Girls Town (1959)

Chip is killed accidentally while trying to rape a blonde girl, who runs. Silver becomes the number one suspect even though she has an alibi, but due to previous brushes with the law she's ... See full summary »

Director:

Charles F. Haas

Writers:

Robert Hardy Andrews (story), Robert Smith

Stars:

Mamie Van Doren, Mel Tormé, Ray Anthony

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mamie Van Doren	...	Silver Morgan
Mel Tormé	...	Fred Alger (as Mel Torme)
Ray Anthony	...	Dick Culdane
Margaret Hayes	...	Mother Veronica (as Maggie Hayes)
Paul Anka	...	Jimmy Parlow
Cathy Crosby	...	Singer
Gigi Perreau	...	Serafina Garcia
Elinor Donahue	...	Mary Lee Morgan
Gloria Talbott	...	Vida
Sheilah Graham	...	Sister Grace
James Mitchum	...	Charley Boy (as Jim Mitchum)
Dick Contino	...	Stan Joyce
Harold Lloyd Jr.	...	Chip Gardner
Charles Chaplin Jr.	...	Joe Cates
David Lynch	...	Himself (as The Platters)

Storyline

Chip is killed accidentally while trying to rape a blonde girl, who runs. Silver becomes the number one suspect even though she has an alibi, but due to previous brushes with the law she's sent to Girls Town, a home for young women in trouble with the law which is run by nuns. Silver is rebellious and causes trouble at the school, and her friend Sarafina totters near the brink of self-destruction because of an infatuation with a young singer. Meanwhile Chip's father hires a detective to find out the truth, and Chip's friend Fred gets Silver's sister in trouble at a drag race. Silver has a lot of problems all right.

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Plot Keywords:

nun | drag racing | catholic school | women's prison | lesbian | 

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Taglines:

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUTHFUL REBELS GO BAD?

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 October 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Innocent and the Damned

Company Credits

Production Co:

Albert Zugsmith Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Obvious dummies in Stan's car as it runs up the embankment and crashes during the chicken scene.

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Connections

Featured in Mystery Science Theatre 3000: Girls Town (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Wish It Were Me"
Sung by The Platters

User Reviews

Not outright bad, but not memorable either.

Admittedly, I watched the MST3K version of this, but it's not actually too bad outright, at least compared to others which deserve my cinematic hatred.

The story centers around a troubled girl wrongly sent to a "reform school" called Girls' Town. Along way, races, redemption, and wackiness (unintentional) happen. The story and acting are a little flat, as is the action. However, the entire thing is actually entertaining to a degree if you are absolutely bored.

Overall, just a simple sub par 50's flick, but far from the worst movie ever made, with some bright spots in the movie (The Ave Maria sequence was good for me).

If you get a chance to watch the MST3K version, you won't be disappointed. By it self, not so much, but I can think of worse methods of torture ("Spiker" anyone?).