Caged (1950)

A naive nineteen year old widow becomes coarsened and cynical when she is sent to a woman's prison and is exposed to hardened criminals and sadistic guards.

Director:

John Cromwell

Writers:

Virginia Kellogg (screenplay), Virginia Kellogg (story),

Stars:

Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, Ellen Corby

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Eleanor Parker	...	Marie Allen
Agnes Moorehead	...	Ruth Benton
Ellen Corby	...	Emma Barber
Hope Emerson	...	Evelyn Harper
Betty Garde	...	Kitty Stark
Jan Sterling	...	Jeta Kovsky aka Smoochie
Lee Patrick	...	Elvira Powell
Olive Deering	...	June Roberts - Inmate
Jane Darwell	...	Isolation Matron
Gertrude Michael	...	Georgia Harrison
Sheila MacRae	...	Helen (as Sheila Stevens)

Storyline

Frightened 19-year-old Marie Allen gets sent to an Illinois penitentiary for being an accomplice in an armed robbery. A sympathetic prison head tries to help, but her efforts are subverted by cruel matron Evelyn Harper. Marie's harsh experiences turn her from doe-eyed innocent to hard-nosed con.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | obese woman | birth in prison | cruelty | killed with a fork | 

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Taglines:

Will she come out a woman or a wildcat?

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Femmes en cage

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In order to do research for the film, Virginia Kellogg pulled some strings to incarcerate herself in a woman's prison. What she wrote once she was out was not so much a screenplay, but a kind of almanac of everything she witnessed while in prison. Warner Bros. then got their screenwriters to make a screenplay out of it.

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Goofs

When Marie Allen announces that her kitten has died, the cat opens its mouth.

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Quotes

Emma Barber: That trained seal can sure ask a lot of questions. Who is this Pearl Harbor anyway? What is she, an inmate?

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Connections

Referenced in The Lady in Question Is Charles Busch (2005)

User Reviews

The grandmother of the Women Behind Bars genre

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). This is a gripping, well-made story, highlighted further by moments of genuine power. One of my favorite 50's flicks.