Young and Willing (1954) User Reviews

Glynis Johns gets sent down

[wilvram · 7/10 · 5 October 2015]

A peculiar mixture this, with an attempt to portray something of the reality of contemporary womens' prisons on one hand, combined with comedy flashbacks and a fictional approach to crime on the other.

The story centres around Jean Raymond (Glynis Johns) who is the subject of an elaborate frame when she can't pay her gambling debts. In reality, a half competent barrister could have destroyed the case against her, should it have ever come to court in the first place, but here she's sent down for twelve months. There follows her experiences in the grim Blackdown Jail and then The Grange, a progressive 'prison without bars'. Many of the usual clichés of such films are avoided and the staff are shown as being very strict, but fair. One of the comedy episodes features a comical family of shoplifters headed by Sid James and Olive Sloane; Sid's prominent position in the cast list, despite a relatively brief appearance, is notable even at this stage of his career. Another piece of nonsense has a wooden Sybil Thorndike attempting to murder her husband, and then framing Athene Seyler for blackmail. By contrast the scenes in the prison hospital are more realistic, with Jane Hylton giving perhaps the best performance as Babs, haunted by the death of the baby she had neglected. Though third billed, Diana Dors is not very memorable in what is little more than a supporting role. A couple of years or so later she was to give her finest performance for the same director in YIELD TO THE NIGHT.

The finale, with the orchestra in full flow, is as contrived and sentimental as anything that Hollywood could produce. Despite or because of its various eccentricities, I quite enjoyed this.

She was framed...but she was also guilty.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 23 August 2020]

"The Weak and the Wicked" is a film adaptation of the semi-autobiographical novel by Joan Henry about her experiences while in prison. In real life, she was a debutante who spent more than she had and eventually went to jail for passing a bad check. In this film, Jean (Glynis Johns) has a gambling problem and does pass a bad check at the gambling hall...but ultimately she's jailed because the people she defrauded set her up for a petty theft/fraud charge. Once in prison, you see what life is like there as well as what led some of the women to prison as shown in flashbacks.

Choosing Johns to play the lead was a stroke of brilliance. After all, I cannot think of any actress of the day that looked more innocent and sweet than her...so her plight is made worse since she doesn't look like she should be there. I have no idea if the real life Joan Henry looked so innocent.

So is the film any good? Yes, but it's certainly not like some of the broadly written and acted American women in prison films of the 1950s (such as "Caged") or the REALLY over-the-top an crazed film in the genre that came out about 1970 (they were a REALLY sleazy lot). Now as far as it being an exposee, the women in the film actually seemed to be treated pretty well considering they were criminals...so it's not much of an exposee and is quite civilized. Interesting, yes, but not what many likely want to see in a women in prison film! So, even with sexy blonde Diana Dors (sort of the British version of Jayne Mansfield) in the film, it's NOT a sleazy skin flick nor exploitational in any manner. The worst treatment in the film was towards the end when Joan received a stern talking to by the warden!

If you do watch this film, about 3/4 of the way through the picture is a marvelous flashback involving an elderly woman planning on murdering her nasty husband. It was, by far, the best part of the movie and this story, expanded, would have made for a great film itself.

By the way, in one of the flashbacks you see the Baden family. While not listed in the credits or IMDB, the son, Bob, is played by Anthony Newley.

Very British

[Uriah43 · 5/10 · 8 September 2013]

This film concerns itself mainly with two women, "Jean Raymond" (Glynis Johns) and "Betty Brown" (Diana Dors) who are sent to prison on the same day. Jean is sentenced to one year in prison for fraud. Betty, on the other hand, is given two years in prison because she chose to take the rap for her conniving boyfriend. Naturally, there are other female convicts as well and we get to see some of their stories in a series of flashbacks. I found a couple of these stories were interesting but I will leave it to the viewer to decide for themselves which ones they may or may not find entertaining. One thing I will say, however, is that this film is very British. At least it seemed that way to me. Also, this movie is not the standard women-in-prison film one might expect to find these days. There is no sex, violence, foul language or nudity of any kind. But both Glynis Johns and Diana Dors performed in a decent manner. I also thought both ladies looked quite nice with Glynis Johns appearing the more elegant of the two. Anyway, although not necessarily a great movie it wasn't bad either and I rate it as about average all things considered.

The Weak and the Wicked

[execelsior-1 · 7/10 · 2 December 2010]

I remember seeing this film as a child when it first came out. I disliked it intensely BUT obviously it could not have been as terrible as I thought since I remember it well. I did like both Glynis Johns and Diana Dors. If only these old films were available to us now, I for one would be very happy!!! I remember the cinema where I saw it. It was a 'flea pit' in those days with poor decor and broken seats. The cinema screen was taller than it was wide and the edges were rounded. This was very odd, I thought. I remember that the story dealt with women in prison and followed their misadventures both while 'inside' and after release. I remember being very impressed with Glynis Johns voice and Diana Dors curves. I also remember that the story ended reasonably happy for one but not the other. I was happy when it was over as I had been promised an ice cream for sitting quietly through it!

Prison film without hard edges

[malcolmgsw · 6/10 · 29 March 2012]

Glynis Johns submits meekly to prison even though shes been framed.She is accused of having falsely claimed for a stolen cigarette case.The fact that she had not been to the pawn shop and therefore couldn't have been recognised by the broker has escaped the attention of her,her lawyer,the police and the court.She is met by a glamorous Diana Dors who is doing 2 years.Everyone else seems to have no makeup except Dors.Their progress is charted through prison to open prison.there are many humorous interludes which jars with the prison scenes.its as if its a bit of a lark going to prison.There is the obligatory happy ending when John Gregson decides to chuck his good job in Rhodesia and come back to marry Glynis.Compare this film with for example "Yield To the Night" ,a far superior film starring Dors as a Ruth Ellis type of character.In that film she has no make up and is far better in the acting stakes.

A Year in the Slammer

[dballtwo · 7/10 · 27 November 2019]

As far as women's prison pictures go, this one is far from bad, thanks primarily to fine performances by its British cast. Glynis Johns, who is great throughout, plays a compulsive gambler who's framed by a vengeful casino owner for writing a bad check. That part of the plot doesn't ring entirely true, nor does her romance with her faithful boyfriend, but the assortment of Dickensian criminals she meets in jail are an entertaining lot. Especially wonderful is Sidney James and his family of shoplifters. Compared to some of the overwrought American pictures that have been made on this subject about "caged" women, this one is a real treat.

Not all women's prison movies have to be campy exploitation films.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 28 April 2022]

There's no nasty matron like Hope Emerson or scheming inmate arranging for parolees to become prostitutes. This is a straight to the bone serious look at a young woman who goes to prison and finds out how to deal with the system honestly so she can serve her sentence and then go on with her life. It's true that she was framed for Grand Larceny, and that part of the plot is not resolved with a woman who stole her valuable cigarette case and pawned it lying about it on the stand, a crime which causes Glynis Johns to be sentenced to a year. After getting transferred to a rreer prison along with Diana Dors, she nearly gets into trouble when given the opportunity to go into town one day, circumstances arise that nearly extend her sentence. In the meantime, her fiance, John Gregson, stops coming to see her oh, and she's afraid that she's lost him. When the time comes for her release, she doesn't seem to have much to look forward to on the outside.

Good performances by a respectable British cast guides this film to be probably the most serious and non unintentionally humorous films about women in the system ever made. Johns certainly gives a very sincere performance, and she's neither weak nor wicked. She is however strong enough to stand up to troublemaking women in the system, breaking up a potential fights and being a model prisoner. Dors too cakes the parts seriously, and avoids being the stereotypical blonde femme fatale. The fact that this doesn't resort to camp might bore some audiences who automatically expect that in a women's prison movie, but the film's goal is to show these women as real human beings who made a mistake and are paying for it and looking forward two going on with their life as better citizens and not repeat what they've done before. Well photographed and fast-moving, and a great opportunity to see Johns before she hired a magical nanny and sent for the clowns.

a couple of good flashbacks

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 26 August 2020]

Aka The Weak and the Wicked. Socialite Jean Raymond is sentenced to 12 months for fraud. In flashback, she is revealed to be in gambling debts and refused to pay. The casino threatens unknown retribution and soon, she is framed for her fraud charge. In prison, she meets other prisoners who reveal their lives before prison in other flashbacks.

I find the prison drama rather rambling and non-dramatic. Some of the characters are interesting and the most interesting parts of the movie are a couple of the flashbacks. The structure of the movie may be problematic in maintaining dramatic drive for the central narrative. All in all, there are a few intriguing bits but the overall effect is less than expected.

Good 'Reform The Prisons' Movie

[boblipton · 6/10 · 23 August 2020]

Glynis Johns is railroaded into prison for insurance fraud, where she initially despairs. However, the knowledge that her young man is waiting for her and the kindly prison warden buck her up. Eventually she is transferred to a 'prison with bars', where she meets, in the words of Anna Russell, all sorts of terribly interesting people, including Diana Dors and Olive Sloan.

It's directed by J. Lee Thompson from a book by Joan Henry, who was one of his wives; it was based on her prison experiences, and she called the Johns character "a bit goody-goody". Indeed she is. Except for one impassioned speech at the end, she's largely a sounding board for others. She's also rather heavy-set and middle-aged looking to add to her anonymity. Miss Dors gets the better role, and does a good job with it. Thompson would work with her later.

A polite prison drama.

[Voxel-Ux · 4/10 · 16 September 2003]

This is a prison film by a director I personally have always admired: J Lee-Thompson. It centres around the Jean Raymond character (Glynis Johns) of a woman entering prison for fraud. I can say this without it being a spoiler because the fact she entered gaol, and why, has nothing to do with the plot (there is no plot really) except used merely as a vehicle to start the film rolling.

Once rolling, Johns meets various other female prisoners while incarcerated and to almost each one the film fades into a vignette of the "facts" that led each one to wind up in prison. It is definitely a film of its time, a strikingly clichéd British film of the '30s, '40s and early '50s style and was made with a method dying out by the mid-50's when British cinema began a darker more realistic mode of direction.

This film has nothing on many earlier American prison dramas ("20,000 Years in Sing Sing" some twenty years before for example) but the film was never intended in my opinion to be anything overtly powerful. Though there is no direct sermonising about right and wrong written into the film it was directed intentionally to make one think what prison may be like (at least for that generation) while the film rides on a very comfortable sponge through tranquil waters, despite trying to focus on rehabilitation. Very muddled.

Regrettably, the film's earlier momentum starts to fizzle out about halfway through as the vignettes continually are sugar-coated (the only possible exception is the story of the gaoled women in the infirmary involving her baby) and the acting is rather appalling with a rather dreadful ending by today's terms. Even the attempt at humour with Sid James's family is more sad than funny (perhaps that was the intention).

Not one of Lee-Thompson's best and I rate it a generous 2 out of 5 stars but is worth a single sitting as a curio.

Super cameos and humour

[MarkDain · 9/10 · 29 September 2003]

Although there was probably some serious intent behind the film's premise e.g. the open prison system, social comment on post-war England as class barriers are breaking down which are interspersed throughout, it is the gentle humour that lifts it above the mediocre. Superb cameos from the great Athene Seyler and Sybil Thorndike playing two friends who plot to 'do in' an elderly admirer is made a great deal of by the director. The central story involving Glynis Johns is well told and each of the film's subsequent yarns make for a light but thoroughly enjoyable whole.

Sensitive prison drama

[hollywoodshack · 9/10 · 8 September 2023]

Before he became popular directing Charles Bronson films, J. Lee Thompson directed two prison movies based on books written by his future wife, Joan Henry. Glynis Johns does very well as the gambler who is framed for insurance fraud and sent to prison for one year. Here she meets the inmates who relate their stories of crimes that sent them up for time: a shoplifter, a blackmailer, and a neglectful mother. She stops one from stabbing a cruel guard and is rewarded with a transfer to a prison without walls. It's also very touching in the visitation scenes with her fiancé and doctor (John Gregson) how she feels the stigma of her sentence from the outside world. Only beef with the film I have is that there is no flashback to explain what crime her best friend, Betty (Diana Dors) did to serve two years. Her chum is desperate to find a boyfriend, Norman, that never writes or visits.

Appealing tale of women in prison

[lucyrfisher · 8/10 · 31 March 2022]

I like this movie for its glimpse of casino life, and also the crummy bedsit compulsive gambler Glynis Johns ends up in after she loses all her dough and writes a cheque she can't meet. But glam friend Ursula Howells turns up and gets her a job in a dress shop (wish we'd see a slice of that life). Howells frames her on behalf of the casino owner, and Johns ends up in prison, where she meets darling Diana Dors looking very young and slim and yearning for "Norman" who just used her to stash the stolen goods and never writes or visits. They also meet Olive Sloane, great as usual as a feisty shoplifter (crimes seen in flashback). I can't watch the bit about Jane Hylton neglecting her baby - too sad. And the plight of women who give birth behind bars is heartbreaking - the babies are taken away at nine months and most are adopted.

Dors and Johns end up in an open prison that looks rather idyllic with rug-making workshops in the rose garden. They meet an old dear (Athene Seyler) feeding the hens and we see her flashback - a complicated story in which she ends up blackmailing Sybil Thorndike.

The only off-putting aspect is the way the female governors bang on about "trust" and "honour" and "letting me down" and of course "letting yourself down". I hope this rhetoric is now on the scrap heap.

If you like this one, you'll love I Believe in you with Cecil Parker, Celia Johnson, Joan Collins and Ursula Howells again - the probation service this time.

"Proper home from home, isn't it?"

[richardchatten · 8/10 · 8 July 2022]

Glynis Johns learns the hard way that crime doesn't pay in this melodrama organised round a series of flashbacks.

The usual interesting cast includes Sybil Thorndike, a young Rachel Roberts and Olive Sloane as a professional shoplifter; while Diana Dors' character anticipates her celebrated role for the same director two years later in 'Yield for the Night'.