Prison Farm
Cast & Crew
Louis King
Shirley Ross
Lloyd Nolan
John Howard
J. Carrol Naish
Porter Hall
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Jean Forest, a waitress at Cora Waxlay's coffee shop, agrees to marry Larry Harrison and move to Canada, unaware that he has just robbed and killed the guard of an armored payroll truck. On her way to meet Larry, Jean hitches a ride after her car runs out of gas. The driver of the car attempts to accost her, but when Larry arrives later, he threatens the driver with a gun. The driver, Sheriff Noel Haskins, arrests both of them. They are convicted and sent to Sunnygrove Prison Farm. Larry hides his stolen money in his clothing sack, realizing that prison may be his safest hiding place. Jean's constitution does not take to prison life, but she is assisted by the friendship of "Shifty" Sue. Jean and her prison mates reach the end of their endurance when they are assigned unduly long hours in the laundry. The prisoners revolt, but one of the trustees turns the steam on in the room. Shifty Sue dies as a result of this mistreatment, and Dr. Roi Conrad, the sympathetic prison doctor, advises Jean to call on a trusted friend to help her through her remaining time. In the meantime, Larry has also been overworked under his overseer, Haskins. On visiting day, Cora tells Jean about Larry's robbery and murder. Jean warns Larry that unless he turns himself in, she will reveal his secret. After Larry bribes him, Haskins follows Larry to his hiding place and demands all the money. When Larry refuses, Haskins shoots him. Before he dies, Larry confesses to the robbery and clears Jean's name, also revealing Haskins as a fraud. Roi, no longer interested in being a prison doctor, leaves the prison, taking Jean and Cora with him to a better life.
Director
Louis King
Cast
Shirley Ross
Lloyd Nolan
John Howard
J. Carrol Naish
Porter Hall
Esther Dale
May Boley
Marjorie Main
Anna Q. Nilsson
John Hart
Diane Wood
Mae Busch
Ruth Warren
Robert Brister
Phillip Warren
Virginia Dabney
Blanche Rose
Betty Mack
Carl Harbaugh
Howard Mitchell
Jack Hubbard
Charles C. Wilson
Jimmy Conlin
Edwin J. Carlie
Pat West
Dick Elliott
Ethel May Halls
Cecil Weston
Bosy Roth
Archie Twitchell
Vera Steadman
Gloria Williams
Crew
Stuart Anthony
Steve Brackens
John Cope
Edward Dmytryk
Hans Dreier
Mel Epstein
Harry Fischbeck
A. E. Freudeman
Earl Hedrick
Oliver Hinsdell
Gene Hornbostel
William Lebaron
Harold Lewis
William R. Lipman
Horace Mccoy
Boris Morros
M. C. Phillips
Stuart Walker
Eddie Welch
Edwin V. Westrate
Adolph Zukor
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The synopsis in the pressbook ends with "Larry" confessing his crimes in exchange for "Jean's" release, whereupon "Roi" quits his job at the prison camp and begins a new life with "Jean." A September 1937 Hollywood Reporter news item noted that Ralph Murphy and Herbert Biberman were assigned to direct this picture, but went on to other films when production was delayed until October to coincide with the season for picking cotton. The news item noted that Paramount hoped to shoot outdoor sequences of the cotton harvest. Also according to the press book, the Civilian Conservation Corps camp at Crestline, CA served as the site of the prison farm.
