Young and Willing (1954)
"The Weak and the Wicked" (original title)

Frank "women in prison" story that sympathetically tracks several inmates through their imprisonment and subsequent return to society. Some are successfully rehabilitated; some are not.

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Joan Henry (book), J. Lee Thompson,

Stars:

Glynis Johns, Diana Dors, John Gregson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Glynis Johns	...	Jean Raymond
Diana Dors	...	Betty Brown
John Gregson	...	Dr. Michael Hale
Olive Sloane	...	Nellie Baden, inmate
Rachel Roberts	...	Pat, pregnant inmate
Jane Hylton	...	Babs Peters, inmate
Athene Seyler	...	Millie Williams, inmate
Jean Taylor Smith	...	Prison Governor (Grange)
Cecil Trouncer	...	Presiding Judge
Ursula Howells	...	Pam Vickers
Edwin Styles	...	Seymour
Sid James	...	Syd Baden (as Sidney James)
Eliot Makeham	...	Grandad Baden
Joan Haythorne	...	Prison Governor (Blackdown)
Joyce Heron	...	Prison Matron Arnold

Storyline

Frank "women in prison" story that sympathetically tracks several inmates through their imprisonment and subsequent return to society. Some are successfully rehabilitated; some are not.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | women's prison | based on book

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Taglines:

The sensational naked shame expose of women's prisons!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 July 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Young and Willing

Filming Locations:

Associated British Elstree Studios, Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Marble Arch Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Super cameos and humour

Although there was probably some serious intent behind the film's premise e.g. the open prison system, social comment on post-war England as class barriers are breaking down which are interspersed throughout, it is the gentle humour that lifts it above the mediocre. Superb cameos from the great Athene Seyler and Sybil Thorndike playing two friends who plot to 'do in' an elderly admirer is made a great deal of by the director. The central story involving Glynis Johns is well told and each of the film's subsequent yarns make for a light but thoroughly enjoyable whole.