"Ladies They Talk About" is one of the first - if not the first sound film about women serving time in a penitentiary. And what a setup this film shows. While there's no doubt it is prison, these criminal gals seem to have a little more freedom and comforts than what was afforded the men in the 1930s. That is, of course, if this is a true depiction of the ladies pen. They have individual cells which they are allowed to decorate and fix up, just like a private bedroom at home. And, they seem to have a large commons room for just sitting around and visiting indoors.
Well, into this scene comes Barbara Stanwyck, as Nan Taylor. She's a gangsters moll, and apparently has been on the wrong side of the law since childhood. She goes to the slammer after she's caught helping set up a bank robbery by her man, Lefty Simons (played by Harold Huber). But salvation may be in store for Nan when she meets David Slade, a revivalist preacher and social commentator. Nan and he grew up together in the same town and school, and knew some of the same kids.
The story is interesting and takes place in Los Angeles and San Quentin Penitentiary. This was only the fourth film for Stanwyck, but by her second one that same year, she was a star. Stanwyck played opposite most of the leading men of Hollywood through the 1950s. And she had top roles in TV series for the next decade. Until her later years, Stanwyck received top billing in her films with all other stars except six male leads. Those were the few films she made with Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Fred MacMurray and Robert Taylor.
Stanwyck is the main reason to see this early crime drama. The story is sort of mild, but it is different. Preston Foster plays Slade and the other recognizable members of the supporting case include Ruth Donnelly as a female prison orderly, Noonan, Lillian Roth as another inmate, Linda, and Lyle Talbot as Don, one of Lefty's gang and a friend of Nan's.
How will this film turn out? Will Nan return to her old ways and a life of crime or will she reform. Watch "Ladies The Talk About" to find out.
Well, into this scene comes Barbara Stanwyck, as Nan Taylor. She's a gangsters moll, and apparently has been on the wrong side of the law since childhood. She goes to the slammer after she's caught helping set up a bank robbery by her man, Lefty Simons (played by Harold Huber). But salvation may be in store for Nan when she meets David Slade, a revivalist preacher and social commentator. Nan and he grew up together in the same town and school, and knew some of the same kids.
The story is interesting and takes place in Los Angeles and San Quentin Penitentiary. This was only the fourth film for Stanwyck, but by her second one that same year, she was a star. Stanwyck played opposite most of the leading men of Hollywood through the 1950s. And she had top roles in TV series for the next decade. Until her later years, Stanwyck received top billing in her films with all other stars except six male leads. Those were the few films she made with Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Fred MacMurray and Robert Taylor.
Stanwyck is the main reason to see this early crime drama. The story is sort of mild, but it is different. Preston Foster plays Slade and the other recognizable members of the supporting case include Ruth Donnelly as a female prison orderly, Noonan, Lillian Roth as another inmate, Linda, and Lyle Talbot as Don, one of Lefty's gang and a friend of Nan's.
How will this film turn out? Will Nan return to her old ways and a life of crime or will she reform. Watch "Ladies The Talk About" to find out.