Reform School Girl (1957)

A young man steals a car and ends up involved in a pedestrian fatality. The only witness is a girl he had just met. He threatens her life if she talks, so when she refuses to tell what she knows she is sent to reform school.

Director:

Edward Bernds

Writer:

Edward Bernds

Stars:

Gloria Castillo, Ross Ford, Edd Byrnes

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gloria Castillo	...	Donna Price
Ross Ford	...	David Lindsay
Edd Byrnes	...	Vince (as Edward Byrnes)
Ralph Reed	...	Jackie Dodd
Jan Englund	...	Ruth
Yvette Vickers	...	Roxy
Helen Wallace	...	Mrs. Trimble
Donna Jo Gribble	...	Cathy Durand
Luana Anders	...	Josie Brigg
Diana Darrin	...	Mona
Nesdon Booth	...	Deetz
Wayne Taylor	...	Gary Metusek
Sharon Lee	...	Blonde
Jack Kruschen	...	Mr. Horvath
Linda Rivera	...	Elena Hernandez

Storyline

A young man steals a car and ends up involved in a pedestrian fatality. The only witness is a girl he had just met. He threatens her life if she talks, so when she refuses to tell what she knows she is sent to reform school.

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Plot Keywords:

car | reform school | field | niece | police officer | 

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Taglines:

Caged boy-hungry wildcats gone mad!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mannstoll und gefährlich

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP), Carmel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sally Kellerman's film debut.

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Quotes

Jacky: If there's anything I like better on a hot day, it's a cool chick!

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Connections

Remade as Reform School Girl (1994)

User Reviews

Solid, undiscovered drama that sticks to you!

A little word in advance: since this producer sadly passed away in 2001, several of his film received a re-release on DVD under the group name `The Samuel Z. Arkoff Library'. Which is actually a good thing because otherwise, many of his productions would be lost and undiscovered forever. The largest part of his film is extremely low-budget horror (The Undead, The war of the colossal beast, Voodoo Women…) and at first sight, this Reform School Girl seems to be a misfit in that collection. Nonetheless, it's a film definitely worth checking out.

Reform School Girl is a raw and intense social drama, which portrays the lesser attractive aspects of humanity. Some of the main topics of the film include betrayal, egocentrism, blackmail, abuse, jealousy and juvenile violence. It's about a young girl who's sent to a reform-institution after being involved in a car accident. The guy she was with threatened to kill her if she would tell his name to the police. Therefore, her lips are sealed and she brought to a closed institution. Yet, even there she has to face that the ‘code' doesn't allow her to speak freely. Disappointed by the whole world, Donna turns into an anti-social and hostile girl who has to rediscover her trust in mankind. Even though the film obviously suffers from a lack of budget and professionalism, it still manages to touch you and leave a huge impression behind. The script contains a few illogical elements (like the uncle who's scared to death because of a phone call by a youngster) but overall, it's fascinating and a much bigger triumph than most overbudgetted drama's that are only out to bring tears to eyes of the viewer by using cheap sentiment and morality lessons. The ‘message' in Reform School Girl is kept limited and the entire atmosphere is strictly dramatic. The acting is surprisingly good considering most cast members are young and inexperienced actresses. Certainly a film worth a look whenever you have the chance of seeing it. It was re-made for the TV-screen in 1994 by Jonathan Kaplan starring Matt ‘Friends' LeBlanc, among other familiar faces.