CAGED (1950)
Label: Warner ArchiveRegion Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 96 Minutes 55 Seconds
Audio: English DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: B&W 1080p HD Full Frame (1.37:1)
Director: John Cromwell
Audio: English DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: B&W 1080p HD Full Frame (1.37:1)
Director: John Cromwell
Cast: Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, Hope Emerson, Ellen Corby
One of the grandmothers of all Women-In-Prison flicks is Caged! (1950) starring Eleanor Parker (The Sound of Music) in an Oscar-nominated performance as knocked-up and naïve nineteen year-old Marie Allen, a young woman sent to the slammer as an accessory to an armed robbery her husband committed, during which he was killed. The gritty flick opens with a van full of women being driven to to the penitentiary, arriving at the prison the doors swing open and they're greeted with "Pile out, you tramps, it's the end of the line."! Oof, I think it's gonna be a rough ride for young, innocent Marie!
One of the grandmothers of all Women-In-Prison flicks is Caged! (1950) starring Eleanor Parker (The Sound of Music) in an Oscar-nominated performance as knocked-up and naïve nineteen year-old Marie Allen, a young woman sent to the slammer as an accessory to an armed robbery her husband committed, during which he was killed. The gritty flick opens with a van full of women being driven to to the penitentiary, arriving at the prison the doors swing open and they're greeted with "Pile out, you tramps, it's the end of the line."! Oof, I think it's gonna be a rough ride for young, innocent Marie!
The prison warden Ruth Benton (Agnes Moorehead, Endora from TV's Bewitched! - if you don't know ask you grandparents kids), a would-be prison reformer if it weren't for slimy grifter politician getting in the way, but there's corruption inside the prison as well. The main baddie comes by way of the stereotypically sadistic bull-dyke-ish matron Evelyn Harper (Hope Emerson) who runs the ward with an iron fist, giving preferential treatment to those with money enough to buy snacks and other favors from her private stash of illicit goods. The 6' 2" Emerson plays a pretty convincing brute who loves to see the ladies suffer, embodying everything wrong with correctional institutions, though she was reportedly quite a pleasant woman in real life. This flick is pretty potent in it's condemnation of correction facilities, and while the Hays Code prevents out and out depiction of standard WIP tropes it's all here, the implied lesbianism, drug use, prostitution, etc.. The period correct prison slang also adds a lot of flavor to the proceedings, with screenwriter Virginia Kellogg having done a lot of in-depth research, and was supposedly locked up behind bars to get to the truth of the matter, and that authenticity bleeds through, though perhaps given an exaggerated edge, that serves the film well without ever being truly exploitative.
Marie enters the prison an innocent caught up in criminality by a guy who steered her wrong, but after being exposed life behind bars she comes out the other side hardened and jaded by her struggles in the slammer; having endured the cruelty of the mean-spirited matron who (sort of) kills her pet kitten, shaves her head, and just generally torments her and the other women prisoners relentlessly. Other cruelties include giving birth to her child is the slammer and having to give it up for adoption when her own mother refuses to care for it, the kitty-killing setting of a caucauphounous bunk-shredding prison riot, and loads of what would become standard WIP tropes, including the struggle to establish a hierarchy among the inmates, evidences her by Kitty Stark (Betty Garde, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm), the head of a murderous shoplifting syndicate, and newly arrived vice queen Elvira Powell (Lee Patrick, The Maltese Falcon).
Much like Angel Face (1953) I was a bit blown back by just how grim and gritty this proto-WIP flick was, despite not having nudity and carnal violence, which would become standard practice in the 70 and 80's, it's pretty wrenching stuff just the same, thanks to the serious tone and deft direction by James Cromwell (Abe Lincoln in Illinois) and some excellent shadowy noir-ish cinematography by Carl E. Guthrie (Frankenstein 70).
Audio/Video: Caged (1950) gets a stellar region-free Blu-ray from Warner Archive, sourced from a 2023 1080p HD master from 4K scan of Original Nitrate Camera Negative and framed in the original 1.37:1 full frame. Nothing to complain about here folks, a gorgeous black and white women-in-prison flick with deeply shadowed noir tendencies, showcasing excellent grain management, crisp detail and layered contrast, the source is blemish free and looks pretty phenomenal. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. Dialogue always sounds great with age-related issues, and the sparse but effective score by Max Steiner (King Kong) features nicely.
Extras include an hour-long Screen Director's Playhouse Radio Broadcast: Caged! originally broadcast on August 2, 1951), an 8-min Classic Warner Bros. Cartoon "Big House Bunny" that is a nice thematic tie-in and makes for a funnier and lighthearted counterpoint to the main feature, plus the quite exciting 2-min Original Theatrical Trailer. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the original illustrated movie artwork.
Special Features:
- Screen Director's Playhouse Radio Broadcast: Caged! (August 2, 1951) (59:42)
- Classic Warner Bros. Cartoon Big House Bunny (7:10)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2:05)
Screenshots from the Warner Archive Blu-ray
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