Ladies They Talk About (Women in Prison) (1933)

70% of users liked it
(262 ratings)

One of the earliest girls-in-prison yarns, Ladies They Talk About has everything but Ida Lupino as the warden--and had she been in Hollywood at the time, she would probably be here as well. Gun moll Barbara Stanwyck is thrown into San Quentin (which looks more like a summer resort than a house of… More One of the earliest girls-in-prison yarns, Ladies They Talk About has everything but Ida Lupino as the warden--and had she been in Hollywood at the time, she would probably be here as well. Gun moll Barbara Stanwyck is thrown into San Quentin (which looks more like a summer resort than a house of detention), thanks to her involvement in a bank robbery and the machinations of D.A./preacher David Slade (Preston Foster). It isn't political ambition that motivates Slade: he's in love with Stanwyck, and hopes that her incarceration will rehabilitate her. Instead, Stanwyck becomes a hard-bitten prison-block leader, spearheading a jailbreak. When things go awry, she holds Slade responsible. Upon her release, she goes gunning for Slade, and doesn't realize that she's really in love with him until she nearly puts him six feet under. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 9 min.
Directed By: Howard Bretherton
Written By: Sidney Sutherland, Brown Holmes, William McGrath
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Feb 4, 1933 Wide
On DVD: Mar 17, 1993

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
This film's only claim to fame was that it established the WIP genre film.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies
[Stanwyck is] absolutely stunning, and even if the rest of the film wasn't any good (although it was), she really made it worth watching.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Stephen M

An enjoyably daft prison drama in which Barbara Stanwyck plays a career criminal who takes the fall for a bank robbery and ends up in San Quentin. Of course, all she needs is the love of a good moral crusader to keep her on the straight and narrow... It would be an understatement to… More
An enjoyably daft prison drama in which Barbara Stanwyck plays a career criminal who takes the fall for a bank robbery and ends up in San Quentin. Of course, all she needs is the love of a good moral crusader to keep her on the straight and narrow... It would be an understatement to say that the plot could have been worked out on the back of a cigarette packet; quite frankly, I'd be amazed if anybody troubled to write it down. It's also tempting to groan at the hoary old clichés till you realise that some of them were probably being minted here for the very first time. My favourite of several moments of unintentional hilarity is the one where two of Babs' associates attempt to tunnel through to her cell from the neighbouring men's prison and she disguises the racket they are making by playing loud music in the middle of the night. "How did such a criminal mastermind ever end up behind bars?" I hear you cry. Minor Stanwyck but her performance is as committed as ever.
Stella D

yay it's on youtube! this may be the original wip film. and it's pretty good too! babs is terrific as a tough talking gangster moll as we knew she would be. the tragic star lillian roth of i'll cry tomorrow fame plays her jailhouse pal at san quentin, and even gets… More
yay it's on youtube! this may be the original wip film. and it's pretty good too! babs is terrific as a tough talking gangster moll as we knew she would be. the tragic star lillian roth of i'll cry tomorrow fame plays her jailhouse pal at san quentin, and even gets to sing! this was one of her last films before the complete collapse of her career due to alcoholism. there are hints of pre-code naughtiness too. the story may be lame but babs is game and so much fun to watch. thanks youtube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-WhhM0JQD8&p=C593F8D142055712