free my girl Smoochie

free my girl Smoochie

this really surprised me with how harsh and unforgiving it is. i wasn’t expecting such a bleak look at how the prison system grinds people down, especially through eleanor parker’s performance, which carries so much quiet desperation. it’s tough, unsentimental, and way more emotionally punishing than i thought it would be.

this really surprised me with how harsh and unforgiving it is. i wasn’t expecting such a bleak look at how the prison system grinds people down, especially through eleanor parker’s performance, which carries so much quiet desperation. it’s tough, unsentimental, and way more emotionally punishing than i thought it would be.

This is not the kind of women-in-prison movie I grew up watching on Cinemax. It's bleak & depressing and reflects issues you wouldn't expect from a 1950 movie. Harper, the ball-breaking guard, is an all-timer villain.

This is not the kind of women-in-prison movie I grew up watching on Cinemax. It's bleak & depressing and reflects issues you wouldn't expect from a 1950 movie. Harper, the ball-breaking guard, is an all-timer villain.

Why are there so many random B movie “women in prison” movies from the 50s? This is like the 4th one I’ve found. 

Probably my favorite that I’ve seen so far. Eleanor Parker makes a full transformation seamlessly. The matron was also convincing. Agnes Moorehead adds some needed empathy and grounding. Truly some great character actors here able to show their chops. 

The hanging was shocking, surprised they were allowed to show that. And there was definitely something lesbian happening between Kitty & Harper. Love!

Why are there so many random B movie “women in prison” movies from the 50s? This is like the 4th one I’ve found. 

Probably my favorite that I’ve seen so far. Eleanor Parker makes a full transformation seamlessly. The matron was also convincing. Agnes Moorehead adds some needed empathy and grounding. Truly some great character actors here able to show their chops. 

The hanging was shocking, surprised they were allowed to show that. And there was definitely something lesbian happening between Kitty & Harper. Love!

Wow this was actually really good! Like the way it deals with the corruption of the American prison system, and how Evelyn Harper and many of the other characters see prisoners as animals, it's truly dehumanising. The sadistic matron Harper exploits and abuses her power. And specifically the scene where she shaves the hair of Marie Allen and puts Kitty Stark in prison. Marie Allen is a very interesting character. We see her undergo such an interesting character arc. From being rather a wide eyed, pregnant woman, full of innocence and purity, to going all hard and cruel. I saw this shift and it was startling to see. It truly shows how the experience in prison can shape you. She even notes that being in prison just for being an accessory changed her whole life. She became someone she should have never been. Becoming hard, demeaning and as cruel as the people who have abused her. Many of the characters also stand up for each other showing the female friendship and all. Harkening back the corruption of the prison system it's interesting to see Ruth Benton, as the superintendent of the prison as a sympathetic character who wishes to reform the prisons better for all. But the internalised misogyny in this system prevents her from doing so. She wishes prisoners to be recognised as human beings and receive the actual care they should. The film also displays the psychological decaying of these women and it's really sad to see. There's themes of suicide and mental health issues in this that I think make a lot of us sympathetic towards these women.

Prison movies are actually really good I have to say that. This film blew my mind away. The cast is perfect and wonderful. There's so many names to mention but Agnes Moorehead as the sympathetic Ruth Benton was wonderful to see. You really saw how much she truly cared for these prisoners. Hope Emmerson was truly conniving and villainous as the character Evelyn Harper. I actually hated her character with so much passion and fire which is a sign the actress just devoured that role. Eleanor Parker is wonderful in this. She lacks the glamour and all in this role obviously though, and she delivers one of the best performances I've ever seen. You truly see her being wide eyed and doe eyed and innocence and lovely. Then the mental decay makes her a hard person. There's scenes where she screams and displays so much anger and it's a thrill to watch. I don't doubt she got nominated for a Best Actress oscar. It truly shows power of ALL of the female acting nominees that year, Anne Baxter and Bette Davis turned heads in All About Eve, Judy Holiday delivered comedic brilliance in Born Yesterday, Eleanor Parker was tough and icy in Caged whereas Gloria Swanson gave a career defining performance in Sunset Boulevard, probably the best year and I swear down anyone could have won I would have not been surprised! Having seen Eleanor I'm even sure she definitely could have been a contender. Anyways this was a wonderful film to see. Idk why I put it off so long!

Wow this was actually really good! Like the way it deals with the corruption of the American prison system, and how Evelyn Harper and many of the other characters see prisoners as animals, it's truly dehumanising. The sadistic matron Harper exploits and abuses her power. And specifically the scene where she shaves the hair of Marie Allen and puts Kitty Stark in prison. Marie Allen is a very interesting character. We see her undergo such an interesting character arc. From being rather a wide eyed, pregnant woman, full of innocence and purity, to going all hard and cruel. I saw this shift and it was startling to see. It truly shows how the experience in prison can shape you. She even notes that being in prison just for being an accessory changed her whole life. She became someone she should have never been. Becoming hard, demeaning and as cruel as the people who have abused her. Many of the characters also stand up for each other showing the female friendship and all. Harkening back the corruption of the prison system it's interesting to see Ruth Benton, as the superintendent of the prison as a sympathetic character who wishes to reform the prisons better for all. But the internalised misogyny in this system prevents her from doing so. She wishes prisoners to be recognised as human beings and receive the actual care they should. The film also displays the psychological decaying of these women and it's really sad to see. There's themes of suicide and mental health issues in this that I think make a lot of us sympathetic towards these women.

Prison movies are actually really good I have to say that. This film blew my mind away. The cast is perfect and wonderful. There's so many names to mention but Agnes Moorehead as the sympathetic Ruth Benton was wonderful to see. You really saw how much she truly cared for these prisoners. Hope Emmerson was truly conniving and villainous as the character Evelyn Harper. I actually hated her character with so much passion and fire which is a sign the actress just devoured that role. Eleanor Parker is wonderful in this. She lacks the glamour and all in this role obviously though, and she delivers one of the best performances I've ever seen. You truly see her being wide eyed and doe eyed and innocence and lovely. Then the mental decay makes her a hard person. There's scenes where she screams and displays so much anger and it's a thrill to watch. I don't doubt she got nominated for a Best Actress oscar. It truly shows power of ALL of the female acting nominees that year, Anne Baxter and Bette Davis turned heads in All About Eve, Judy Holiday delivered comedic brilliance in Born Yesterday, Eleanor Parker was tough and icy in Caged whereas Gloria Swanson gave a career defining performance in Sunset Boulevard, probably the best year and I swear down anyone could have won I would have not been surprised! Having seen Eleanor I'm even sure she definitely could have been a contender. Anyways this was a wonderful film to see. Idk why I put it off so long!