"Reform School" is a film thought lost until recently, as it was just shown fully restored on Turner Classic Movies. It's also a so-called 'race film'...a movie that was made for black audiences. This is because, sadly, many theaters in the USA didn't allow black patrons...and so black only movie theaters began springing up and an industry developed making films specifically for these theaters. Sadly, most of the race films were pretty bad...mostly because they had miniscule budgets. Is "Reform School" any better?
This story is most unusual because it stars Louise Beavers...and she's NOT playing a maid or is subservient as she did in Hollywood movies. Instead, she's a well meaning woman who aims to help young offenders walk the straight and narrow.
Mother Barton (Beavers) is parole officer who thinks the system is creating more problems than it solved. After exposing the corruption and brutality in a local reform school, she is made the new warden and implements policies to make the place more humane. But a disgruntled guard hates her and these changes and threatens to destroy the progress she's made. But how? See the film.
In many ways, the film is clearly a product of its times. The 1930s was a period in which many social reform pictures were made, such as "I Was a Fugitive From a Chain Gang". It's also very, very similar to films such as "Crime School" (with the Dead End Kids).
While I wouldn't say it's a great film technically speaking (some of the acting was a bit stilted and a bit of the camerawork was suspect), it's very good compared to other race films. It's also, most importantly, very watchable and is one of the better films of its type.
This story is most unusual because it stars Louise Beavers...and she's NOT playing a maid or is subservient as she did in Hollywood movies. Instead, she's a well meaning woman who aims to help young offenders walk the straight and narrow.
Mother Barton (Beavers) is parole officer who thinks the system is creating more problems than it solved. After exposing the corruption and brutality in a local reform school, she is made the new warden and implements policies to make the place more humane. But a disgruntled guard hates her and these changes and threatens to destroy the progress she's made. But how? See the film.
In many ways, the film is clearly a product of its times. The 1930s was a period in which many social reform pictures were made, such as "I Was a Fugitive From a Chain Gang". It's also very, very similar to films such as "Crime School" (with the Dead End Kids).
While I wouldn't say it's a great film technically speaking (some of the acting was a bit stilted and a bit of the camerawork was suspect), it's very good compared to other race films. It's also, most importantly, very watchable and is one of the better films of its type.