What possibilities!—two brassy blondes both behind bars. It's Jan Sterling and Cleo Moore who've spread on more cheap perfume and more hair dye in more cheap movies than I can count. I figure it should add up to a best two-out-of-three-falls grudge match, at least. But no! Not only don't they strip down, but they're even best friends against mean old warden Ida Lupino in this babes behind bars flick.
Actually, the sex angle isn't played up at all. In fact, the prison dresses are shapeless and darn near reach the floor, so I'm about to hit the off button. But truth be told, with that powerhouse line-up of really good actresses—Lupino, Thaxter, Sterling, and Totter—I hang in there expecting maybe a good heavy drama like Caged (1950), even if the girls do keep their clothes on.
But no, the writers have penciled in about every old tired gimmick in the "screws versus cons" book. And what genius thought up Lupino's wacko final scene. Plus the sets look like they cost about ten bucks, tops. I don't know how the producers got such top-notch acting talent for such a lame production, but they did. Anyway, I'm giving a jailhouse Oscar to the great Phyllis Thaxter for coming up with an A-grade sweaty performance in a Z-grade project. Meanwhile, I've sworn no more babes behind bars flicks unless I see at least one bra-strap in the first ten minutes.
Actually, the sex angle isn't played up at all. In fact, the prison dresses are shapeless and darn near reach the floor, so I'm about to hit the off button. But truth be told, with that powerhouse line-up of really good actresses—Lupino, Thaxter, Sterling, and Totter—I hang in there expecting maybe a good heavy drama like Caged (1950), even if the girls do keep their clothes on.
But no, the writers have penciled in about every old tired gimmick in the "screws versus cons" book. And what genius thought up Lupino's wacko final scene. Plus the sets look like they cost about ten bucks, tops. I don't know how the producers got such top-notch acting talent for such a lame production, but they did. Anyway, I'm giving a jailhouse Oscar to the great Phyllis Thaxter for coming up with an A-grade sweaty performance in a Z-grade project. Meanwhile, I've sworn no more babes behind bars flicks unless I see at least one bra-strap in the first ten minutes.