Girls in Prison

Plot synopsis:
Anne Carson (Joan Taylor) is sent to a women's prison for allegedly participating in a bank robbery with two others, one, Paul Anderson (Lance Fuller) who is still at large. The money was never recovered and all eyes are on Anne who denies knowing about the money.
On arrival in prison, Anne meets the outwardly tough matron in charge (Jane Darwell) and the prison chaplain Rev Fulton (Richard Denning) who feels Anne may have had a mistrial and does not belong in prison. Anne's cellmates are Jenny (Adele Jergens) who seems to run the inmates, Melanee (Helen Gilbert) who makes a play for Anne and Dorothy (Phyllis Coates) a woman who has murdered her own husband and child when he ran away with another woman who is still alive. The unhinged Dorothy believes her child is still alive and every new girl in prison is her husband's lover, Lois. Jenny and Melanee team up in the "good cop/bad cop" routine to get Anne to tell them where the money is with Melanee telling Dorothy that Anne is really Lois.
On the outside, Paul is using blackmail and threats on Anne's ex-criminal father Pop Carson (Raymond Hatton) to find the money as well as offering to split it with him 50/50.
Anne faces attempted murder by Dorothy, threats on her life from two other inmates seeking the money, and fights Melanee in a catfight that culminates in a mud puddle. When a large earthquake hits the area and demolishes the installation, Jenny (who has acquired a pistol from her outside contacts and the outwardly harmless trustee Grandma (Mae Marsh) and Melanee use the opportunity to escape with Anne to take her home to locate the money.
The downed telephone and power lines give the three girls time to escape unpursued but Rev Fulton heads off Anne at her home, where Pop is still held at gunpoint by Paul.
Since the film’s release in 1956, the theatrical movie poster, featuring a catfight between Helen Gilbert and Joan Taylor, has become a collector’s item. The poster shows the blonde haired Gilbert strangling the dark haired Taylor although that exact scene did not occur in the movie.

Tags: violence, murder

Review:
Very Watchable.
A film doesn't have to be good to be entertaining and GIRLS IN PRISON is a case in point .
The intelligence of the script starts and ends with a discussion of The Korean War " It's supposed to be a police action " " Yeah ?
Then why the hell didn't they send cops " Which is dialogue that will be forever synonymous with Samuel Fuller who used the line in another film set around The Korean War .
But after this exchange strange things start happening where we're shown live footage for the battlefront , something that didn't happen till 'Nam .
The McCarthy witch hunts are alluded to but somehow feel overblown and false while someone refers to an ashtray that was given to him by " The King " .
Maybe he meant the King of England ?I won't go into too much detail but in a contrived series of events a teenage girl called Aggie O'Hanlon finds herself serving a life sentence for a crime she didn't commit , and it's essential for anyone wanting to enjoy this TVM that they turn off their brain because there's plenty of things that don't make sense .
For example a couple of inmates called Melba and Carol promise to protect Aggie .
It's never revealed why they do this .
Obviously being lesbian lovers it's very easy to jump to the conclusion that they want to involve the sweet and innocent Aggie in female love games but this isn't their motive at all because there is never any explanation for their motive , the audience just have to accept this without question .
The audience have to accept a lot of things that defy credibility as the plot twists and turns but I have to confess I felt very involved in all this , yeah I know melodramatic and far fetched doesn't even begin to describe this movie but it is enjoyable thanks to the good looking cast ( Yes there is some T&A ) and some impressive pastal coloured cinematography from Jean De Segonzac.
Goofy.
An odd film.
It can't decide whether it wants to be a tribute to 50s/60s "girls behind bars" exploitation pictures, a pseudo-political satire, or a crime drama.
In better hands, it might have straddled those genres effectively, but as it is, it's more than a little scattershot.In some sense, the film only seems to be sure of itself when it lapses into "lipstick lesbians in jail" exploitation.
Personally, I could have done with more of that material, but then I watched the emasculated basic cable version on Lifetime.
In retrospect, I'd recommend renting the video so you don't have to miss out on any of the "sexuality/nudity", and so you won't have to put up with the lame-o profanity overdubs.
One particularly egregious dialogue change (judging from context and lip-reading) was "I shot his balls off" to "I blew his brains out", which renders the followup line "there was nothing to sew back on" utterly nonsensical.Most of the laughs in the film are unintentional rather than written.
The lack of acting from the character who stabs herself got a big laugh from me.
The only *good* acting in the film to speak of comes from Anne Heche, who puts more work into her role than you'd expect.
Lots of nice bits of business that I can tell were her idea rather than scripted or directed, since her scenes are the only ones with that kind of quality.
Oh, I guess Miguel Sandoval (the "digger" in Jurassic Park) has a couple of nice moments as well.All in all, about what you would expect from legendary (to MST3K fans, at least) schlock producer Samuel Z.
Arkoff, who also directed the unrelated 1956 film with the same title.
Worth viewing if you're an Anne Heche fan or have nothing better to do, but don't go out of your way..
Outside Heche the movie is really bad.
Sweet young songtress Aggie (Missy Crider) gets sent to a harsh women's prison after being found guilty of a murder she didn't commitMost of the laughs in the film are unintentional rather than written.
It looks like this movie had no script, the actresses were told just to use whatever dialog they could think of.
The only scenes with quality in dialog, comes from Anne Heche.
It looks like they were more her idea rather than scripted or directed.
Heche is great as the bad girl and is the only one, who knows what she's doing.
The lack of acting from the rest of the cast are sometimes good for a big laugh.The movie has two graphic shower scenes.
Although poorly filmed, the girls are nice to look at (Heche bares her gorgeous breasts).Outside Heche the movie is really bad...
and not to recommend.....
Hot showers frame a cold story.
There are two shower scenes where we are treated to incredible views of my favorite psychologist (Anne Heche from Prozac Nation) and the lovely Ione Skye.
This was definitely not a CBS Schoolbreak Special with Missy Crider and TV regular Bahni Turpin.Outside of these shower scenes was the cheesiest dialog that I have ever heard.
I cannot believe this movie even had a script.
I am sure the actresses were told just told use whatever cheesy prison dialog you can think of.
It was painful to listen to.
They threw in dialog about the Korean War and McCathyism to set the times, but it was just terrible.It would have been a much better production if they had 80 minutes of shower scenes and 3 minutes of dialog, instead of the other way around..
A pretty good mystery/thriller .
With the usual plot twists that keep you interested.
An added bonus is Ann Heche (and many other actresses) in some graphic shower scenes.
I liked it, for some light entertainment.
It was good enough to keep me from changing the channel, but I don't feel compelled to watch it every time it comes on..
Don't let the appellation MADE FOR TV throw you off the scent.
This movie was made for cable TV, and like any good 'girls in prison' movie, it has 2 really good shower scenes!Also, as it is set in the 1950's, Anne Heche gets to wear some clothes that would look right at home on Grace Kelly..
McNaughton Takes on American International.
Framed for the murder of a record company president in 1952 Hollywood, young, aspiring singer Aggie O'Hanlon (Missy Crider) is sentenced to life in prison and tries to adjust to her life behind bars in a hellish women's prison where she is befriended by other "lifer" inmates who help her out when Aggie finds herself marked for murder by an unknown source who thinks she knows more about the murder than she does.From director John McNaughton, best known for "Henry Portrait of Serial Killer" and "Wild Things", and with one of his regular actors, Tom Towles.
This seems far beneath McNaughton, but then, the series seemed far beneath everyone who was involved (Joe Dante, John Milius, Robert Rodriguez).This was part of the "Rebel Highway" series that was supposed to be edgy updates of 1950s B-films.
Most ended up being cheesy and campy rather than edgy, and this is no exception.
Of course, much of this is the low budget (not much over one million) and McNaughton was lucky he happened to convince Sam Fuller to write the script -- Fuller was a genre writer whose work dated back to the 1930s.
And there is a brief shower scene that would not have slid in the 50s...
but the language is surprisingly clean for a prison.Ione Skye has a decent sized part, and Anne Heche has a small but important role.
For those looking for some star power, their interaction might be the highlight of the film.
(Oddly, despite her impressive list of credits, Missy Crider does not seem to be considered a star.).
Neither fish nor...well, it is pretty foul.
This should be a campy, cheesy riot, an homage to exploitation films.
Instead, it just is one.
It seems they didn't feel like trying hard enough to make good schlock, and counted on the camp element to excuse the lack of quality on the serious level.I thought that this would be like 'Mars Attacks' with shower scenes.
There were two of those, and I have to say I enjoyed them.
But as Joe Bob Briggs says, the plot gets in the way of the story..
Don't take it serious and you'll probably like it..
Funny how people see the same things in such different ways.
Although the movie is classified as action/drama I have to say I laughed so hard I almost fell off the chair.
This movie would have been a greater success if it had been classified as comedy.
The characters are so stereotype that the movie seems to make fun of the kind of genre it is actually supposed to represent.
The problem is, that it takes itself serious, otherwise I think I would have liked it.
I am not quite sure whether it is just a bad movie or if it is really bad enough to be interesting.
In any case - I am still amused about it.
(Besides, Anne Heche is hilarious as the bad girl)..
Neat send-up of 50's exploitation fare.
Sweet young songtress Aggie (an appealing portrayal by the adorable Missy Crider) gets sent to a harsh women's prison after being found guilty of a murder she didn't commit.
Will Aggie be able to prove her innocence and avoid being killed by a hit girl while serving time in the joint?
Director John McNaughton, working from a blithely silly script by Samuel Fuller and Christa Long, relates the entertainingly ridiculous story at a zippy pace, maintains an engaging tongue-in-cheek campy tone throughout, and offers an affectionately broad evocation of the 50's Red Scare era.
Moreover, it's acted with zest by an enthusiastic cast: Bahni Turpin as the friendly Melba, Ione Skye as sensitive writer Carol, Miguel Sandoval as shrewd tough cop Lucky, Tom Towles as slimy corrupt guard Norman Stoneface, Jon Polito as irascible music executive Boss Johnson, and Raymond O'Connor as smarmy disc jockey Mickey Maven.
However, it's Anne Heche who easily steals the whole show with her deliciously wicked portrayal of ruthless bitch Jennifer (and, yes, Anne does indeed bare her nice breasts in a shower scene).
Jean de Segonzac's snazzy cinematography gives the picture a cool stylized look.
Hummie Mann's robust score hits the stirring melodramatic spot.
A kitschy blast..
Someone forgot to tell the cast(except Anne) and crew that this was supposed to be fun..
May contain slight spoilersThe cop tells Melba "You have five seconds to drop your weapon and live", Carol's father stares with wide eyes and repeats "are you a communist?" afer being attacked by a mob of morons, and when the private detective offers to help the innocent girl, he states "I'll strip her naked, tie her up, take her to the woods, then starve her until she confeses." There was nothing wrong with script, but only Anne Heche seemed to realize that this movie should be played for laughs.
I might have been able to not take this movie seriously if everyone involved had giving a good example.
Instead, this was one of the longest 82 minutes I have sat through in quite some time.
Do not believe the back of the case, which boast of great bad girl performances and steamy shower scenes, there are no bad girls and the shower scenes appear to have been filmed by a blind, fourteen year old boy.
The girls are very nice to look at, but only Anne Heche distinguishes herself.
She is surprisingly attractive with long black hair and she gives a pleasantly off performance..
More interesting than good.
Quasi-remake of the 1950s film of the same name directed by Edward ("Fast Eddy") Cahn.
I was impressed to see Samuel Fuller's name in the writing credits but disappointed by the results.
There are lots of Fuller-style quirky lines and off-beat twists but they come off more like someone imitating Fuller than Fuller himself.
Parts of this movie (especially the truly unbelievable climax) defy belief.
Parts of this movie (especially the truly unbelievable climax) defy belief.
Other parts simply make no sense at all.
Other parts simply make no sense at all.
I think the main problem is a director who doesn't actually get the jokes in his own movie, never a good thing.
Ione Skye gets top billing but actually has little more than a minor supporting role.
She gets to do a bush league version of James Cagney's mad scene from WHITE HEAT but she's no Cagney.
The other girls come off a little better.
Bahni Turpin is charming and attractive and does a pretty decent job but the movie really belongs to Anne Heche.
She plays a stereotypical film noir femme fatale/whack-job (at one point even adopting the alias "Gilda") and carries it off with style and assurance.
And yeah, you get to see her boobs in the shower scene.
They'e very nice..
don't expect too much.
this movie was not that bad.
for some reason it kept me interested just enough to watch all the way though.
I would not say there is a lot of bad acting, the actors did not have anything to work with.
If the script was written better and the movie was more serious, it could've have been great.
a remake of the movie would not be a bad thing if you had the right people doing it.
there are a few actresses that do shine through out the movie.
also the detective guy is great but the script just is not up to par.
some parts of the movie will make you laugh because it does not portray live as it really is.
there are a few scenes when the cops just stand there while a girl is swinging around a knife.
I don't think so.
not in my world that would happen.
save this movie for a raining day and enjoy what you can..
Endless Revulsion..
I don't know why I bought this DVD, possibly because it was inexpensive, but, having bought it, I felt compelled to see it through.
Well, come to think of it, maybe I bought it see Anne Heche take a nude shower.
Everyone needs reassurance from time to time that he's not a person of the opposite sex trapped in the wrong body, although, admittedly, any judgment made on the basis of a response to Anne Heche in the nude is problematic.I can't imagine which audience this was aimed at.
There are a couple of shots that are actually in jokes.
Every time one of our heroines is sentenced to a prison term there is a whirling newspaper that finally stops and tells us things like, MELBA GETS LIFE IN PRISON!
Okay, that is some retro stuff and elicits a smile from the viewer who's familiar with old movie techniques.
The problem is that the people who "get" the joke will have a really difficult time sitting through the rest of this seriocomic garbage.
And the sorts of minds that enjoy the story of imprisoned girls screaming and rioting are unlikely to be familiar with spinning newspapers from the old black-and-white movies of the 1930s.You want a hint of what passes for the plot?
Aggie -- Melissa Lahlita Crider -- is framed for the murder of a pop music entrepreneur and imprisoned for life.
The music man was, in fact, stabbed sixteen times by Heche, who made off with Aggie's sure-fire pop music hit, "Endless Sleep." Aggie acquires a private eye to locate the real killer, not knowing that Heche is the miscreant.
Heche hires a "hit girl" to off Aggie in prison.
When that fails, Heche disguises herself and arranges for a short term in the same slams, so she can eliminate the noisome Aggie herself.
It all goes wrong for Heche.
Aggie is released and returns to the prison later to sing "Endless Sleep" for the cheering inmates, while the viewer shakes off that urge to snooze.It was written, evidently, by Sam Fuller and there's no question that the movie has the kind of zip we associate with his name.
The performances are deliberate parodies of real performances although sometimes, as in the case of Melissa Lahlita Crider, it's hard to tell because only the rudiments of a performance are on display.
Heche certainly knows what she's doing but I'm not sure about the rest, except for Nestor Serrano as a crime figure who is pure prosciutto.
It's a marvelous experience, watching him run off at the hands.This brief assessment may be a little confusing, so I'll end with one example of what you might expect to see.
Melba, played by Bahni Turpin, as in "Where do they get these names?", is a nice girl who is driven mad by a newscaster on television.
She runs to the studio, is introduced to the man while on the air, produces a hidden hammer and whacks him repeatedly on the skull.
The studio erupts.
And a nameless woman rushes up to the camera, her palms against her cheeks, and screams directly into the lens for a long time.
We can practically hear Edvard Munch moaning in his casket, "I didn't mean to do it!"