Ladies They Talk About (1933)

Attractive Nan, member of a bank-robbery gang, goes to prison thanks to evangelist Dave Slade...who loves her.

Directors:

Howard Bretherton, William Keighley

Writers:

Brown Holmes (screen play), William McGrath (screen play)

Stars:

Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, Lyle Talbot

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Nan Taylor
Preston Foster	...	David Slade (as Preston S. Foster)
Lyle Talbot	...	Don
Dorothy Burgess	...	Susie
Lillian Roth	...	Linda
Maude Eburne	...	Aunt Maggie
Ruth Donnelly	...	Noonan
Harold Huber	...	Lefty Simons
Robert McWade	...	District Attorney Walter Simpson

Storyline

Gun moll Nan Taylor, caught after an otherwise successful bank robbery, falls for radio crusader David Slade and confides her guilt to him. Much to her surprise, he turns her in. As a "new fish" at San Quentin, Nan fits right in, but won't see Slade, who still loves her. Then she learns that her former partners in crime, Don and Dutch, are on the other side of the wall in the men's section...and have an escape plan.

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Plot Keywords:

bank robbery | prison | moll | evangelist | woman | 

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Taglines:

You'll talk, too, when you learn the real truth about "Ladies They Talk About." (Print Ad- Winthrop News, ((Winthrop Minn.)) 23 February 1933)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 February 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Women in Prison

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

69 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on the play "Women in Prison" by Dorothy Mackaye of her own experiences while serving a sentence for concealing and distorting facts regarding the manslaughter trial of Paul Kelly. Kelly, who was having an affair with Mackaye, and Ray Raymond, Mackaye's then-husband, got into a violent, alcohol-induced fight on April 16, 1927. Raymond was seriously beaten about the head, lingered for two days, but succumbed to a brain hemorrhage. Kelly was found guilty of manslaughter and served a little over two years. Mackaye had tried to convince police that Raymond had died of "natural causes". She was released after 10 months.

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Goofs

While she waits for her co-conspirators to break through the wall in her cell, Nan is shown starting the gramophone twice.

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Quotes

David Slade: In eight consecutive bank robbers we've had only one arrest - a girl!

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Connections

Featured in Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008)

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Soundtracks

If I Could Be with You
(1926) (uncredited)
Music by James P. Johnson
Lyrics by Henry Creamer
Played on a guitar by a prisoner and sung by Lillian Roth
(to picture of Joe E. Brown)

User Reviews

A Simple Story With Stanwyck Starring

Don't expect much in the way of pre-Code titillation with this simple film adapted from a play. What you do get is a starring vehicle for Barbara Stanwyck, who plays the moll of a gang who robs banks.

After being apprehended, she is sent to San Quentin, where she learns to live with prison rules and the social structure there. She's a tough cookie, always looking to assert herself, even on her first day of captivity.

Except for the presence of guards, life as depicted in the women's prison is much like "Stage Door", with a leisurely, genial attitude. Comic touches abound in this film, like the scene where one inmate sings to a headshot of Joe E. Brown, of all people.

While Stanwyck is strong in her role and Preston Foster is solid in his briefer portrayal of the revivalist who never gives up on her, "Ladies They Talk About" has a story too simple to challenge the viewer or, for that matter, the actors themselves. And the drama is minimal.

But it's fun to see Stanwyck in one of her earlier films.