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Released by: MGM Limited Edition Collection
Released on: 6/6/2011
Director: Edward L. Cahn
Cast: Jerome Thor, Marcia Henderson, Scott Marlowe, Virginia Aldridge
Year: 1959
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The Movie:
“Their teen-age emotions were tender and ripe... SOMETHING HAD TO EXPLODE!â€
You've got to love fifties era juvenile delinquent movies, as those troubled teens somehow manage to always deliver, if nothing else, loads of entertainment value. Sure the dialogue tends to be hammy in these movies and the performances are dependable only in that they almost always go over the top, but you've got to love the wannabe James Dean types who pop up in movies like this one, Edward L. Cahn's 1959 shocker, Riot In Juvenile Prison, made the same year as the director's Guns, Girls And Gangsters.
When the film begins, a shoot out between some prison guards and a gang of hoods lands would be escapee Eddie Bassett (Scott Marlow) back in the titular juvenile prison where he quickly winds up on the bad side of a big, burly guy named Stu (Richard Tyler). The death of two inmates during the shoot out, however, gets the warden (John Hoyt) replaced by Doctor Paul Thurman (Jerome Thor). Violence and fighting is an ongoing problem in the joint, so the powers that be, chiefly Thurman and Grace Hartwell (Marcia Henderson) decide, puzzlingly, that the best way to alleviate this would be to make the place co-ed.
Before you know it, a load of female juvie's are being paraded around the cafeteria so that they can get to know the male prison population. This causes trouble almost instantly when Stu sets his eyes on a foxy female named Kitty (Virginia Aldrige) who in turn has eyes for Eddie! Despite the fact that Kitty's not interested in Stu and that the equally foxy Babe (Dorothy Provine), Stu won't take no for an answer and once again he and Eddie come to blows. As those in the charge of the prison try and figure out what to do about the seemingly unstoppable and ever increasing violence, Eddie and Kitty try to figure out how they can make it as a couple without getting clobbered by big, dumb Stu.
Once you get over the fact that the idea to make the prison co-ed was a boneheaded choice from the start and not one that any prison administration worth its salt would consider for more than two seconds, this is actually a well made little movie. The locations help build a bit of claustrophobia and the finale turns out to be quite a bit stronger, content wise, than you'd probably expect for a film of this vintage. The performances are periodically hammy and do tend to go over the top, Scott Marlow being the worst culprit here, but in the context of the world where all of this is taking place it only makes sense.
Some nice camerawork and a cool score add to the fun and the fact that the film clocks in at just over seventy minutes in length ensures that it moves at a very fast pace and never overstays its welcome. There are times where it seems like the story is trying to throw in some serious social context and where it appears to want to have some legitimate impact in that regard, but it never quite works out. The end result? It's campy, full of tough talking guys and hot looking gals, well meaning social worker types and hard as nails prison guards. All of this adds up to a good time, the fact that it looks as slick as it does is the icing on the cake.
Video/Audio/Extras:
MGM's 1.33.1 fullframe widescreen transfer looks very good and appears to present the film in its original aspect ratio as there's no obvious cropping or problems with the framing. The black and white image does show some minor wear and tear and some scenes show a tiny bit more print damage than others for some reason but overall the image is very stable and generally quite crisp, detailed and clean. Contrast is decent, black levels reasonably solid though never quite reference quality - nothing to complain about here, really, and quite a nice transfer overall.
The only audio option on the disc is an English language Dolby Digital Mono track, there are no alternate language tracks or subtitles provided. The clarity is generally fine, though there are bits that sound a little flat, which likely stems back to the source. Minor hiss is present once or twice but if you're not listening for it you probably won't be bothered by it.
The disc includes a static menu, chapter selection and… that's it.
The Final Word:
A fun, fast paced, and well made juvenile delinquent movie, Riot In Juvenile Prison
Looks and sounds pretty good thanks to MGM's MOD DVD-R release - fans of the genre will definitely want to consider this one.
