Caged (1950)
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Caged Movie Review
Caged is a 1950 noir prison film directed by John Cromwell and starring Eleanor Parker and Hope Emerson. This is a surprisingly dreary and realistic movie for the time.
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“Keep it active. She’ll be back“
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A gentle, naïve, pregnant 19-year-old widow is slowly ground down by the hardened criminals, sadistic guards, and matron at a woman’s prison in this prison drama that acts very much as a noir picture in its tone and atmosphere. My favorite parts were exactly those noirish touches – the telephone ringing constantly and creepily, the menacing score erupting and the strong cinematography that captured so well the confined nature of its unforgiving setting.
Another highlight is the acting. Eleanor Parker and Hope Emerson undeniably deserved their Oscar noms for their stellar turns here. Parker is very moving in such a tragic role, but she also sold out the character’s eventual turn toward the darker, hardened side. Emerson was incredibly believable as this harsh, very unlikable matron that treats the inmates so badly. She acts as the villain of the piece and a damn good one at that.
And of course Agnes Moorehead is expectedly strong, but in a lesser role. The other characters were sadly underutilized in this film that typically functioned better depicting them as a group than individually on their own terms. The dialogue is very good and realistic while the movie’s treatment of its grounded themes was very strong.
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Caged is all about the corruption in the prison system and how unforgiving this place can be to many of these women. It advocated for better treatment of inmates, which was rare for the time. I did like the lesbian hints, but those were just that – overly subtle hunts. But that is to be expected from a film produced under the Hays Code. But just the fact that they made this very grounded prison drama that doesn’t romanticize prison life was truly admirable for this period. The overall plot isn’t all too deep or complex, but the ending itself was instantly memorable with that final line being almost iconic.
1950’s Caged is a surprisingly dark and grounded take on a prison drama, especially for the time. It doesn’t have the strongest plot or characterization, but the acting performances are terrific across the board – Eleanor Parker and Hope Emerson both undeniably deserved their Oscar noms. This is an unforgiving look at female prisons that is realistic, atmospheric and quite noirish. It also ended on such a memorable note.
My Rating – 4