Jane Darwell, born in 1879, was an American actress known for her compelling performances in cult cinema. In Caged (1950), she plays a pivotal role that adds depth to the film's exploration of women's struggles in prison. Her later appearance in Girls in Prison (1956) further cements her place in the genre, where she navigates the complexities of female incarceration. Darwell's contributions to these films highlight the often-overlooked narratives of women in mid-20th century cinema, making her a significant figure in the world of exploitation and grindhouse films.
Girls in Prison
Anne Carson (Joan Taylor) is sent to a women's prison for allegedly participating in a bank robbery with two others, one, Paul Anderson (Lance Fuller) who is still at large. The money was never recovered and all eyes are on Anne who denies knowing about the money. On arrival in prison, Anne meets the outwardly tough matron in charge (Jane Darwell) and the prison chaplain Rev Fulton (Richard Denning) who feels Anne may have had a mistrial and does not belong in prison. Anne's cellmates are Jenny (Adele Jergens) who seems to run the inmates, Melanee (Helen Gilbert) who makes a play for Anne and Dorothy (Phyllis Coates) a woman who has murdered her own husband and child when he ran away with another woman who is still alive. The unhinged Dorothy believes her child is still alive and every new girl in prison is her husband's lover, Lois. Jenny and Melanee team up in the "good cop/bad cop" routine to get Anne to tell them where the money is with Melanee telling Dorothy that Anne is really Lois. On the outside, Paul is using blackmail and threats on Anne's ex-criminal father Pop Carson (Raymond Hatton) to find the money as well as offering to split it with him 50/50. Anne faces attempted murder by Dorothy, threats on her life from two other inmates seeking the money, and fights Melanee in a catfight that culminates in a mud puddle. When a large earthquake hits the area and demolishes the installation, Jenny (who has acquired a pistol from her outside contacts) and the outwardly harmless trustee Grandma (Mae Marsh) and Melanee use the opportunity to escape with Anne to take her home to locate the money. The downed telephone and power lines give the three girls time to escape unpursued but Rev Fulton heads off Anne at her home, where Pop is still held at gunpoint by Paul. Since the film's release in 1956, the theatrical movie poster, featuring a catfight between Helen Gilbert and Joan Taylor, has become a collector's item. The poster shows the blonde haired Gilbert strangling the dark haired Taylor although that exact scene did not occur in the movie.
