Caged (1950)

Warner Bros.

Director: John Cromwell

Starring: Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, Hope Emerson

A hardened study about the flaws of correctional facilities, unchecked corruption, and the human condition come together in perhaps the panicle women’s prison feature, Caged.  As a dark, gritty, and disturbing look how an institution established of the betterment of society actually suffers from or even exacerbates the flaw of individuals creates a rather gripping film from a subject that most would not seek entertainment from. This film noir style woman’s motion picture speaks beyond its era and subject matter as it shines a light on errors that endure time in a film that is quietly one of the best films of its day.

Caged is a prison drama about a meek, naive young lady serving a conviction and how her new surroundings transform her. Newly incarcerated 19-year-old Marie (Eleanor Parker) sentences as an accessory to a failed robbery by her new husband, who was killed during the crime, finds herself a lost in the world of hardened criminals and prison corruption while being so young, naïve and pregnant. As meek as she is Marie is frightened by rivaling crime leaders that she serves time near, while finding the prison matron, Evelyn Harper (Hope Emerson), is an opportunist who exploits the prisoners with her power. The lone sympathetic authority figure, superintendent Ruth Benton (Agnes Moorehead), juggles with managing the prison while fending off the growing corruption that ever attempts to overthrow her. With time Marie begins to change her outlook on the world while evil and corruption that surrounds her, boiling over when she is humiliated, stripped of her decency, and thrown into solitary by Harper. Marie comes out a changed woman, hardened and cynical, eventually paroled with help from a fellow inmate and crime leader to join her crime ring on the outside, leaving empathetic Benton sensing Marie will one day return to being behind bars.

For a dark, gritty picture about the unattractive world of women’s prisons, corruption, and loss of morals Caged presents a far greater picture than you may expect going in. Unlike the exploitive women prison pictures that peppered the 60s and 70s, Caged is a drama that takes a earnest look at the problems of correctional facilities that makes audiences think and feel for inmates, manifesting the ills the system. A gritty drama with a number of sincerely sad moments leave you wishing better for our innocent main character, Marie, as we witness how a flawed system wrongs her and ultimately ruining any promise of a decent life for her. Caged would do for prisons what The Snake Pit (1948) did for mental institutions as both shine lights on systems that were created with intent help, but can perform the opposite. Under fine direction and wonderful acting this troubled story comes together to share a need to be understand a system with flaws that go overlooked because society does not want to give attention to it.

Adapted from the Virginia Kellogg story “Women Without Men,” Caged was directed by John Cromwell. With a history of productions about societal ills and dark worlds hidden away from standard civilization in films such as Ann Vickers (1933) or Algiers (1938) Cromwell in a way returns to film choices of his pre-war days with a picture that has a message instead of a usual focus on a happy story. He shoots in a manner that creates a sense of claustrophobia where we, along with Marie, experience the feeling of the small world she is forced into is ever closing in on her, pressuring her to do or think in a way she does not want to until she cracks. Heavy contrasts of light and dark generate a film noir feel while this naïve young lady must find what she needs to survive in a harsh world of criminals and corruption.

A cast of inglorious female roles share the message of the story in a serious manner, and to carry it out it took fine casting. Early in development considerations were placed for Bette Davis to be cast in a major role much like many of her prior challenging career choices she would be known for. However, Davis quickly turned down the opportunity for what she considered underlying lesbianism connected to the idea of a women’s prison movie. I could easily see Davis take on one of many roles in this drama, but what performances we do get remain strong and help shape the gripping picture we ultimate receive.

Eleanor Parker embraces her role as Marie. She delivers the trouble naïve lady character ever troubled by inmates that attempt to woo her to their little gangs or circles of crime. We watch as she takes Marie down a road of being emotionally pulverized. Her emotional arch builds enduring the mental abuse of inmates and the corrupt matron producing some of the most devastating moments that may actually cause you to gasp. Two of the most tragic moments we share with Parker as Marie we chare back to back as be character breaks under the inhuman nature of the prison.  First is when she attempts to hide a small kitten as a pet being found dead due after a prison riot that broke out while she tried to protect it. Subsequently Marie is punished for her action by being put into solitary, proceeded by her having her head shaved, signifying her soul being crushed and losing her innocence. Parker’s performance is a strong leaving us understanding how the system destroyed her, but yearning for there to be something better for people like her. The performance would earn her notoriety at 1950’s Venice Film Festival where she was honored as Best Actress and later receiving an Academy Award nomination.

Veteran actress Agnes Morehead proved to be the single character of morality of the picture as the superintendent of the prison. Her character too through the film battles corruption, morals, and a flawed system all with a sense of duty and faith that right will win out, but comes to the conclusion that in this system evil tends to find a way to be cyclical. Moorehead’s character as Ruth Benton is a moral center, we want to believe in a system that outweighs what she does. Her performance is steadfast and earnest and, in a way, she ultimately manifests the feeling the audience has for Marie.

Hope Emerson as prison matron Evelyn Harper provides us an antagonist and center to the subplot surrounding corruption within the prison. Emerson is an imposing figure at six foot two inches tall, she is a healthy mature woman who delivers a sensation of daunting control with unprincipled power. Her sadistic performance as the matron would garner herself a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Oscars providing her the peek performance of her career.

The plethora of fellow supporting actresses that fill out the fellow inmates at the prison flesh out the prison experience. Ellen Corby portrays a strong-willed inmate that tries multiple ties to recruit Marie, but does not push her, supplying a hint of empathy for a young lady that would eventually crack under prison. In a way she is a motherly figure to Marie within the jail walls, as she knows what is right, but knows how to survive even more. Lee Patrick plays her rival, a leader female crime boss that has pull to get people to do things for her both inside and outside the prison walls. She ultimately recruits Marie, earning her parole understanding Marie will perform crimes for her outside of prison. Betty Garde performs a difficult role of fellow inmate Kitty, who loses her sanity eventually committing suicide, showing how maddening being a prisoner is. Another highlight is Jan Sterling as another young girl that attempts to impart wisdom of the evils that will eventually crush Marie. All performances are relatively small, but memorable in their own rights.

 

Caged would be hard sell to make to audiences that critics recognized. Generally praised for all aspects, including story, writing, acting, directing, and all-around production Caged was seen as a well-made film, but left columnists and critics wondering how Warner Bros. would sell a picture so dark and unappealing in nature. The answer comes in being simply being a good movie. Its strong female cast and drama makes it one of the finest prison films of all time. Along with the acting the screenplay was nominated at the Academy Awards and all these years later film historians continue to harken back to its gritty nature making it the “grand-mommy” of all women in prison features.