CAGED

US, 1950, 91 minutes, Black and white.
Eleanor Parker, Hope Emerson, Agnes Moorhead, Jan Sterling, Jane Darwell.
Directed by John Cromwell.

This is a striking and most critically acclaimed prison film. It was in a tradition of movies about prisons by 1950 and this film has been influential in many films since. There was House of Women in the '60s and Scrubbers in the '80s. There have been many exploitation films e.g. Concrete Jungle, Chained Heat of the '80s. The screenplay follows a well-known pattern - but in this case, it is made more forceful by the performances of the women, the emotional heightening of the situations without going overboard and the restraint (which can be measured by the blatant exploitation styles of later films). Eleanor Parker and Hope Emerson won Oscar nominations for their performances. Direction is by John Cromwell (The Prisoner of Zenda, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, The Goddess) who acted in some of Robert Altman's films at an advanced age: Three Women, A Wedding.

1. The impact of films about women's prisons? The Hollywood tradition? This film considered a classic? Impact on later films? Importance? Perennial message?

2. The impact in 1950? The picture of women's prisons, real problems, social issues? An atmosphere of realism? Exploitation - in comparison with later, more explicit styles?

3. Warner Bros. production values, black and white photography? Atmosphere of authenticity? Max Steiner's score?

4. The familiar structure: the entry into prison of the innocent victim, the ritual of entry, the initiation of the innocent, the interaction with the prisoners, with the warders, with the authorities, harsh experiences, punishments and hardening, the transformation of the innocent into the experienced, riots, the need for reformation, the uncertain ending? How persuasively was this structure used?

5. Eleanor Parker as Marie Allen - audience sympathy for her? Her Oscar nomination? Young, tentative, experiencing the ritual, feeling the humiliation, the loneliness and the isolation, her story given for the record. her mother, the marriage. the participation in the robbery, the small amount of money taken - just a felony? The examination. the isolation and tests. the discovery of her pregnancy? Her meeting of the others - and her initial stance against Harper? Scrubbing the floors. a sense of belonging? Her sadness? The encounters with Mrs. Benton and the encouragement? The possibilities for a short prison term and a return to the world? The power structures within the prisoners? Kitty and her subordinates? Harper and her rackets? The influence of the alleged Vice Queen and her ruling the roost, against Kitty. using Harper? The deaths? The contrast with Marle's pregnancy. the birth? Her going before the Parole Board - and the heartlessness of the refusal? Her mother's visit and her mother rejecting her? Her becoming tougher, be coming involved in fights, determination, sullenness, the cat and the clash with Harper, the fight, having her hair shaved, isolation? Her stubbornness? Her leaving the prison, wishing Mrs. Benton well with the reform - and her links with the Vice Queen and the rackets as she left, the comment that she would be back?

6. Hope Emerson's Oscar-nominated performance as Harper? Big, tough, power over the prisoners, the rackets, her contacts and controls, the prisoners helping her, the various attacks on prisoners? Mrs Benton calling her to account and her flaunting her authority? Political backgrounds, links with journalists? The Vice Queen and her contacts? Her brutality towards Kitty - in isolation? The clash because of the cat. the shaving of Marie's head? The suddenness of Kitty killing her in the refectory?

7. Mrs Benton and her kindliness, need for reform, talks with the inmates, emphasis on the human rather than the animal? The Christmas gifts and the lipstick and her permitting it? The continued clashes with Harper? The inspection by government authorities? Her threats of resignation or else an inquiry? Her pleading with Marie? The end and her disappointment?

8. The prisoners: Kitty being in charge, the brutality, the mad murderer - and the comic touches with her wandering around and her remarks, Anne and her help, the Vice Queen and her power and self-assurance? The importance of the old lifer - and her warnings to Marie? The prostitutes etc.?

9. The range of women, their lifestyle, the punishments, the isolation, the brutality? The realism?

10. How well did the film work on the human level? Eliciting audience interest and sympathy? The social level? The questions and their continued relevance?