Caged (1950)
(On Cable TV, October 2021) Women-in-prison exploitation films are nothing new, especially when they’re toned down just a little bit to become social dramas: I’ve seen examples dating back to the 1930s. Caged is nothing new when compared to later examples of the form, but the harshness of its treatment combined with its film-noir production era does lend it a curious kind of respectability. (People at the time agreed—the film was nominated for three Oscars.) Much of the film is a story of corruption—terrible prison conditions, of course, but also the corruption of its lead character (a rather good performance by Eleanor Parker) as she goes from naïve young woman to hardened criminal during her time inside. The film spares no plot devices—whether it’s prison-born babies, killed kittens, inmate murder or desperation suicide—to keep viewers incensed and involved. It’s grim and effective all the way to the final merciless line of the film. It’s tautly made at barely 96 minutes, and director John Cromwell keeps things grim and simple. There’s exploitation to Caged, of course, but it’s cleverly crafted and disguised as a socially conscious description of how the prison process itself dehumanizes its victims.
