanor Parker had a great performance as a primary detainee but Agnes Moorehead stolen the show for first time plays the good girls as far l've remember, without forget Hope Emerson on a remarkable acting as devious keeper,almost perfect noir which was increased by the final result choosen by the system's victim!!Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 9.5.
Eleanor Parker gave one of her best performances as Marie Allen, a young naive pregnant widow, who becomes an unwilling accessory to a robbery that killed her husband.
At the beginning of this film, a naïve 19 year old woman (Eleanor Parker) enters prison for being with her husband when he committed a robbery.
The other prisoners, led by a 'queen bee' (Betty Garde) size her up quickly as a nice person, and look out for her, although Garde also begins trying to recruit her into a career of shoplifting for when she gets paroled.As the film plays out, there are some aspects that seem unlikely, e.g. the woman breaking down after only three days of solitary confinement, and the warden entering the prison area behind bars fearlessly, quelling a riot by simply shouting "Stop it!" There is also a bit of toughness missing, with little real threat from other prisoners, who all seem relatively decent in spite of some of the crimes they've committed.
At a time when the United States is undergoing overdue prison reform, this movie has not at all lost its relevance.The entire supporting cast is excellent, but Agnes Moorehead, Hope Emerson, and Betty Garde especially stand out.
Eleanor Parker gives a terrific performance as the innocent young woman hardened by the brutality of prison.
Eleanor Parker (as the new girl in the cell block), Hope Emerson (as the hissable matron) and the screenplay were all nominated for Oscars--which is more surprising actually than anything in the picture.
Meek mild Marie Allen (Eleanor Parker) is sentenced to 5 years in prison for a robbery attempt her husband forced her into--he was killed.
Marie, here played by Eleanor Parker in what has become her most-remembered movie role, is haunting as the ingénue who gets ground into mincemeat and comes out a hardened criminal.
However, CAGED is a fantastic film, with a first-rate cast including the likes of Agnes Moorehead, Lee Patrick, Betty Garde, Ellen Corby, Jane Darwell, Sheila McRae, and Jan Stirling in a scene-stealing role as Smoochie and a presence that points at the type of women that would become icons of beauty a full decade later -- think Goldie Hawn and Twiggy..
Best of the women's prison films...Eleanor Parker deserved an Oscar....
Marie comes out at the end of the movie a hardened and embittered young woman with only a life of crime awaiting her on the outside.Marie had at first something to look forward to in that she being pregnant and the warden of the prison Ruth Benton, Agnes Moorhead, understanding her sorry plight in that she was a victim of circumstances, being at the wrong place at the wrong time, more then a criminal with her husband getting gunned down trying to stick up a gas station and she unknowingly, what her husband was up to, sitting in his car.
Eleanor Parker gives a superb and touching performance as naive and innocent 19-year-old Marie Allen, who finds herself doing hard time in a brutal women's penitentiary.
Excellent Prison Film with Eleanor Parker at Her Best.
Agnes Moorehead gives great support as the superintendent or warden of the institution and is a much-needed friend to Eleanor and the film boasts a strong cast of character actresses including Ellen Corby, Jan Sterling and Lee Patrick, but the film belongs completely to Eleanor Parker and the film's director who holds nothing back.
However, they had to start somewhat...and who knew that the first big one was such a good movie--even with its histrionics.The film begins with the naive Eleanor Parker being sent to prison as an accomplice to a robbery that went bad.
Young Marie Allen(Eleanor Parker)is sentenced to prison for aiding her husband in a robbery.
When she arrives as a "new fish" at the women's prison, she's surprised when her routine medical examination reveals that she's pregnant.Evelyn Harper (Hope Emerson) is the matron in charge of Marie's cell block.
This makes her increasingly bitter and cynical and leads her to the realisation that unless she compromises her principles, she simply won't be able to survive her sentence.Eleanor Parker and Hope Emerson were understandably nominated for Oscars in recognition of the quality of their performances and the movie also garnered a further nomination in respect of its story and screenplay."Caged" is very hard-hitting and uncompromising in the way that it depicts the brutality and corruption that are a part of the prisoners' everyday lives and is equally forceful in emphasising how impossible it is to rehabilitate anyone in this type of environment.
And as the end of the movie makes clear, the prison experience has almost certainly made the protagonist more prone to crime (as often happens in real life).In addition to Parker, the cast includes Agnes Moorehead (Endora on "Bewitched"), Hope Emerson (the strongwoman who hoisted Spencer Tracy's character in "Adam's Rib") and Jane Darwell (the matriarch in "The Grapes of Wrath").
Unlike other women's prison movies, this lacks the camp quotient, although there's plenty of opportunity to make some of the more melodramatic moments into something humorous.Holding it's own nearly 70 years after release, this is going to be the film for which Hope Emerson will always be remembered.
Well made film prison film and a must see for anyone that likes Elenor Parker, who is good, but Agnes Moorehead and Hope Emerson are even better.
Caged is a taut, well played prison drama with Eleanor Parker as Marie Allen, a naive, pregnant nineteen year old who gets a stretch in stir for a small time crime.
Agnes Moorhead plays the concerned, reform-minded warden against rigid prison officials and a corrupt, hard minded matron played by Hope Emerson (who made a career in tough woman roles).