I bought this DVD because Eleanor Parker is in it, and I have been trying to watch as many of her movies as I can find. For most of the movie, I was spellbound by Eleanor`s acting, and by the excellent performances by the whole cast. But I found the final scenes to be disappointing. I`ll watch it again to make sure, but I thought Eleanor overplayed the new personality and it was not believable to me. So, I`ll give the movie 3 and half stars instead of four.
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I can see how you might think that, but personally I found the transformation of the character entirely believable and Parker pulled it off amazingly well. I loved her delivery of the line "Thanks for the haircut" before she proudly struts out of the prison. I saw a bit of what would become Baroness-b!tchery in the Sound of Music to come!
"Just close your eyes...but keep your mind wide open."
I thought she was completely believable. It's the contrast between the timid girl she was at the beginning of the movie and the hardened con she bacame that makes the movie such a powerful statement, and Eleanor pulls it off beautifully. There's not a wrong note in her performance.
shareI think Parker has been consistently overlooked, under-rated, and undervalued.
I think she's at her loveliest (and feistiest) in SCARAMOUCHE (1952) opposite Stewart Granger.
Director John Cromwell isn't all that well-remembered today, but he got some striking performances from actresses - Parker here, Bette Davis in her career-launching role as Mildred in 1934's OF HUMAN BONDAGE, and Kim Stanley in 1958's THE GODDESS.
"In my case, self-absorption is completely justified."
I think the problem was that it was too much of an overnight flip rather than a gradual transformation, but I blame that more on the director and/or writers than her. I think she did a great job portraying the role. And, who knows, maybe one or two scenes of the transformation got edited out.
Badgers? We don't need no stinkin' badgers! But if you could show us something in a nice possum...
It was also a relatively short movie. So by the time you've passed the climax, you don't necessarily feel like that much time has passed when she is suddenly a hardened con. 12 Years a Slave has a similar problem. But I was impressed by Parker's performance. Her transformation was meant to be jarring, as was the entire film. And I don't think she overplayed it at all. To me, she was more in-your-face in the end because she had all she could take. She was bitter, itching for her parole, aiming for revenge against the system.
shareI think that's a very good explanation. I loved her performance in the film but I thought the change in her personality was a bit abrupt. I didn't think it was attributable to her performance but rather the script or as you indicated, the direction.
I found this movie on TCM today and was curious if I would enjoy it-It's obviously a classic and I had heard about it many years ago-I didn't have particularly high expectations, thinking it was probably an exploitation film and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I loved the dialogue and performances. A few months ago I watched, "Women's Prison" with Ida Lupino (love her) and although it was entertaining, I enjoyed, "Caged" more.
Cheers
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I used to agree but watching her again this evening I think her transformation is credible. Eleanor is magnificent and should definitely have won the Oscar. Perhaps the most under appreciated of all movie actresses.
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