Reform School Girl

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Gloria Castillo brings you the dramatic shocking truth about Reform School Girls.

(00:07):
Your name's Donna, huh?
That's right. What's your rap?
Man got killed.
Stolen car and I wouldn't say who did it.
Ross Hunter, a psychologist who tries to help all reform school girls.
And Edward Byrnes, as the kind of a man who is a constant threat to everyone.
I'll figure a way.
You better.
Man, you better.

(00:29):
Or you’re fixin’ to sniff at crazy cyanide.
Murder is planned.
And a sensation-seeking moll helps execute it.
A girl was in on it.
Her name was Josie Brigg.
This is Donna Price.
Hey, Josie, what happened?
You're getting a little rat.
You don't need to.

(00:52):
What do you want?
You got a way over the school fence.
What do you want?
Shut up and listen.
Violence and terror are their weapons.
Relentless, ruthless.
Here is the stark naked expose of the brutalized and the beaten.
You will know the worst about every woman when you see Reform School Girl.

(01:18):
We're not talking about actors.
We mean a real monster.
She'll live and I'll get her another body.
I know they're gonna catch me, but don't let anyone see me like that.
Please, Doctor, help me!
Biologically speaking, it's of primary importance that man should want to meet.
Hey, that’s right!
You don't get all your kicks from surfing, do you?

(01:41):
We want to be free to ride our machines without being hassled by the man.
And we want to get loaded.
You think you're gonna make a slave of the world?
I'll see you in hell first!
The American International Podcast.
Are you ready?
Hey there, welcome to the American International Podcast.

(02:02):
I'm Cheryl Lightfoot.
And I'm Jeff Markin.
And today we're going up the river with Reform School Girl from 1957.
Reform sSchool Girl was written and directed by Edward Bernds,
produced by James H. Nicholson and Robert J. Gurney Jr. for Carmel Productions.
Reform School Girl, stars Gloria Castillo as Donna Price,
Ross Ford as David Lindsay, Edward Burns as Vince, Ralph Reed as Jackie Dodd,

(02:23):
Jan Englund as Ruth, Yvette Vickers as Roxy, Helen Walles as Superintendent Trimble,
Donna Jo Gribble as Cathy Durand, Luana Anders as Josie Brigg,
Diana Darrin as Mona.
Also appearing our Nesden Booth as Deetz.
Wayne Taylor is Gary Metusek , Sharon Lee as the blonde,
Jack Kruschen as Mr. Horvath, Linda Rivera as Elena Hernandez.

(02:46):
Elaine Sinclair as Midge, Dorothy Crehan as Matron,
Claire Carlton as Rita Horvath, Lillian Powell as Emily Patton,
and Sally Kellerman as Marcia.
Reform School Girl opens with some gratuitous underwear shots.
Gloria Castillo is in a bra and slip,
as she's sitting in front of a mirror brushing her hair and otherwise grooming herself.
We then cut to Edd Byrnes.

(03:07):
He steals a car by picking out the sweetest convertible and a lot and hot wiring it.
He drives away and seconds later, the hapless owner returns to an empty parking space.
Oh no.
Then we return to the girl in her vanity. This is Donna Price.
She's still in front of the mirror when Donna's uncle comes into the room.
This is Mr. Horvath, but we will be referring to him as Uncle Creepy.
Donna is behind a privacy screen in the main room of the house,

(03:29):
and her uncle is able to sit in his favorite chair with his paper
and see Donna's reflection in her vanity.
He's unshaven and wearing a wife beater under his suspenders,
so you instantly know his character.
Donna sees her slab uncle gawking at her reflection in the mirror as she sits there
and angrily hurries up to dress.
And we still haven't had a word of dialogue yet, but we see Vince putting on a suit
and jacket and tie to go out.

(03:51):
The typical attire worn by today's reckless youths.
Now fully dressed, Donna comes around the screen with a skirt and begins ironing it
as Uncle Creepy continues to ogle her.
Then her Aunt Rita comes into the room and Chastahe's is Donna for wasting electricity.
She's been ironing for one minute and Aunt Rita barks at her.
Are you going to be ironing that thing all day?
Aunt Rita tells Donna to not leave the place a pig pen.

(04:12):
Donna sidys her revolting uncle and says she's got news for her auntie.
It already is.
And Rita says she wouldn't give Donna a good talking to if she wasn't already late for work.
Once Rita has left, Uncle Creepy still leering at Donna from his easy chair.
Come and send her pretty Donna has gotten.
He stands and walks toward her and she picks up the iron defensively.
Here we go again, says a weary Donna or kid.

(04:34):
A car pulls up outside.
It's that car we saw stolen earlier in the film and it hunks its horn.
Inside her vents along with his girl Josie and Donna's date Gary as passengers.
Are those the kids you're going out with tonight?
Uncle Creepy asks Donna.
He wants her to tell him that she can't go out with them and to stay home with him instead and they can have some fun.
Donna screams I will not and no.

(04:55):
Fortunately for Donna, the kids outside don't have the patience to wait for her.
Donna's date Gary goes up to fetch her.
Donna leaps to the door when she hears a knock.
She throws it open and drags her date inside to help her, I guess.
She just needs to get her coat and Uncle Creepy pushes Gary out the door.
But Vince is there and he pushes Gary back through the door right into Uncle Creepy.
Hey, who are you shoving?
Uncle Creepy tells Vince to get out of his house and a fistfighter ups.

(05:18):
Donna looks intensely worried his Vince pops to the floor with her uncle.
He makes beating up Uncle Creepy look easy.
Soon has him on the floor.
Then Gary winds.
Come on Vince, lay off him.
Come on, let's go.
And he pulls Vince and Donna out the door.
They run out to the car.
Donna hops in the back besides Gary, her useless date.
Josie sits next to Vince up front.
As they pile into the car, Gary explains that Vince has a rich buddy.

(05:41):
They take off and start cruising.
They appear to be going 90 miles per hour around dangerous curves.
After a while of cruising very fast, Donna declares she's tired of just driving around.
She thinks they should go someplace.
Josie suggests they go to a show.
Donna doesn't care where as long as they say how good and late.
Then Gary suggests look out and point.
He reaches for Donna and she pushes him away.
You sure let my uncle push you around, she says.

(06:03):
Josie suggests the drive in, but Vince announces they're all going to party in Atlantic Heights.
Josie asks who he knows there and Vince says no one yet.
Gary says in this car, Vince calls Gary a chicken, which kind of smarts after what Donna just said to him.
Vince said the people there are a bunch of punks from Fremont high and he wants to see their faces when he crashes into this party.
Josie also warns Vince not in this car and Donna pipes up.

(06:26):
Why not?
It's a great car.
Gary says it's like sticking your neck out.
Vince has had enough negativity.
He slams on the brakes and orders Josie and Gary to get out.
They aren't cool so they can walk home.
But Donna stays.
She's not chicken.
Vince drives off with Donna still in the back seat, leaving Josie and Gary standing on the curb.
Vince tells Donna to hop up front with him.
He likes her.
She's got moxie.

(06:47):
She must.
She's climbing over that seat when it's still going about 90 miles per hour.
The two of them go to look on point where Vince tries to put moves on her.
But she pushes him away.
She only met him an hour ago.
Vince says he can figure things out in an hour.
Donna can't unless the mess he says.
And the answer is still no.
Vince takes being rebuffed like a gentleman, except he doesn't.
He tells Donna he should have kicked her out instead of Josie.

(07:08):
And Donna softens a bit.
She just doesn't like to be rushed.
He's proved himself a big man.
He should just relax now.
Vince does seem okay with this tactic.
Vince laughs.
Who was that fat guy anyway?
Donna explains that he is her aunt's husband and that he's been bothering her since she turned 14.
Vince tells Donna that a chick like her should have a pat of her own.
He reaches for her again and she wants again pushes him away.

(07:29):
So if she's just going to be a tease, he's going to take her home.
He reaches under the dash to touch the wires and start up the car.
Donna is shocked.
You didn't borrow this car?
Sure I did.
Vince says I just forgot the key.
Donna doesn't want any trouble.
Vince says no one saw him steal the car.
But Donna says Josie and Gary know and now they're peved enough to maybe squeal.
Vince reassures her that they're secretive safe because he'll kill anyone who squeals.

(07:51):
Gary knows it.
Josie knows it.
And now Donna knows it.
Then the car races off.
As the car is rocketing towards town, a cop car driving past stops and does a u-turn and follows them.
Simon Bollering.
Vince drives even more recklessly as he tries to outrun the cops.
Then in the dumbest vehicular homicide scene ever, we see a man park his car in the middle of nowhere, but at a stop sign.

(08:12):
Amble slowly across the street.
He sees Vince's car approaching and he stands still in the middle of the intersection.
Hands up.
He makes maybe two steps to the side, then puts his hand out as the car plows into him.
Even at this high speed, Vince's car after mowing the man down is able to stop before completely running the man over.
The car stops with the man's legs sticking out from under the car.
The back tires never touched him.

(08:34):
The physics of this defy logic.
Vince jumps out of the car and tries to get Donna to follow him.
He tries to pull her out, but she's hanging on to the frame and she's not going anywhere.
Okay, baby.
Just stay there.
He says then Vince runs up in a bankman as the police car pulls up behind the stolen vehicle.
And now of course we're at juvenile court.
The judge and some court official we couldn't decide and they never say are consulting.

(08:57):
Donna's gross uncle slides behind where she's sitting to tell her that you know who called to warn them that if either of them say anything, they're both dead.
So she should be quiet about everything and you know what that means.
And then he slithers back to sit next to his wife.
Then the official sits down next to Donna, which seems strange because he appears to be the prosecutor.
He's definitely not her attorney or representative.

(09:19):
There is no representative for Donna.
She is completely alone here, but at any rate, the judge starts the proceedings.
Uncle Creepy is the first to stand.
He doesn't take the stand.
This is a very informal hearing.
Everyone's unfolding chairs.
Uncle Creepy is asked if he knows why he was assaulted by those kids that night.
And he says Donna told them to do it.
The judge asked Donna if this is true.
But before she can answer and read his stands, why ask her?

(09:40):
She's only going to lie anyway.
She's no good. She's just a kid.
Always making passes at my husband, which pick.
But even if true, she should be a red flag that something is wrong at this house.
Rita goes on to say that she had to take care of this little alley cat ever since her sister died five years ago.
Got rest her soul.
The judge and the court official try to get Aunt Rita to sit down and shut up.
And then they ask Uncle Creepy if he would recognize his assailants.

(10:03):
He says no. They all jumped him at once.
Then the judge asked for the name of the boy taking Donna out.
And Uncle Creepy doesn't know that either.
They don't really know a lot about Donna's life.
Then the judge tries to get some any info out of Donna.
She's the only one that knows the identity of the man who drove the car.
The one they believed killed Mr. Davis.
Donna moans.
You wouldn't believe anything I said anyway.

(10:24):
The judge says he might.
Don't you want to tell your side of the story?
She glumly looks down.
The judge reminds her that this wasn't a childish prank.
A man died.
Who was the driver?
Donna continues her silence.
This leaves the judge no choice but to commit her to the state youth authority
with the recommendation that she be assigned to the hasting school for girls,
where she will be forever known as a reform school girl.

(10:47):
[Music]
Vince goes to meet his auto part fence Deets.
Deets doesn't want to see Vince. He's hot. Vince knows.
So, your hand to go, joy writing, Deets says.
Again, Deets says Vince is too hot for him.
Vince argues that Deets is hot too.
He's made plenty of dough stripping the heaps that Vince boosted.

(11:10):
But Deets says Vince owns this murder app all on his own.
Vince grabs a wrench, but Deets slams his welding torch into Vince's hand
and threatens to burn a hole through his belly if he tries anything like that again.
But Deets does have some advice for Vince.
There was a girl in that car, wasn't there?
That's bad.
Brods talk.
They always have and they always will.
Vince says this one won't.
He's kept her from squealing and she won't talk.

(11:31):
She'd better not, says Deets.
If anyone had anything on me, I'd shut her up for good.
Vince seems to consider this piece of advice very seriously.
And now we're at the Hastings School for Girls, where the court official escorts Donna to her first day at Juve.
Also in the hallway is David Lindsay, a new teacher at the school.
The court official knows him outside the office of Superintendent Trimble, the two catch up.

(11:52):
Lindsay's there doing some graduate work on juvenile psychology.
The official inquires about Janet, who's fine.
They're getting married in the fall.
Then the guy from the court introduces David Tatana.
At this point in time, David is escorted in to meet with Mrs. Trimble and Donna is escorted off elsewhere in Mrs. Trimble's office.
David Lindsay is hoping to do some research while there along with his teaching.

(12:13):
Mrs. Trimble equips that he'll have a wealth of material here.
And he asked Trimble about that girl that was waiting outside.
Donna Price says Mrs. Trimble, bling on some paperwork, disastrous home life, bad companions, poverty,
and she was involved in a homicide and she's more than ordinarily rebellious and uncooperative.
How old is she asked Lindsay? 17. They're all young here, but some of the things they've done would make your hair stand on end.

(12:36):
She then shows off a two-bladed knife when of her kids fashioned and honestly it's a pretty damn cool.
Trimble says a lot of the things he's going to see will surprise him.
The girls at times form attachments with other girls so strong that they feel familial.
They think of the other girls as mothers and even brothers or fathers, really.
Also Trimble adds, they don't ordinarily allow single men to work there.

(12:57):
And he must understand why, but he's an exception and she sure if he watches his step, everything will work out.
I guess no married men would ever be inappropriate.
Right.
Then we dissolve to Donna in her new digs.
She's sitting on her bed looking at a doll in a room with about a dozen other girls.
And another girl, this is Ruth, means over her own bed and asks Donna what's your app?
Donna just clears it up and says she's an international spy and she's still Adam Bombs secrets.

(13:22):
This response is met with a stuffed animal to the head.
The main tough broad comes over.
This is Roxy with her big goon marsher behind her.
She tells Donna that she gets funny.
They'll slap it out of her.
They want to know her rap.
Donna says her rap is twofold.
A man got killed in a stolen car and she wouldn't say who did it.
And it's a good thing she didn't say who did it because the girls at the Asing School for Girls don't like squealers.

(13:44):
They give him the works.
Then another girl kneels next to Donna.
This is Kathy Durand.
Kathy wants to know if Donna has a boyfriend.
No snaps Donna.
Well Kathy does.
He gave her a ring and they're going to be married as soon as she gets out.
And as soon as he gets out, Snark's Roxy, he stole that ring.
Kathy then says that she's going to have a baby.
Really?
As Donna Ruth says, yeah, she's been expecting since she got there a year ago.

(14:08):
Oh, says Donna politely.
Then Roxy focuses on one key point of the last conversation.
No boyfriend, huh?
Men says Donna who needs them.
Another girl Mona jumps on the bed beside Donna.
I do, she says. Then she asks Donna if she saw the new teacher.
No, she says why ask her? She doesn't even like men.
I never said that, Raul's Donna.
She just doesn't go for those something for nothing guys.

(14:30):
Mona asks what the teacher was like and how old is he?
25 or 30 says Donna.
I would have guessed around 47.
Yeah, he looks much older as was the style of the time.
Donna admits that he is nice looking, I guess.
But Roxy says he's not just a teacher.
He's a bug man.
Ruth clarifies that she means psychologist.
That means he'll just be asking questions.
The girls realize that most of not all of them will be in the history class that he'll be teaching.

(14:52):
Roxy wants to give him the works, but Mona says they should be real nice to him instead.
After all, he's a man.
He's not a man.
Grouse Roxy. He's a head shrinker.
He's probably just there to pump info out of the minds of the weak-willed students to give to Trimple.
Mona volunteers to let him ask her a few questions.
Mmm.
And everybody groans at her.
All the noise brings in the matron who orders them all to bed.
It's lights out time.

(15:13):
Roxy faints innocent as she.
And her stuffed bear hadn't meekly to bed.
And the dark, Donna starts to cry.
Ruth looks at her, both concerned and annoyed.
[laughs]
The next day in history class, Mrs. Trimble introduces the class to their new teacher, Mr. Lindsay.
Trimble leaves, and Lindsay talks to the class, but they're too busy talking amongst themselves to listen to him.
He tells them that he's a psychologist, and that perhaps some of them can help him with a project he's working on.

(15:38):
But since no one is listening to him anyway, he decides to get on with the lesson.
Yes, one girl, Elena.
What was the decisive battle of the Civil War?
Elena confidently declares Bucket Hill as the other girls laugh, and Lindsay starts regretting his career choices.
Elena congratulates herself on a job well done and sits down.
Lindsay corrects her.
It was Gettysburg.
Oh, really?
Says Roxy?

(15:59):
Lindsay asks Roxy her name.
Marilyn Monroe, she says.
Lindsay says it's nice to meet you, Ms. Monroe.
He moves on to Ruth, but she's too busy filing her nails to answer a question.
The next girl here, he recognizes it's Donna.
He asks her if she'd like to answer a question.
No, she says.
And Lindsay looks very dejected.
He keeps trying with the other girls, but gets nowhere.
He calls on Kathy, who stands up.

(16:21):
She says she has been feeling very well lately.
After all, she's going to have a baby.
Lindsay says that's a pretty sick joke and asks Kathy to sit back down.
Then he addresses the entire class.
He knows they've been giving him the business.
He can't make them learn anything.
They've got to want to do that for themselves.
He then tells them that none of them are required to stay in any of his classes, and they can feel free to walk out.
Roxie is the first to gather her things and walk out the door, and the other is spile out behind her.

(16:44):
Donna's the last one out.
She goes up to Lindsay and says, some psychologist.
Kathy wasn't giving you the business.
She really thinks she's having a baby.
She leaves and Lindsay looks even more distraught if that's possible.
And now it's work time.
They're in the garden and Donna S. Ruth, what they're planting.
Ruth tells Donna if she's still there in the fall, she'll get some juicy tomatoes.

(17:05):
If I'm here, it says Donna.
Behind her, Marsha throws a bunch of tools in a wheelbarrow.
Making Donna jump at the noise.
Ruth tells her that they have 12 fences there.
She's safe here and Donna smiles.
But then she's totaled by the sound of a scream.
It's Kathy.
Here's the garden snake right where she was planting her seeds.
Roxie runs over and picks it up and chases after Donna with it.
Donna is terrified.

(17:26):
Now we're with Vince.
He's hiding behind some cars outside Deets's place.
Deets has some suits inside. They're talking to him.
Once they leave, Vince goes in to find out who they were.
Cops says Deets, looking for Vince, has even shooting off his mouth.
Vince says he's not crazy, but Deets says that the saying over.
When it's a homicide, the cops never give up.
They'll keep asking questions until someone says something.

(17:47):
Vince says the only person who knows what happened is locked up.
Deets asks what if she squeals?
She's behind a tall fence.
Vince says the fence won't help her if she does.
Deets asks how he will know if she does.
And Vince says he'll figure out a way.
And Deets says you better.
[Music]
Back in his room, Vince picks up the phone to call his mom,

(18:11):
"Oh, wait a minute, that's his girlfriend."
This Fluzy wants to know what they're doing tonight.
She wants to go to Maxie's.
Vince says they can't.
If Josie sees him there, she'll blow her top.
The blonde Fluzy doesn't care.
Vince says that he's got a big problem.
And he's on his way to her place and she'll have to do something for him.
Back at the school, Mr. Lindsay is thinking Donna for telling him about Kathy.
He says he should have been more sensitive.

(18:32):
Sensitive says Donna, that's a funny thing for a man to say.
Lindsay says maybe she just hasn't met the right man,
which is kind of a creepy conversation to be having with your student.
But Donna has met all types of men and hasn't seen anything to change her position.
If they all suck, Lindsay decides he's going to lecture Donna about what she really wants.
It's what all girls want.
Nice clothes, a nice home, a family of her own.

(18:53):
Wow, really reductive there, Lindsay.
Lindsay says that Donna's mixed up and scared because of the men she's met.
But there are decent guys out there.
She'll meet one one day and she'll know him when she finds him.
Lindsay tells Donna that up to now she's had a series of bad breaks.
What do you mean up till now?
She says, well, stammer's Lindsay, I figured the school owes you a few breaks.

(19:14):
Don't give me that, says Donna.
This isn't a school.
It's a jail.
But Lindsay says she can still have a future.
Donna doesn't have to stay here.
She can make a better life for herself.
She's smart.
She's pretty.
Here it comes, says Donna.
Lindsay's confused.
The past says Donna, go ahead.
There's nothing I can do.
If I yell, you'll just claim I was trying to get away.

(19:37):
Lindsay says it's not like that.
And she says, okay, then let me go.
Lindsay says that she can go with, but next time she accuses them of playing the long game.
Instead of reflecting on how to more sensitively treat girls who have a history of being preyed upon,
he just looks offended.
I wonder where he received his degree in psychology.
Once outside the door, Donna complements his pitch, but she's been sweet talked by the best of them.

(19:58):
She does this in front of Trimble, who decides it's time to have a talk with Lindsay.
Trimble sees that he has taken an interest in Donna, and it's possible to become too interested.
She then tells him about a former teacher at the school.
He was happily married with three children, but they had to let him go.
Not because of anything he did, just because the girls started calling him "lover boy"
and the way they looked at him.
She cautions Lindsay against touching the girls, however innocently,

(20:20):
then asks Lindsay to admit without penalty, if he thinks he could ever become involved with Donna.
Lindsay says, "No way. He has his girl."
But remember when he said that if he could just help one girl, this would all be worth it?
Well, Donna is that girl, and this still seems like an unhealthy attachment, even if it is professional.
Trimble warns him to not make his special project too special.

(20:41):
Now we're back with Vince, and he's with that blind woman he telephoned earlier.
She's laying on the bed and she picks up the phone and calls in a tip to the police.
That's the only vehicle that killed that guy.
Josie Brigg was in on it. And who am I? I'm Donna Price.
Donna Price.
Back at the school, the girls are again doing their garden work.
Donna is spraying something onto the planet's seeds, fertilize her and sexes hide her something.

(21:03):
She hugs her skirt and receives a wolf whistle from a guy with his face and hands pressed against the fence.
"Come over here," he calls out. She glairs at him.
"Well, I can't come over there, can I?"
She goes to the fence and glairs at him some more.
"Oh, you're gonna hate me because I like your looks," he says.
"She asks if this is some peeping Tom act." And he says, "Nope, he's got a flat."
"Anyway, there's nothing more he likes on a hot day than a cool chicken for some reason this makes Donna smile."

(21:28):
He asks her name, then he tells her his. He's Jackie Dodd.
He offers two fingers to the fence which Donna shakes. Then she warns him to get out of there.
What would people say if they saw him talking to one of the criminals?
"Criminal scoffs, Jackie? He bets he's pulled more stunts than she is, but he's never been caught."
Donna says, "Oh, but then Jackie tells some dumb story about stealing a tractor." And this amuses Donna.

(21:49):
Ruth notices Donna standing by the fence and goes to investigate,
with tries to pull Donna away, saying they don't like them talking to the peasants.
Jackie tells her to wait. He's got a buddy and they can all double date.
Ruth calls him and tits in the haid, but Jackie has a plan.
He and one of his buddies will meet them and that equipment shed the one with a red roof at 10 tonight.
Donna asks if he can climb the fence. Jackie assures her that they will and confirms the date.

(22:11):
Then Jackie runs off to tell his buddy he now has plans for the evening and Ruth and Donna go back to gardening.
That night, Donna and Ruth sneak out of their beds. They remove their night clothes to reveal their day clothes underneath.
Then they go down to the equipment shed where they were expecting to meet Jackie and his friend.
They turn on the light and no one is there so they assume they've been stood up.
As they enter the shed though, Lindsay, who's outside, spots them.
Two seconds later, Jackie arrives with Danny, who's very tall and Ruth likes that.

(22:36):
"I was the climate up there," she asks and Donna says, "Don't talk about climate. I'm freezing."
Danny says, "Well, you should have worn a jacket." But then he thinks, "Here, you can wear mine and puts his jacket around Ruth."
Jackie does the same for Donna, but when he goes to touch her, she lashes out.
He says he was just going to warm her up. She relents it and lets him put his arm around her.
He says if the service he extends to all his customers.

(22:57):
Danny tries to use the same line, but he bungles it and Ruth takes his arm and pulls it around herself, complaining she'll freeze to death waiting for him to figure out what to do.
Then Jackie pulls on a radio and turns it on. Donna doesn't care for the classical music Jackie turned on, so she takes the radio and finds something more upbeat.
Before she starts dancing, Ruth throws Danny's jacket on the ground, which is kind of rude if you ask me.
After the dance, the couple's cuddle is soft music plays. Donna thinks this is nice.

(23:21):
She tells Jackie that most boys talk tough and when they see a girl, they make passes.
And Jackie says, "Well, I wouldn't make it pass at you, but I'm too afraid to get my teeth knocked out."
Donna laughs and says that he won't get his teeth knocked out, and then she kisses him.
Ruth notices that it's nearly 1130 and they've got to be getting back.
Jackie tells Donna goodnight and kisses her again. Danny tells Ruth goodnight and pauses.
So Ruth gives an irritated sigh and she pounces on him.

(23:44):
Danny stumbles back into a couple of pails hanging on the wall that crash to the floor, and the racket it makes causes everyone to scatter.
And then in a weird transition, we fade up to Kathy who's interrupting a staff meeting in Trimble's office.
She's looking for her boyfriend who, of course, isn't there.
Trimble tells her no one came to visit today. As Kathy leaves, Mr. Lindsay stops her to apologize for the way he treated her the other day.

(24:05):
He didn't understand and he hopes she's feeling better and she accepts his apology.
It seems she has a bit of a goldfish memory though and she doesn't even remember.
Now that Kathy's gone, the staff meeting can commence. It appears that we're intruders on the grounds last night, battering eyesing with some of the girls.
Lindsay pipes up that he doesn't seem the harm. Mrs. Trimble wants to know what might happen if one of the girls got into trouble from one of these visits.

(24:26):
She predicts a feature full of shotgun weddings if this ridiculous idea is allowed.
Lindsay admits he hadn't thought of that, but what if they made it official?
They could throw a well supervised party with some local boys. Trimble reminds Lindsay that he already had one idea this week
that the classroom walk out and that didn't work out so well.
Anyway, what parent would allow their respectable sons to come party with the Juve girls?
Lindsay asks for a chance to round up some local boys. And with that change your mind, Trimble says, "You get that done and I'll consider the idea."

(24:53):
And before Miss Patton, one of the other staff members, can finish voicing her objection, Lindsay is out the door in search of man-meet.
Then Miss Patton uses why anyone would brave a 12-foot barbed wire fence. Trimble says it's a modern-day version of Romeo and Juliet.
And now sports. The girls are playing volleyball outside and Miss Patton goes into Miss Trilindzie's office.
They watch the girls from his window and Lindsay comments that Donna seems to be having fun. Patton tells them looks can be deceiving.

(25:18):
She remembers one girl who seemed happy as a lark then she burned the commissary down. Lindsay doesn't think Donna will resort to such measures.
Yeah, she's not a narsanist, she's a vehicular homicidist.
And now when Miss Trilindzie's class, I guess all the students opted to come back and let themselves be taught.
The bell rings and they all file out. But Lindsay asks Donna to stay behind. He'd like to talk to her.
Lindsay tells Donna about his party idea and how the boys can come invited instead of having a sneak in.

(25:42):
Donna realizes this means Lindsay saw her that night. And Ruth, he says she asked him why he hadn't turned them in and he explains he wouldn't be able to his work if the girls couldn't trust him.
Donna tells him he could have been a big hero around here if he had turned them in.
Lindsay asks about the boys that came in that night. Were they local? She says yes and he hands her a phone book. Call them, he says.
She says he's crazy. No boys parents with them hanging around with reform school girls.

(26:06):
But Lindsay thinks they should at least try.
It picks up the phone and asks for an outside line. Donna gives him a number from the phone book and he dials and hands down on the phone.
She asks for Jackie Dodd and tells Lindsay this is a stupid idea and he'll never go for it.
But there's a party going on right here. A celebration to last, well at least for an hour.
There's a sock up and the lounge and there's almost enough boys for everyone.

(26:28):
Ruth has Danny, Donna has Jackie and even Kathy as a partner.
Mrs. Trimble congratulates Lindsay on a good idea for once and Lindsay says Donna looks happy because he's always watching her.
Two of the boys take a break from dancing. Sit on a couch. One of them squeaks that he had two girls that almost got in a fight over him and he's never had it so good.
Ruth and Danny are headed back onto the dance floor, but Roxy grabs Danny and declares them as her guy.

(26:52):
Ruth tells Roxy to keep her mits off him and before a fight can begin, Elena and Marcia pull Roxy away.
Morning her not to mess up the party or they'll never have another one. Then Mona runs up to Mr. Lindsay and drags him onto the dance floor saying he's the only man left.
After the party, Roxy is still sucking on sour grapes. The party sucked and there weren't enough boys.

(27:18):
Ruth says that if Roxy was on a deserted island with 50 boys, they'd all swim away rather than get with her.
Somehow this offends Roxy. She shoves at Ruth who shoves back and Donna must break up the fight. She says that at the next party, there'll be enough boys for everyone.
Next we see Lindsay is keeping Donna after class once again. He's quizzing her on how the party went. He wants to know how it went over with the other girls.

(27:39):
Donna says most of them enjoyed it, which she's really interested in is what Lindsay thinks of Jackie.
Lindsay diplomatically doesn't mention his huge teeth and says that he told Donna she would know when she found her real one.
Donna mentions that Jackie works for his brothers at a lumber yard after school, so he's got a real future.
Next, Donna, we turn it to a room where a new girl has joined them. It's Josie who has suddenly become the most popular girl in school.

(28:00):
There's also a lot of hostility being directed her way by everyone in the room. At this point, Donna has no idea what's happening though.
Donna asks her what happened and Josie responds by slapping Donna and throws her onto a bed. The other girls gather around her and cheer because they don't like squealers.
Ruth runs in and pushes Josie off of Donna. What's the big idea? Josie says Donna squeal on her and hands over a newspaper clipping, stating the informant revealed herself as Donna price.

(28:25):
How could I have done that, Asdana? Boxy says Donna's been playing footsie with that bug man and she's probably used his office phone.
The fight continues, but Donna steps aside to let Ruth take the beatings on her behalf. Ruth tumbles off the bed and then one girl watching the door announces that someone's coming.
So it's time to stand up and look innocent. The matron comes in to see Ruth with the bloody nose.
Ruth says they were filling around and she fell and matron asks if Ruth wants to go to the infirmary, but Ruth says she'll be okay.

(28:49):
The matron leaves and Josie announces that they're going to get Donna at recreation time. Donna is absolutely watching some of the girls play ping pong.
Roxy is nearby with the coffee cup and Marsha comes over with a pot and fills up Roxy's cup. Then her hand moves over to Donna's arm, which is resting on the table and Marsha continues pouring the hot liquid.
Donna screams in the infirmary. Donna still refuses to tell what's going on claiming that her burned arm was just an accident.

(29:12):
And she cries because she's truly alone now. The girls are out working in the garden again. Jackie pulls up his truck and walks over to the fence and calls out to Donna, but she just walks away.
Roxy uses this opportunity to swoop in on Jackie. She's offering herself to him tonight wherever he wants to meet. He turns and walks away without saying anything.
Ha ha, Roxy, you're poison. And then we see that Donna is still walking out of the garden. Ruth stops Josie from hurling a cloud of dirt on Donna.

(29:37):
So Ruth is still on Donna's side. Josie says that Donna's a stooly, but Ruth points out that that's her story and she's going to need some cooperation to give in Ruth.
And they start to fight as Donna stands idly by. Yeah, Ruth has Donna's back, but the reverse is obviously not true.
Josie gives in when Ruth is pushing Josie's face into the dirt.
And now in another sports scene, Ruth is scored Donna past a softball game. Marsha's up to bat. And after the two pass, she hurls that bad at Roost's head.

(30:03):
It hits her square in the shoulders and Ruth goes down. Roxy and Marsha glow, but Mona looks like this might be too much.
Josie hissed to Donna that they got a nurse made. Now they're coming for her.
So Ruth is recuperating in the infirmary. Donna is visiting has her Mrs. Trimble and Miss Patton. Trimble asks Ruth if she's sure this was an accident.
Ruth says yes and Trimble says she doesn't like the number of accidents they've had around here lately.

(30:26):
Donna says goodnight and excuses herself and Trimble says down next to Ruth. Now Ruth what really happened? She asks Ruth says I told you it was an accident.
Donna returns to her bunk. Everyone is staring at her. She pulls back the covers reveal us snake Donna screams everyone's delighted.
Now there's another staff meeting in Mrs. Trimble's office and the speeding is above Donna. She's become even more inquisitive than when she came here.

(30:49):
And something's been a ruin. If Donna is the catalyst for whatever's happening whether or not she's the one at fault Trimble may have to send her away to the state youth authority.
But Lindsay asked for one more opportunity to try talking to Donna and Trimble gives the okay.
Once alone Lindsay grills Donna but she's still not talking. Lindsay pledges confidentiality but Donna's only interested in the scissors that she sees sitting on a table out of Lindsay's line of sight.

(31:12):
She picks them up and hides them in the folds of her skirt and asked to go which Lindsay allows.
At night we see Donna lying awake in bed ready to plunge the scissors into anyone who comes too close.
But there's no trouble that night. The next day as Donna enters the rec room the other girls surround her and back her into the wall.
Donna raises the scissors and most of the girls back off except for Marsha who was nearly twice down a size so she's pretty sure she could take her.

(31:34):
Big mistake because Donna sticks the scissors into Marsha's arm. Marsha screams alert the matron who relieves Donna of her weapon and takes Marsha to the infirmary with the others following living Donna behind in tears.
In Trimble's office Donna's on trial everyone wants to know why Donna did it because this is serious Marsha could have been killed.

(31:58):
Donna still says nothing and then all the other girls are assembled for questioning. They're asked for a motive.
Josie supplies jealousy. Roxy claims that Donna's boyfriend likes her instead. The matron doesn't see this for the impossibility it is.
Roxy is manifestly unlikable and Miss Patten says that she knew the party was a bad idea Trimble buys this excuse and glares it Lindsay.

(32:19):
That's one experiment they won't be repeating Mona says oh no only to get elbowed by Josie sorry girl Trimble asks again if Donna attacked her because of the boy and no one denies it so they're dismissed.
Miss Patten once noted on the record that she thought the party was a bad idea from the start and it's clear that Donna is the problem.
All the girls are against her so triple is going to have to ship off Donna back into the system Lindsay says the state will send her to Danville which is apparently a prison.

(32:45):
Triple says not necessarily and besides Lindsay had promised to be a professional Lindsay says he'll always be a human being first didn't you clear is that Donna's getting a raw deal and he storms out.
Lindsay visits Ruth in the infirmary and tells her that Donna's headed to state prison right now she's in the meditation room aka solitary confinement.
He begs Ruth to fess up for Donna's sake and as reluctant as she is she hates stuolies to she finally gives up a detail Donna knew Josie from her old gang and we see that teeny is there pretending to sleep but she's listening to everything.

(33:16):
Before she says anything else she wants to know that Lindsay isn't going to go to the cops with whatever she tells him Lindsay's tells her that he's no cop he only wants to clear down his name.
So Ruth tells him the story but Lindsay already knows all this it was in Donna's record Ruth continues that Josie knew of stuff the kid did that Donna didn't know about things like stripping cars etc and Josie is convinced Donna turned her in Ruth asked Lindsay what he plans to do and Lindsay isn't sure.

(33:40):
Lindsay says he's going to check with Donna's probation officer to see what he can do.
Then he asked if Donna had a boyfriend Ruth supplies his name Gary Matuzek but said Donna never gave up the driver's name just thinking about a made her scared Lindsay tells her to get well and leaves from her bed.
Teenie sits up and glares at Ruth.
Next we see Roxie and Josie walking together through the hall and teeny comes down the stairs to tell Roxie that the bug man was up to see Ruth and she's had a lot to tell him.

(34:04):
Josie says Donna gave up Vince's name so they have to warn him they shut up quick though and miss patent appears in the office where Mona is supposed to be working but she's sitting there looking around.
She's sitting there looking rather nervous about something when a rock suddenly flies through the window everyone in the office gets up to investigate except for Mona.
She runs to the switchboard and prepares an outside line.
She sets it up in from their room Josie makes a call to Vince he's wearing a tie.

(34:27):
She warns Vince that Donna is getting ready to snitch Vince says he's on it and he asks if there's a way over the fence.
She takes the phone from Josie and says there's a kid named Jackie dad who gets over the fence all the time. Vince asks where Donna is and Roxie says that she's locked up. Vince says to get her out.
Backed down in the office Mona sees everyone coming back so she runs over the switchboard to end the call and get back to her desk before everyone returns.

(34:49):
Vince has more questions but the call is cut off so he puts on his suit jacket and leaves.
Now we see Donna pacing around solitary and then we cut to Mona who's reporting to the others who is on duty tonight and whoever it is is so old she creaks.
So Josie and Roxie anticipate getting her keys with no problem and if Vince can't get in for some reason Josie will break Donna's face herself.
We're back with Vince who's pulling up to a service station and asking for directions to Jackie dad.

(35:14):
Surprisingly the attendant is able to accommodate this request.
Let me see Donna reading 17 magazine but it's not quite distracting enough and she throws it on the ground.
Then we're with Jackie dad at work at the lumber yard wondering with the grounds with a clipboard in his hand Vince grabs Jackie from behind and holds knife to Jackie's throat.
Vince informs Jackie that he's going to help Vince get over the fence since Jackie has a knife to his throat.

(35:35):
He has no argument to get in Jackie's truck and drive off back at the school.
The matron comes into the lounge and turns on the light for whatever reason they left it off after she departs all the girls run off to in the other direction.
In her cell Donna looks out the window at first there's no one in the yard but then all the girls run past Jackie is driving Vince to the school with a knife still pressed against his throat.

(35:56):
Some guys will go through a lot of trouble to see a girl he says I know some of them which one are you interested in.
Vince tells them to just shut up and drive at the school Donna knowing something is up knocks and screams at the door to get the attention of Mrs. Megs who's supervising her but Mrs. Megs is otherwise occupied and here's nothing as she frantically pounds on the door.
Next we see Roxy climbing in through the broken office window to let the other girls in and they run up some stairs to find Donna back in the truck.

(36:20):
Vince is concerned that Jackie's taking the scenic route but Jackie points to the building that they're going to and delays his fears.
The girls enter the classroom where Mrs. Megs is working they throw a sheet over her head and locker in a closet then they go to Donna's door.
They were window in the door Josie glares it Donna but when it comes to crunch time she can't find the key to the door.
She tries them all but nothing's working back in the truck Jackie says that Vince still hasn't given in the name of the girl he's going to see Donna price his Vince Donna price.

(36:50):
Oh yeah I think she's in dorm see Jackie points out to the gate and when Vince is distracted Jackie goes for the knife and he and Vince struggle as the truck crashes into the gate.
The girls hear the sound of the crash but Roxy grabs the keys because that shouldn't stop them from doing what they came there to do.
Vince and Jackie are still struggling but now they're outside the truck just outside the grounds of the school a couple of men wanted a cop uniform grabs and separates the two of them.

(37:12):
Let me go you dirty cop whales Vince and I guess it's all over because now we're at a dance and Jackie and Donna are cheek to cheek.
Kathy has a new suitor the guy we saw in the couch earlier is going to protect her and her baby at least take care of her and ever sit down.
Trimble informs Lindsay that all charges against Donna have been dropped but apparently they're not going to let around to this reform school because she's still there not to the dances over anyway.

(37:35):
And Trimble and Lindsay believe that Donna will be just fine even though she has to go back to live with her perviancle and then Jackie and Donna dance until fade out and that's the end.
Welcome back to the American International podcast where we're talking about reform school girl from 1957 the working title for reform school girl was girls reform school.

(38:01):
Some theater ads published after the film's release also called it reform school for girls.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Gloria Castillo had been signed to star in reform school for girls in April of 1957.
The Los Angeles evening citizen news reported that Edward Burns had been cast a couple days later.
According to Hollywood reporter news items published on various dates in late April and early May of 1957 Eddie Cobb Harold Franklin, Thomas E Jackson, Philly's Richmond and William Fliarty were cast in the picture but the paper was unable to confirm their appearance perhaps because they were not in the filming cast.

(38:33):
Reform school girl was filmed in the Los Angeles area a title card at the film's conclusion states we gratefully acknowledge the help of the California youth authority whose cooperation has made this picture possible.
Reform school girl was the feature film debut for both Sally Kellerman and Lwana Anders who became lifelong friends after filming.
Before school girl debuted in July 1957 on a double bill with rock around the world box office magazines message to theater owners was with no selling names promotion must center on the story theme.

(39:02):
They recommended tie ends with local juvenile authorities parent teacher groups and other child welfare clubs asking for them to answer the question why do some girls end up in reform school.
The answers were to be printed in local newspapers with the authors invited to a special screening Diana Darren who played Mona went on a multi city tour long with her Chihuahua killer in September of 1957 mostly in North and South Carolina to promote reform school girl.

(39:26):
Glenkeever in the Charlotte observer wrote that Diana breathes through the observer newsroom Saturday afternoon in her wake she left gaping eyes with full looks and a disorganized office.
The Columbia record quotes Diana as saying it reform school girl there is a good message to the teenager. I think the picture is worthwhile for that reason if no other.
The Winston Salem journal also talked to Darren who said the message in reform school girl is that no one is born bad and explain that Mona wasn't a bad girl.

(39:52):
She just got in trouble because she fell in with bad people namely bad men and then Darren advised young people who wanted to break into the movie industry to work hard and stick to whatever you're doing no matter how long it takes.
Reform school girl was reissued in 1959 to capitalize on the popularity of Ed Cookie Burns who was then appearing on the 77th Sunset strip television series.
Taglines for reform school girl include the shocking true story of delinquent girls caged boy hungry wild cats gone mad a white hot story of a good girl in a bad world.

(40:22):
To protect herself she took the rap but she soon discovered no place was safe for reform school girl makes her sound like some kind of superhero.
Fox office magazine said reform school girl was one of many movies from a company which has been a pioneering specialist in the trend of teenage delinquent movies and that it should prove a welcome addition to the genre as far as audiences were concerned but that the movie asserts a strong strain on the plausibility picturing a girl's reformatory with less discipline than a well managed brothel.

(40:49):
The Minneapolis star Tribune called reform school girl somewhat less than wonderful and the brief review in the Buffalo news said that Gloria Castillo's a lower form school students are extreme in this depiction of American youth this reviewer prefers not to believe a scene of it.
The Knoxville news sent an ill said quote the story of a girl striving for emotional security has greater appeal than the title might indicate varieties review said since quality has little to do with the success of a cheap exploitation film for teenage audience.

(41:16):
This should serve adequately for the purie and mind there's mutual leg display and for the immature audiences there's a plaintive adolescent philosophy about non squealing the Hollywood reporter said reform school girl was quote an exploitation entry that is somewhat better than its lurid title would imply Edward Burns who wrote and directed the film has tried to get a little modern
technology into the picture and without distracting from the basic values is handled the subject with some taste and dignity. The Abilene reporter news included a publicity photo of Gloria Castillo as Donna working on pest control in their form school garden with a snarky caption reading don't laugh please.

(41:52):
Gloria Castillo in this scene from a form school girl apparently has been sent out into the fields with a flip gun to run down the bugs one by one farmers take note.
Heritage vintage movie poster signature auction reported that since the films release in 1957 theatrical movie poster which featured a blonde woman fighting a dark-haired woman over some scissors has become a collector's item a quote from the guidebook says.
The two girls wrestling for a pair of scissors promise anything that a teenage male from any decade could want the poster has also become popular on the internet since it was used as part of an advertisement for a 2006 gravel tournament held in France.

(42:25):
Under the image of the two women and the scissors along with the words blonde and brun spelled out in the scrabble tiles the poster slogan says in scrabble anything is possible grand national tournament September 23 2006 reform school girl was loosely remade in 1994 for the showtime rebel highway film series that version was directed by Jonathan Kaplan and started Amy Graham as Donna and at the block as events though the plot somewhat followed the original most of the characters were renamed and new characters and plot elements were added.

(42:53):
All right Jeff you know what to do now tell me what you thought of reform school girl.
The first thing that I noticed was in the opening credits the film starred Edward Burns and was written and directed by Edward Burns.
I think we need to clarify because this is not a podcast that the director Edward Burns is B.E.R. and D.S. and not Edward cookie burns who played Vince and it would later go by Ed E.D. D. Burns but not here that would have been helpful if you just been Ed Burns.

(43:29):
Yeah I think if people read the show notes and I hope they do that they would know that we're not talking about the same person.
The second thing I know is was that death scene of the poor motorist who got out of his car at the wrong moment that is just hilarious.
It was so dumb if you don't want to watch this movie I still suggest you track down that scene because it's just so bizarre he just perks his car and gets out and apples across the street.

(43:52):
He's out in the middle of nowhere.
And for some reason there's a stop sign on this highway that Vince is driving down at 90 miles an hour plus and then he goes under the car from the hood.
And yet somehow ends up perpendicular to the car between the tires with his feet sticking out under the under the driver's seat.
Yeah he looks like the wicked witch of the east with his feet hanging out from under the car.

(44:14):
So how did that happen? We don't know.
I positive that he should have been thrown up over the hood of the car is that's how it hit him.
It's also like he didn't have plenty of time to jump out of the way.
He saw this car coming. He was way down the street and instead he takes a step to the left and throws up his arms and then he screams not until the car actually comes at him right before he's hit.
It's about two or three seconds I think it's very clumsily staged.

(44:36):
It would have been done a lot better.
Another strange thing that I noticed that we mentioned when we were doing the synopsis was the guy who appeared to be the prosecuting attorney sat down right next to Donna.
If she had any representation whatsoever, I'm sure that would be called intimidating the witness.
It's weird that she had no one on her side. They brought in her hostile aunt and uncle who begrudgingly housed her and sexually assaulted her in one case.

(45:01):
And the aunt obviously looked the other way and put all the blame on the minor who was being groped by her husband.
No one was there for Donna. She's utterly alone and it's one of the scenes that makes me like this movie.
Gloria Castillo is so good in it and her performance as this girl has been wronged her entire life is very poignant to me amongst all the silliness that happens.

(45:22):
Not only is she alone there, but she's alone everywhere as all these girls. There's very little supervision at this reform school.
No, they're out in the field hanging out with boys, making plans to break in. They're fighting. They're injuring each other to the point of being unconscious and having to go to the infirmary.
No one saw anything. No staff was watching when any of this went on. That way they don't have to have stuolies. They would just have seen what's happening.

(45:47):
If they're worried about all these accidents, why don't they do something? Why don't they have supervision and said the matron is always out.
She can barely even hear what's going on. Let alone see it. So yeah, that is absolutely a good observation.
But the reason she's so alone is because of this code that they all have that no matter what you must not tell that's worse than anything. I understand that, but it's a real messed up code to have.

(46:12):
But without it, there's no movie. And I guess with supervision, there's no movie. That's true. But is that really what it's like? I doubt it.
Well, I mean, Lindsay and Pat and we're able to watch them play volleyball from his window. If they chose to, but nobody is watching it play softball and that's where Ruth's injury occurred.
Yeah, they're backs were to the window. The blinds were pulled and it was kind of creepy the way they were watching them. It's kind of creepy the way Lindsay is always watching Donna.

(46:36):
And I know his motives aren't in pure allegedly. Yeah, but if they had made that movie today, yeah, everybody would be like, oh, what's his game? And Donna was on to him.
Donna was like, well, okay, you're playing the long game. You're going to eventually make a pass at me after I let my guard down. And honestly, she's right. That's probably what would happen. Even if his motives weren't entirely sexual in nature, he might be falling for her. It seems like even though he's allegedly engaged.

(47:03):
Either they're too close to their inmates or they're too far from them. They're too close to them emotionally.
But physically, they're not watching them kind of a messed up system. I think it's still messed up today. Nothing's been solved in the realm of juvenile crime. But I think that this is not really accurately depicted how I would hope not because Donna never had a chance being called after from Lindsay's class every single day.

(47:28):
It does make her look like she's doing something that the other girls wouldn't like. And yeah, of course, they're suspicious. She's the teacher's pet. It might be just the cynicism of today, but I can't even imagine a teacher having this kind of relationship with a student and not thinking anything wasn't happening.
And like I said, even if it's nothing sexual, the way he fixates on one person and he's decided he's just going to save this one person. What about Kathy? She's got a lot of problems and she needs more help than whatever they're doing for her here. She stole a ring. Big deal. She should have gotten a slap on the wrist for that because she has serious mental health problems and everyone just treats it like a joke.

(48:05):
I think Kathy would probably be easier to help too. She doesn't need to be in with all these hooligans because Donna's got kind of an attitude problem. I'm not saying it's not deserved.
I guess you're right, but I don't categorize it like that. She's just been so beat up by the world that she's defensive. She's cynical herself.
Yeah, of course she is. She's very cynical about men. And I found that to be kind of unexpected in this movie. Her hostility towards men as well deserved as it is was very well played out the way any man got close enough to touch her. She's lashed out.

(48:35):
That just conveys that she's been touched against her will so many times that she just can't stand it anymore and she's ready to hurt somebody who does it.
And obviously living with her uncle, she's been pestered by him for three years. God knows what he's done. We saw him basically try to rape her.
So she's been suffering for this for a long time and her aunt allows us to go on and chooses to believe that she's instigating it.

(48:59):
So she's been betrayed by everybody and that comes very clear in her performance. Yeah, I'm glad we saw Gloria Histilow first in invasion the Tosserman because it was easier to appreciate her performance here because this was such a downer as Joan.
She was a pretty pleasant person considering all it was going on. She was watching people die.
She had the moxie to come up with a solution and fight for everyone and herself. I thought she was really good in that movie too. This movie is one of the formulaic teenage delinquent AIP movies.

(49:30):
But I think that her performance and the way her character is written makes it just one step above the usual better than high school hell cats are some of the other movies of the genre.
We actually can see down his motivation and we see the pain that she's in.
I thought it was cool to see a vet figures here and she was in this movie but I wasn't really familiar with what character she was playing.

(49:51):
It was a reform school girl but the things that I have seen her in is like a tack of the 50-foot woman where she's the femme fatale and attack the giant leeches which is when we will be covering one of these days on the podcast.
She's very mean. She plays the toughest chick in reform school and she does it very well and she's the shortest so that she's got the Napoleonic complex.
Yeah, she's like one of those little dogs that will they'll gonna get you. They're really angry and you're more afraid of them than you are big dogs.

(50:19):
I don't know. Marsha was pretty intimidating to Sally color man in this. She's a big girl.
She's silent but deadly not trying to color her fard or anything but she's quiet and she's the muscle.
So a vet vickers can be as short as anything. It doesn't matter. She's got backup. Even after Marsha's in the infirmary there's another big tall girl behind Roxy to back her up. We just don't know her name.
She's grabbed the next biggest girl. Yeah, you're lieutenant her bodyguard. What do your feelings on the quality of the movie that we talked about some of the individual scenes.

(50:49):
I would say it's adequate. I don't think there's anything spectacular about the film. The things that stand out are the things that are just weird in the story like the no supervision at the school.
But I understand if they did have that there wouldn't be much of a story. I do think it's odd that good ones always wear ties and jackets in these movies.
What it is. It's like their uniform. Jackie the good guy wore a plaid shirt and windbreaker and dungarees. That's a good boy. Ed Burns in his suit and tie. He's a bad boy.

(51:20):
It's a different era. I don't know what people dress like back then when they were bad boys but he kind of looks like my dad in high school. So my dad was a good guy still is.
So to you this movie is just standard issue a IP teen film to me. Yeah, it's basically a girls in prison movie. It is with the lack of supervision. It's just kind of strange.

(51:42):
Yeah, it's like they're in a cage match. They're just dropped off on an island and left to fend for themselves lady of the fly style. It's not like they're really trying to rehabilitate them in any way.
No, it's just they go to school and they have to share a room and plant tomatoes. But I thought it was odd that Donna kept going to the fence to talk to Jackie and she was worried about what people would say about him talking to her and nobody was concerned that she was talking to somebody outside.

(52:06):
They were concerned once the outside came inside though. So they're trying to keep these girls pinned away.
But if there was any supervision and you saw one of the girls talking to somebody at the fence, that wouldn't be allowed to continue. I thought that's what was going to happen. But no, it's just the other girls are and took note.
Yeah, and then warned they don't like you talking to the peasants.
I don't know if that's just the way that the duty system has always been but they're just basically taking them out of society.

(52:32):
They're not trying to do anything for them. They're just trying to keep them where they can't get in trouble and hurt other people.
But what happens to them apparently nobody cares. I'm sure that probably hasn't changed a lot.
We talked a little bit about the movie poster and I think of those early films. This might be one of the most accurate posters that go with the movie.
The blonde kind of looks like Roxy and the brunette kind of looks like Gloria Castillo.

(52:56):
Well, I think it's supposed to be Josie, but it does look like Roxy. And yeah, that is the closest depiction of a scene from the movie that those 50s AIP posters give us.
When we see the beast with one million eyes invasion of the saucer people.
I will give an exception to flush in the spur since they did shoot that scene specifically to match the poster.
That's true. But of course we know that these posters are made before the movie is even made.

(53:21):
So this is a rare case where they actually anticipated something that was going to happen in the movie or the movie complied with the poster and made that happen.
I'm probably the latter.
And I thought it was interesting that yes, they hate stuolies. They hate people who tattle. But the second Josie got there. She was instantly the one that they all believed they turned on Donna in a heartbeat.
Even though Donna had done much good for them. She brought in boys.

(53:44):
It's thanks to her that they had the sock hop and they got to feel like real girls again.
Well, Roxy was the instigator of all that and Roxy never got a boy. So I think she probably blamed Donna for not bringing enough boys.
I think like Ruth said there could have been 100 boys there and nobody wanted to hang out with her. She's so unlikeable.
But Roxy was the only one not Roxy, but that Vickers was the only one who appeared as a centerfold in Playboy magazine.

(54:07):
That has nothing to do with her personality in this movie.
It doesn't but guys don't care about personality sometimes.
I feel like she's kind of girl that they'll approach, but she's so nasty that they'll just back right off eventually they're going to back off.
But they might see how far they can get first at the sock hop with everybody watching.
So I think that's actually in that environment. Their options are a little limited.

(54:28):
But when Jackie had the chance to get with Roxy, he wasn't interested.
No, he looked pretty disgusted.
I'm kind of curious. It's what some of these other girls did to get in a form school.
It wasn't necessary to know, but I'm curious.
Yeah, we only know about Kathy and what did anybody else even confess when they were.
Donna and Josie. That's it. Wow. We don't know their reps.
But it's like the adana was the only one who involved in a homicide.

(54:51):
So she's probably lucky she didn't go to prison, but she wasn't the instigator.
She just wasn't cooperative as a witness.
Then again, if she didn't say anything, they don't know how involved she was.
So I guess I see that.
Well, if you're going to give this movie a grade based on our scale or A is awesome,
I is an immediate and pure, but that what grade would that be Jeff?
Well, the films I look forward to seeing the most in doing this podcast are those old 50s black and white ones.

(55:14):
Most of which I have never seen. And this is one of those.
So I was looking forward to this one.
Do I expect a lot from them? No. Do I get what I'm expecting? Yeah.
What were you looking forward to?
The girls fighting each other all the time.
I like to see how they hold up or in more cases don't.
I like to see what was exploitation in the day and how dated it is today.

(55:35):
I like seeing the social norms that won't hold up today.
Like the teacher student relationship that is so inappropriate.
Right. Nobody frowns upon it.
But they frowned upon it, but they took his word for it that he was going to keep it above board.
And I don't think they do that anymore.
I don't think they just assume that everything is on the up and up.
No, it's so weird that it was.

(55:56):
It doesn't.
Yeah.
But it's with reality at all.
So I like this film.
Okay. It's not great, but it is what it is.
And it's not a bad film.
I enjoyed it enough to give it an eye.
What are your thoughts?
I already alluded to the fact that I like Gloria Castillo's performance in this.
And that's partly because of her and her acting.
But I think it's the way the character was written.

(56:17):
That was the one thing that I would give an a to you.
The character of Donna and the portrayal by Gloria Castillo.
Because she was wronged so terribly.
And the way that she wore that on her face and her body language and just her overall posture.
I just thought it was so heartbreaking to see this girl.
Only 17 having to fight off men all the time.

(56:39):
And the idea that she has no future.
Like she's not going to grow up and get married and have kids like all the other women.
She's basically so damaged to the point that this is just not even something she can picture.
Yeah, they had a happy ending, which I think was a little too rosy.
Because now she's going to do what she's going to get her own place.
She's got a record.
Even if they drop the charges, is that the same as dismissing them and expunging the record?

(57:02):
I don't know.
So she's 17.
Her only options are living with her.
Her groping uncle or going out on her own, trying to get a job and trying to survive.
I don't know.
It seems like kind of a bleak future still.
So that was what I was really invested in.
Everything else mediocre, very adequate, but not great.
So overall, yes, it's an eye with a special caveat that Donna gets an A.

(57:26):
When I was going over this, I kept comparing it in my mind because there's some similar themes to why must I die?
Which recently, in a lot of ways, I felt similar, even though if you look at it, there's nothing alike.
No, just the prison.
Terry Moore never spent enough time in prison with other people to have any of these relationships happen.
Debra Paget's character did though.

(57:47):
She was the one who was being coerced to confess rather than to keep her mouth shut for a change.
And that movie, we both gave an A2.
It was so well done and not an AIP production, just an AIP release.
So maybe that's why.
And it was only what three years after this movie.
In that movie, I thought Terry Moore's performance, while very good at times, was also melodramatic at times.
And here, Gloria Castillo played it a lot more reserved and a lot more hurt.

(58:12):
And I thought the acting was better here overall.
Gloria Castillo has a devastating performance.
You can see how tortured she's been and is.
It's heartbreaking.
But the rest of it is just your standard issue, chicks behind bars, with a little extra creepy teacher stuff.
Yeah, that's just weird.
It is. It's not appropriate. Even if it's not sexual or romantic in any way, it's still not appropriate.

(58:33):
The way he makes her a special project and he's always watching her.
He's supposed to be there for everyone.
So yeah, go see this movie. Don't expect more than average except for the character of Donna.
To find out more about Reform School Girl and other movies we've covered on the American International Podcast,
you can visit our website at aippod.com.
There you can see trailers, few posters and lobby cards and other advertising materials.

(58:57):
Along with other information that isn't available on an audio only forum.
And you can also contact us, let us know what you thought of the movies,
or just let us know that we're doing a great job or a terrible job.
We'd love to hear from you either way, but we prefer the former.
Again, that's aippod.com.
Well, I think we've got our charges dismissed and we're free to go.
So for the American International Podcast, I'm Cheryl Lightfoot.

(59:18):
And I'm Jeff Markin.
And we'll meet you at the drive-in.
Follow the American International Podcast on Instagram and Letterboxd at
aip_pod and on Facebook at facebook.com/AmericanInternationalPodcast.
The American International Podcast is produced and edited by Jeff Markin.
A man whose mind is distorted by hatred.

(59:41):
And Cheryl Lightfoot.
A girl hungry for too many things.
The American International Podcast is part of the Pop Culture Entertainment Network.
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