Caged is one of my Mom's favorite movies so I saw it many times growing up. I never get tired of it.
I don't think most people who have seen it consider it camp --what's camp are the other (tawdry) women's prison films that followed, and of course Tom Eyen's hilarious and uber-camp play, Women Behind Bars.
Caged (1950)
I've been on a bit of an Eleanor Parker film festival lately; in the past few weeks I've seen The Naked Jungle (1954), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) and Warning Shot (1967).
The Naked Jungle is total hokum, with Parker and Charlton Heston competing to out-ham each other, and then they're both upstaged by all those ants. Parker has only one scene in Warning Shot, as a rich-bitch lush who attempts to seduce police detective David Janssen.
I'm not sure what to make of her performance in The Man with the Golden Arm; it's a tricky role, not only because the character's motivations are somewhat ambiguous, but also because it offers her the chance to go overboard, which she could often do, but at the same time I found it quite effective, and there were two scenes near the end of the film that literally had my jaw dropping to the floor, thanks both to her performance and Otto Preminger's brilliant direction (I can't say more without spoiling it for those who haven't seen the film).
I also love her as Marjorie Lawrence in Interrupted Melody, which isn't much as a film, but thanks almost entirely to her performance (and co-star Glenn Ford), I surprised myself by crying buckets at the end of the movie. Parker has another overlooked gem from 1950, Three Secrets, directed by Robert Wise, co-starring Patricia Neal and Ruth Roman, a classic chick flick tearjerker about three women who believe a child trapped on a mountain after a plane crash could be the child they gave up for adoption years earlier. And Magilla is right about Home From the Hill, in which she is quite splendid.
As for Caged, yes, isn't it incredible? I hope this thread can inspire others to check it out and discover this great, great film.
Edited By Penelope on 1208651413
The Naked Jungle is total hokum, with Parker and Charlton Heston competing to out-ham each other, and then they're both upstaged by all those ants. Parker has only one scene in Warning Shot, as a rich-bitch lush who attempts to seduce police detective David Janssen.
I'm not sure what to make of her performance in The Man with the Golden Arm; it's a tricky role, not only because the character's motivations are somewhat ambiguous, but also because it offers her the chance to go overboard, which she could often do, but at the same time I found it quite effective, and there were two scenes near the end of the film that literally had my jaw dropping to the floor, thanks both to her performance and Otto Preminger's brilliant direction (I can't say more without spoiling it for those who haven't seen the film).
I also love her as Marjorie Lawrence in Interrupted Melody, which isn't much as a film, but thanks almost entirely to her performance (and co-star Glenn Ford), I surprised myself by crying buckets at the end of the movie. Parker has another overlooked gem from 1950, Three Secrets, directed by Robert Wise, co-starring Patricia Neal and Ruth Roman, a classic chick flick tearjerker about three women who believe a child trapped on a mountain after a plane crash could be the child they gave up for adoption years earlier. And Magilla is right about Home From the Hill, in which she is quite splendid.
As for Caged, yes, isn't it incredible? I hope this thread can inspire others to check it out and discover this great, great film.
Edited By Penelope on 1208651413
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
I checked this out the other night on your recommendation, Penelope, and I agree that this is a dark, twisted hidden treasure in a fabulous year for lead female performances. It's as depressing as any prison-film out there, and even when it inches toward the occasional cliché, there's a genuine and committed quality to the performances that keeps it on its course.
Eleanor Parker is perfectly cast as the young girl hardened by the corrupt penal system. Her transformation into the jaded convict destined to return to the "cage" is completely realistic. And while Hope Emerson as the sadistic bulwark of a prison matron predictably steals the show, Betty Garde is frighteningly good as the dethroned prisoner ringleader, Kitty Stark (agreed, Pen). Just an absolute tight-rope walk of a performance. Agnes Morehead delivers her usual dependable performance.
One of the most memorable scenes was when the women all wait for lights to go out for the night, then silently and reverently gather around Marie as she gives milk to kitten she's hiding in her trunk. Pathetic and sad, yet somehow inspiring.
It was interesting to read that the woman who co-wrote the screenplay, managed to land herself in a real women's prison and based Caged on her experiences.
Highly recommended. My favorite Parker performances, just for the record, are: the Baroness in The Sound of Music and Marjorie Lawrence in Interrupted Melody.
Edited By flipp525 on 1229471121
Eleanor Parker is perfectly cast as the young girl hardened by the corrupt penal system. Her transformation into the jaded convict destined to return to the "cage" is completely realistic. And while Hope Emerson as the sadistic bulwark of a prison matron predictably steals the show, Betty Garde is frighteningly good as the dethroned prisoner ringleader, Kitty Stark (agreed, Pen). Just an absolute tight-rope walk of a performance. Agnes Morehead delivers her usual dependable performance.
One of the most memorable scenes was when the women all wait for lights to go out for the night, then silently and reverently gather around Marie as she gives milk to kitten she's hiding in her trunk. Pathetic and sad, yet somehow inspiring.
It was interesting to read that the woman who co-wrote the screenplay, managed to land herself in a real women's prison and based Caged on her experiences.
Highly recommended. My favorite Parker performances, just for the record, are: the Baroness in The Sound of Music and Marjorie Lawrence in Interrupted Melody.
Edited By flipp525 on 1229471121
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."
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Big Magilla
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Caged is most certainly not camp, nor is it film noir, another inaccurate label it's picked up over the years. It was then, and in some ways still is, a very realistic depicition of life in a women's prison that resembled nothing on film so much as The Snake Pit which did for insane asylums what Caged did for women's prisons.
Though I liked her in Caged, my favorite Eleanor Parker performances are those in Detective Story and Home From the Hill, films in which her screen time is limited to the point that you wish there was more but what's there is, to quote a line from Pat and Mike, "cherce" (choice).
Though I liked her in Caged, my favorite Eleanor Parker performances are those in Detective Story and Home From the Hill, films in which her screen time is limited to the point that you wish there was more but what's there is, to quote a line from Pat and Mike, "cherce" (choice).
Last night, I finally got around to seeing Caged, John Cromwell's famous women's prison picture. Knowing that the film has developed a cult following over the years as some kind of camp film, I was expecting something completely different.
Maybe it's because of the emotional roller-coaster I've been on these past few weeks, but I didn't find Caged to be a "camp" film in any way whatsoever. Instead, I found it to be a very disturbing and distressing film, extremely dark and even depressing. There were moments when I was truly horrified by what was happening on the screen.
I think my reaction was greatly aided by the acting; 1950 sure was a fantastic year for actresses, wasn't it? And Caged has an almost entirely female cast, with each woman giving memorable performances; is it because Caged is a melodrama about women that it is classified as camp? To my way of thinking, something like Top Gun is far more campy than Caged.
Anyway...is Eleanor Parker the most underrated actress of her era? She seems to be completely forgotten today, save for her portrayal of the Baroness in The Sound of Music (which, by the way, I think she does play for camp effectiveness). But her performance in Caged is marvelous, totally convincing as she matures from wide-eyed innocent to bitter, cynical ex-con. Hope Emerson certainly is memorable as the cruel matron, though for my money the best supporting performance is the film is provided by Betty Garde as Kitty, the convict who controls the turf until the tables are horrifically turned on her.
And the cinematography...wow! There's a moment when Emerson berates Garde, shot from below, then Emerson walkes out, and the shadow of the bars on the ceiling...fucking incredible. Really, a great, great film. How anybody could consider it camp I really don't know.
Maybe it's because of the emotional roller-coaster I've been on these past few weeks, but I didn't find Caged to be a "camp" film in any way whatsoever. Instead, I found it to be a very disturbing and distressing film, extremely dark and even depressing. There were moments when I was truly horrified by what was happening on the screen.
I think my reaction was greatly aided by the acting; 1950 sure was a fantastic year for actresses, wasn't it? And Caged has an almost entirely female cast, with each woman giving memorable performances; is it because Caged is a melodrama about women that it is classified as camp? To my way of thinking, something like Top Gun is far more campy than Caged.
Anyway...is Eleanor Parker the most underrated actress of her era? She seems to be completely forgotten today, save for her portrayal of the Baroness in The Sound of Music (which, by the way, I think she does play for camp effectiveness). But her performance in Caged is marvelous, totally convincing as she matures from wide-eyed innocent to bitter, cynical ex-con. Hope Emerson certainly is memorable as the cruel matron, though for my money the best supporting performance is the film is provided by Betty Garde as Kitty, the convict who controls the turf until the tables are horrifically turned on her.
And the cinematography...wow! There's a moment when Emerson berates Garde, shot from below, then Emerson walkes out, and the shadow of the bars on the ceiling...fucking incredible. Really, a great, great film. How anybody could consider it camp I really don't know.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster