Wikipedia

The Weak and the Wicked

The Weak and the Wicked (U.S. title: Young and Willing)[3] is a 1954 British drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Glynis Johns and Diana Dors. It was written by Anne Burnaby, Thompson and Joan Henry, based on the 1952 autobiographical novel Who Lie in Gaol by Henry.[4]

The Weak and the Wicked
UK release poster
Directed byJ. Lee Thompson
Written byAnne Burnaby
J Lee Thompson
Joan Henry
Based onWho Lie in Gaol
by Joan Henry
Produced byVictor Skutezky
StarringGlynis Johns
Diana Dors
John Gregson
CinematographyGilbert Taylor
Edited byRichard Best
Music byLeighton Lucas
Production
companies
Associated British
Marble Arch Productions[1]
Distributed byAssociated British-Pathé
Release date
  • 4 February 1954 (1954-02-04)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office£213,706 (UK)[2]

The film explores the life of inmates behind bars where innocence is lost in the world of vice.

Plot

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Frank "women in prison" story that sympathetically tracks several inmates through their imprisonment and subsequent return to society. Some are successfully rehabilitated; some are not.

Female prisoners talk about the events that brought them there and each of their stories is detailed in a series of flashbacks; the upper-class Jean, the brash Betty, and the pregnant Pat.

Jean has a gambling habit and owes money to a gambling den. Her friend Pam frames her.

The film follows the inmates' progress behind bars; Jean's ordeal improves after some sympathetic bonding with her fellow inmates, followed by a move to an experimental open prison.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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Joan Henry was a writer who had connections in society.[5] She had a gambling problem, and was sentenced to twelve months in prison for passing a fraudulent cheque (she claimed she was framed). Henry served eight months at Holloway and the more liberal Askham Grange open prison. At the latter she came under the care of Mary Size. Henry wrote the 1952 best-selling book Who Lie in Gaol about her experience.[6][7]

The book was read by writer-director J. Lee Thompson, who wanted to turn it into a film. He received backing from Robert Clark, head of production at Associated British.[8] Thompson wound up falling in love with Henry and leaving his wife and two children to marry her.

The British Home Office refused co operation with the making the film because they were unhappy with its depiction of prison.[9]

Diana Dors was cast only a few weeks after having been convicted in real life of stealing alcohol from a friend's house. The role marked a significant change of pace for Dors, who was better known for comedic roles.[10] Simone Silva was another member of the cast better known for glamour roles.[11]

Shooting

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The film was shot at Elstree Studios and on location in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, filming starting on 10 August 1953 under the title Women Behind Bars.[12] Mary Size and Joan Henry were on set as advisers.[13]

Henry thought Johns was a good actor but "a bit goody-goody".[14]

Reception

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Critical

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The Monthly Film Bulletin said "The treatment of this story provides an unfortunate example of the malaise with which so much British script-writing is afflicted nowadays. The basic situation is promising" but "against these back-grounds are paraded a prize collection of familiar feminine character types (alternately comic, sad and hysterical) – two-dimensional creatures, observed without insight or real compassion."[15]

The New York Times called it "a lukewarm drama".[16]

Variety called it "a safe formula for a box office meller."[17][18]

In The Radio Times Guide to Films Sue Heal gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "This is one of those riveting women's prison pictures full of sneering warders and snarling, sulky inmates that alternates alarmingly between enlightening social comment and overloaded melodrama. A robust cast that contains all the usual suspects (there's a fine performance from Diana Dors) acts out the story, which provides a meaty glimpse behind the clanging doors."[19]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Familiar types in rose-coloured view of prison life."[20]

Leslie Halliwell wrote "Predictable portmanteau drama with stalwart performances."[21]

According to Steven Vagg in Filmink, the film changed perceptions of Diana Dors.[22]

Box Office

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According to Kinematograph Weekly the film was a "money maker" at the British box office in 1954.[23] The National Film Finance Corporation stated the film made a comfortable profit.[24]

It was estimated to earn between $75,000 and $100,000 for Associated British in the US.[25]

Legacy

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Joan Henry later wrote the 1954 novel Yield to the Night, which Thompson filmed with Dors in 1956. Henry and Thompson were later married.[26]

References

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  1. ^ Williams, Melanie. "Weak and the Wicked, The (1954)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  2. ^ Porter, Vincent (2000). "The Robert Clark Account". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. Vol. 20. p. 502.
  3. ^ Love, Bessie (1977). From Hollywood with Love: An Autobiography of Bessie Love. London: Elm Tree Books. p. 154. OCLC 734075937.
  4. ^ "The Weak and the Wicked". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  5. ^ "Goal Paid". The Advertiser. Vol. 95, no. 29, 319. Adelaide. 30 September 1952. p. 10. Retrieved 7 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ Chibnall p 60-61
  7. ^ "Obituary of Joan Henry Debutante who went to jail for fraud but made a new life after writing a sensational bestseller about her experiences in prison". The Daily Telegraph. 1 January 2001. p. 23.
  8. ^ Chibnall p 57
  9. ^ "Film on women's prisons". The Sun. No. 13587 (LATE FINAL EXTRA ed.). New South Wales, Australia. 27 August 1953. p. 38. Retrieved 7 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Blonde Diana Dors goes to jail--in new film". The Sun. No. 2624. New South Wales, Australia. 9 August 1953. p. 61. Retrieved 7 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "HOW TO LOSE YOUR OWN MAN". The Mirror. Vol. 32, no. 1761. Western Australia. 26 February 1955. p. 9. Retrieved 7 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "London Film Notes". Variety. 29 July 1953. p. 12.
  13. ^ "STAGE AND SCREEN". The Herald. No. 23, 780. Victoria, Australia. 13 August 1953. p. 16. Retrieved 7 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ Chibnall p 64
  15. ^ "The Weak and the Wicked". Monthly Film Bulletin. February 1954. p. 21.
  16. ^ H. H. T. (21 August 1954). "At the Globe". New York Times. p. 10.
  17. ^ meller, melodrama– professional slangage[1]
  18. ^ Review of film at Variety
  19. ^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 1008. ISBN 9780992936440.
  20. ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 397. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
  21. ^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 1098. ISBN 0586088946.
  22. ^ Vagg, Stephen (7 September 2020). "A Tale of Two Blondes: Diana Dors and Belinda Lee". Filmink.
  23. ^ Billings, Josh (16 December 1954). "Other monkey makers". Kinematograph Weekly. p. 9.
  24. ^ "U.S. Money Behind 30% of British Films: Problems for the Board of Trade". The Manchester Guardian. Manchester (UK). 4 May 1956. p. 7.
  25. ^ "Gear to US Market". Variety. 17 November 1954. p. 20.
  26. ^ Vagg, Stephen (30 August 2020). "Joan Henry: The Jailbird Muse". Filmink.
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