Prison Farm (1938) DVD-R

Starring Shirley Ross, Lloyd Nolan, John Howard, J. Carrol Naish, Porter
Hall, Esther Dale, May Boley, Marjorie Main, Anna Q. Nilsson, William
Holden
Directed by Louis King

Print: black/white
Runtime: 67 min.
Genre: drama
Print Quality: B

Shirley Ross plays an innocent young girl convicted for complicity in a
crime committed by her boy friend (Lloyd Nolan). The male crook is
sentence to six months on a prison farm populated by both men and
women (segregated, of course). Ross is also incarcerated, suffering the
cruelties of the sadistic male and female guards (including J. Carroll
Naish and future 'Ma Kettle' Marjorie Main!) Since this film leaves no
cliche unturned, an escape attempt is inevitable, but Ross is ultimately
rescued from her plight for the obligatory happy ending. Nowhere near as
exploitive as the later Linda Blair films of the same ilk, Prison Farm was
considered reasonably realistic in 1938, earning back its modest cost and
then some.