The Weak and the Wicked

The Weak and the Wicked - 1953 | 72 mins | Drama | B&W

The Production Team

Director: J. Lee Thompson.
Producer: Victor Skutezky.
Script: J. Lee Thompson, Anne Burbnaby and Joan Henry. (from the novel Who Lie in Gaol by Joan Henry)
Cinematography: Gilbert Taylor.
Editing: Richard Best.
Art Direction: Robert Jones.
Makeup Department: L.V. Clark and A.G. Scott.
Sound Department: Leslie Hammond and Harold V. King.
Original Music: Leighton Lucas.

The Cast

Glynis Johns - Jean Raymond
Diana Dors - Betty Brown
John Gregson - Dr. Michael Hale
Olive Sloane - Nellie Baden
Rachel Roberts - Pat
Jane Hylton - Babs Peters
Athene Seyler - Millie Williams
Jean Taylor Smith - Prison Goveror
Cecil Trouncer - Presiding Judge
Ursula Howells - Pam Vickers
Edwin Styles - Seymour
Sid James - Syd Baden

Plot Synopsis

Based on a best-selling book and prison experiences of author Joan Henry, director J. Lee Thompson’s prison saga explores the life of inmates behind bars where innocence is lost in the world of vice. Despite its pulpy pot-boiler title, the film settles for earnest social drama over trashy melodrama but looks very dated today. The performances are strong given the limited and predictable material.

Female prisoners talk about the events that brought them there and each of their stories is detailed in a series of flashbacks; notably the upper-class Jean (Glynis Johns), the brash Betty (Diana Dors) and the pregnant Pat (Rachel Roberts). The Weak and the Wicked follows the inmate’s progress behind bars; Jean’s ordeal improves after some sympathetic bonding with her fellow inmates, followed by a move to an experimental open prison.