Jackie!
Loretta Wilson, age 16,
height, 5'5"...
...weight 114,
hair blonde, eyes blue.
Jackie Boone,
age 16, height 5'5"...
...weight 128 pounds,
hair brown, eyes brown.
Last seen, they were driving a
large truck, license number 20832.
Give me long distance.
Cancel that.
How about signing your resignation?
And shoulder the blame for
everything that's happened here tonight?
These three runaways were
girls you've been working with.
Ms. Guererro was
another one, wasn't she?
You've been waiting
for something like this
for all of the last
six months, haven't you?
If you don't resign,
there'll be an investigation.
When the papers get
through with you, they'll...
There won't be an agency in
the country that'll have me. I know.
On the other hand,
if you quit, you quit quietly.
Maybe after a while, you can get
yourself another job out of state.
You can save yourself
for more of these...
...experiments.
No more bargains, Mr. Riggs!
Never again!
- Now, look here...
- Go on,
call in your state board.
I'm not quitting!
Hello? Hello?
180 human lives...
What happens to them now?
Jane, Jackie, Loretta...
...runaways.
The police are after them.
And Dolores...
The four girls I've tried
the most to help.
Where was I wrong?
What could I have done differently?
I was so confident that first day,
coming in on the deport train.
At the army rehabilitation center,
I treated combat casualties.
I was on my way to a corrective
school to treat adolescents,
social casualties.
I've arranged to arrive
with a new group of girls.
I wanted to see their
first reaction to the place.
No walls, no fences.
I guess they were wondering,
"What's the gag?"
Riggs was
Superintendent of Elmview,
in the neighboring
boys' trade school.
He asked the girls
for their cooperation.
That they were here
to be helped, not punished.
But I knew that never
in all their lives
had they met an adult
whom they could trust.
I've read their case histories
in juvenile court.
Loretta Wilson,
reason for commitment, vagrancy.
Dolores Guererro, vagrancy.
Jackie Boone and Jane Fleming,
arrested together for stealing food.
Well, getting their trust
would be my job.
Thank goodness
this was a new school,
not like a prison, no stone walls.
I didn't know then
about the human wall.
All right, girls, let's hurry.
You're going to
get these clothes off
and get new uniforms
in that building over there.
All right now, line up by twos.
You too.
All right. Ready?
Left, right, left, right...
Keep moving.
Get in line girls.
Left, right, left. Quit straggling,
girls. Keep in line.
Left, right, left, right, left,
right, left, right, left, right...
Now, watch those other girls.
See how they do it.
Left, right, left, right,
left, right...
Eyes forward. Keep moving.
Left, right, left, right, left,
right, left, right, left, right.
Look where you're going!
Keep moving, girls.
Don't stop.
Left, right, left, right.
Get in line girls.
Hurry up.
Come on!
129, five-ten.
129, five-ten.
- 112, five-four.
- 112, five-four.
- 114, five-eight.
- 114, five-eight.
- 113, five-one.
- 113, five-one.
- 112, five-three.
- 112, five-three.
Come back here!
What's the big idea?
I haven't got lice.
Come on!
All right, girls,
get your uniforms.
- Medium, please.
- It's the right size.
You've got your nerve!
All personal possessions
in the basket now.
Now, hurry up.
Okay, you can choose over there.
Next door
is on the left, to the left.
How do you put up with this joint?
Hey, Susie, she don't
like our country club.
Oh, stick around, sister.
You'll learn to love it.
Stool pigeon.
See her, she took off last night.
Now she's got to serve
her time all over again.
And how long are you in for?
One year.
Time off for good behavior.
Fat chance.
- What'd they get you on?
- You want to bet?
How'd I know he was a copper?
No kidding. Did you
fall for that old routine?
Clear out of here!
- Hey! It's mine!
- It is not!
I said it was mine! The girl.
Hey, kids, watch it!
Beuhler's coming!
But I haven't gotten my shower yet!
Confined, trapped...
Girls who've spent most
of their lives running away...
Away from intolerable situations,
from school, from their families...
...or from themselves.
- Did you hear that?
- Relax.
Look. Hey, what's going on?
Just be glad it isn't you.
Keep your mouth shut.
Most of you who have sense
enough not to try to run away,
but I've read the history
on Dolores.
It's going to be hard
for her to learn.
...and this morning, she wouldn't get
up and go to work with the other girls.
She didn't even think o hear it.
She just stays there in bed
telling the craziest lies.
- Who is it?
- Guererro, reception wing.
Mind if I come?
I'm afraid this is a psychotic who
should have never been sent to us.
Well, if you wish.
Dolores, your friends
are up working.
Don't you think you
should be working too?
Do you think it's fair for your friends
to be doing your work and you in bed?
Look at me, Dolores.
Answer me.
Ms. Levering...
It's no good lecturing
a girl in this state.
You must win her confidence,
get her to help herself.
Of course, with 180 girls to take care
of, you've got all the time in the world.
I'll find time.
It'll be better if there
weren't too many of us.
May I remain?
If you will sit quietly over there.
Beautiful hair you've got, Dolores.
Dolores...
Ms. Levering and I
want to be your friends.
We want to see if there's anything
we can do to make you happier here.
I don't mind.
Only, I'm not staying here.
No?
The other girls have to stay.
They've done something bad.
But I'll leave today.
My train is waiting.
You know, I bet you started running away
when you were a little girl. Am I right?
Remember the very
first time you ran away?
It was wonderful, wasn't it?
I was in the second grade.
Our neighbor gave me 25 cents to go buy
some bread and milk at the store, but I...
Well, how did you spend it?
I got on the yellow street car.
I rode all the way across town
to the end of the line all by myself.
It was nice there.
Pretty homes with gardens,
then I came back again.
But, you know, I have a hunch that something
else pretty important happened that day...
...before the trolley ride.
I don't remember.
Was it a school day?
I wasn't doing too good
in my school work.
The teacher sent home a note
for mother to come see her.
And?
My mother couldn't speak English.
She didn't know what
the teacher was talking about.
The children, they laughed!
They laughed at me!
They laughed!
I was so mad
I wouldn't talk to mother.
When she went back home,
I wouldn't say goodbye to her!
Teacher was mad too.
She acted like mother
didn't understand on purpose.
It was very silly of the teacher.
Very silly of the other
children too to laugh.
Last night,
did anyone laugh at you?
I'm very different from my parents.
People say we
don't even look related.
I don't suppose you've ever
been in Pennsylvania, have you?
Well, my family came over from Poland,
oh, long before you were born.
My father and his brothers
got jobs in the coal mines
and they had a little place with a,
with a funny name, Nanticoke.
No smoking!
Oh, thank you, Dolores.
Of course.
You know, until the day he d*ed, my
father never learned to speak English.
In school, I wanted so much to
be just like the other American kids,
but I was ashamed
to take them to the house
because they would
hear my father talking Polish.
But after he d*ed, I forgot
all about the language.
I only remembered
how kind he'd been to me.
How he'd come home so tired
because he had worked double shifts
making money
to buy me an education.
He was such a good man.
I never needed to
be ashamed of him.
Now, suppose you
were living with people
who really cared for you
and wanted to make you happy,
you wouldn't need to get on a
train and run away, would you?
I guess not.
And you wouldn't need to
run away in your mind either.
You wouldn't need to make believe.
I think I would like to get up now.
She believes all
the stories she tells.
If she were punished for lying,
she'd only escape
farther into fantasy.
The agents at juvenile hall
wouldn't have sent her here
if she hadn't been
sane, Dr. Jason.
Of course she's sane,
but she can't stand pressure.
If the situation becomes
intolerable,
she's got to get out
one way or another.
Yes, I see your point.
What would you
recommend, Dr. Jason?
A light academic program until
we can help her get confidence
and some occupational therapy
that's pleasant and not too exacting.
All right. We'll take care
of it, Dr. Jason. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Riggs.
This way.
Now watch.
Go ahead.
Go on.
How long will Mary take
to assemble the pieces?
How does Helen
interpret these pictures?
My first 24 hours here was all filled
with this kind of psychometric test
that I was never
able to leave the office.
Ms. Levering helped me.
Despite her own duties
as assistant superintendent,
she helped me
most efficiently, and yet...
You know, I get the feeling you don't
approve of me or anything I'm doing.
What are you doing?
What do you think I should do?
Dr. Jason,
before you came here,
I was the one the girls came
to if they had any problems.
And now I've usurped their
confidence and taking your place?
That's not what I said.
The girls knew they could talk to me and
that I would do what I could to help them,
but I never made them promises
that couldn't be kept.
- And I have?
- Yes, doctor. You have.
Well...
- Hey!
- Dirty...
Hey, you're going to k*ll me!
- I'm sorry I didn't,
you dirty welcher!
- Hey.
- What's the matter with her?
- What just happened?
What's going on here?
He said he'd help me get away
and then he wouldn't keep his
part of the bargain, that dirty...
You think I'll be crazy enough to
take a girl out of a place like this?
- She's a liar. You little...
- Quiet, everyone!
You'll get paid
for your windshield.
The school will take care
of it. Now get out of here.
You heard him.
Get out of here!
And you will pay back the school by
working double time on the laundry.
What?
For trying to get away, you'll
serve your full sentence.
Mr. Riggs, will you
let me handle this, please?
Well, suppose we have
Ms. Levering sit in with this.
She's familiar with all
our procedure, Dr. Jason.
I'll try to be unobtrusive.
Come, Loretta.
Back to work. Back to work,
everyone. Back to work.
Back to work.
Back... Why you...
She was so pretty,
so full of spirit.
One couldn't
help reacting to her...
At least I reacted
and so did Ms. Levering.
I got a sketchy
history of her childhood.
She was only seven when
her mother d*ed tuberculosis.
And when she was sick,
I used to play dress up in her clothes.
And this once, I broke the
heel on her best gold shoes.
So when dad told me she was
dead, I felt sort of glad.
Later on, did you ever
feel guilty about being glad?
No. I just figured she would find
out about the shoes and punish me.
I see.
You get along
pretty well with people.
Men like me...
...women don't.
And your father was a man.
Oh, he spoiled me rotten, as soon
as I found out how to handle him.
What was the trick?
Well mother must have kept the lid on him,
because when she d*ed, he hit the bottle.
Good thing I was old enough
to know how to use a can opener
or a lot of times
I would have starved.
At first when he was drunk, he
didn't pay me any mind at all.
After that, you and
your father got along fine.
Uh-huh.
Until he d*ed.
- What did you do later?
- Just bummed around.
- Anything special?
- Uh-uh.
How about your marriage? Don't you
think it's important enough to mention?
Oh, he turned out to be a jerk!
- You weren't in love with him?
- I like a lot of guys...
...for a little while.
When you left him, did you know
you were going to have a baby?
What's it to you?
I just wondered how you
figured you'd support the child.
I didn't figure I'd have to!
Did you ever think
about keeping the baby?
At the maternity home,
they tried to get me to,
but I just told them not to bring
it back in the room anymore.
You thought you might
get to like the baby.
Don't be so smart! You'll never
catch me saddling myself with a kid!
I wonder how tough it must have been
for you to decide to give up your boy.
Well, you can just
keep on wondering.
Listen, mister, that kid meant
nothing to me! Nothing at all!
Don't be afraid of anything
you tell me, Loretta.
It's strictly between ourselves.
Yeah?
Then what is she doing here.
My interest in this interview
is purely professional.
Oh, she may think she's professional,
but I know better.
- You do?
- I've seen dames
like her around.
Social workers, they
talk like a public library,
but sooner or later they find
out they're really women.
Pride. So I'm not spitting any
more secrets with her around.
Can I go now?
Sure. I'd like to talk to you
again in the next few days.
- I'd like to talk to you too.
- You like being outdoors?
- Sometimes.
- Good. I'll suggest it to Mr. Riggs.
If we're really alone next time,
I'll tell you anything you want to hear.
Very interesting girl.
Very.
- No guilt whatever,
did you notice?
- I did.
Actually within herself,
she's perfectly adjusted.
I'm interested in your
definition of adjusted.
No inhibitions, like a savage.
A child who's
had to use sex as a...
As a defense, as a w*apon
to get what she needs.
And what she wants.
She must learn to identify with,
to feel warmth with someone
who is morally acceptable to society.
Yourself naturally?
That's what the umpire
used to call a bean-ball.
You mean that...
Oh, no, no!
I'm going to recommend to Mr. Riggs
that she be given outdoor work,
sports to build up her
fellowship with other girls.
That's fine.
That'll sound nice on paper.
Ms. Levering, that's the third
time you've said something like that.
You think because you say jump,
this whole institution is going to jump.
Well, you came make recommendations
until you're blue in the face, Dr. Jason,
but it won't change anything.
There is nothing you can do!
I wish there were.
There isn't.
- Get up, Jane.
- She's all right. Get her over there.
What's the matter?
Are you all right, Jane?
Hey, look what I got?
Oh, a rabbit.
Hey you, get back to work.
Come on!
She can't. Here, take it.
She has to rest.
- Go on.
- You heard what I said. Get back to work.
I said she can't!
What's going on here?
Get back to work!
Come on the rest of you,
get back to work!
When our girls lose control of
themselves, we put them in meditation.
This is one of
our meditation rooms.
Where are we going?
No!
Not by myself!
Please! Please!
Oh, let me out. Please!
Please don't leave me here!
Don't leave me alone!
Please. Oh, please don't go!
Let me out!
Let me out!
Let me out of here!
I can't stay here alone!
Let me out of here!
Please! Let me out!
Let me out!
Jackie, I can't stand it!
I can't.
You have my word,
it won't happen again.
It's no good being alone,
especially for you two.
You've had so much of it.
You never knew your own parents?
The orphanage just said
they didn't have my records.
- How about you, Jane?
- No.
No, her old man's alive
but he's never even seen her.
Would you like to see him, Jane?
- I don't know.
- Why should she? What's he ever done for her?
Let Jane tell me, please.
Well, I'd like to see him, but
I wouldn't want him to see me.
No?
Not in this place.
Let's see. The first home you remember
was the orphanage in San Antonio?
- Hmm-mmm.
- What was it like?
They all stink.
Now, let's see.
You were 14 when you met.
Yeah, on a farm up
the north part of Jersey.
And you became friends right away?
Well, she couldn't
look out for herself.
There was a slob
running the place, see.
Well, one day when his wife
went into town...
Get out of here, mister!
Well, I got out of there, see,
and we walked up the road
and hitched a ride and that
was the end of Jersey.
Jane...
It's all right.
Jane, and then you just
walloped from place to place?
No, we worked some and
we could lie about our ages.
Now, Jackie, I'm going to ask Jane a few
questions and I want her to answer them.
So far, you've done
all the talking.
- Jane...
- Don't let him bully you, kid.
It's my job to help you
grow up and think for yourself
and I want you to start right now.
Now, what kind of work would you
like to do when you get out of here?
Well, sometimes, I think I'd
like to go to beauty college...
Or maybe not.
Did you ever try doing
anything that Jackie didn't want,
or going anywhere she didn't want?
I didn't want her to get mad at me.
Well, I'm afraid she's going to be pretty
mad at you about this beautician's course,
but think what's best for you
and what you want to do.
Now, what are you going to do
when you leave here?
Go to beauty college.
Good.
And I'm going to
talk to Jackie alone.
Let's see, where are you girls now?
Sewing class.
Do you think you can
make it by yourself?
Bye.
I'm sorry if I made
you angry, Jackie,
but we both want what's
best for Jane, don't we?
When you were arrested,
you had a g*n, but you never used it.
Are you afraid without it?
Listen mister,
let's get this straight!
I'm not like Jane.
You can scare her, she cries.
But not you?
I'm not afraid of anything or
anybody. I never cried in my life.
Really?
Well, I've been afraid...
Back home when the whistles
blew the accident signal at the mines.
Later leaving for college,
for a new place.
I've been afraid of being alone.
A lot of people are
afraid of being alone.
Would you mind your own business?
What's the good of asking us
a lot of dumb questions
and then sending us out
to dig for 10 hours a day?
- Ten hours?
- Where do you think
I got these, mister?
Sunbathing on the beach?
There he is, the square!
Liar, dirty liar handing
us a line of junk
just so you can come
around and snoop on us,
dirty double-crossing no good liar!
Dirty liar, dirty...
It won't happen again, Loretta.
Now, come on with that basket.
Put it in there.
Now go over and get the other one.
Come on.
Make it snappy.
Dolores.
Dolores.
Come here.
It's all right.
I've just put a girl in
hospital, Dolores Guerrero.
Sit down, Dr. Jason. Join us.
One reason for these conferences
is for each staff member
to integrate his policy
with the central authority.
Otherwise, he's liable to go off and do
things that cause trouble to other members.
Not one of my recommendations
has been carried out.
Oh, come now, that's
a pretty broad statement.
Broad statement?
Loretta Wilson, I recommended
competitive sports.
I found her lifting
50 pound sacks of potatoes.
One of my girls is in the sewing
room in a state of complete frustration.
She can't handle machines.
Very valuable therapy,
the sewing room.
It teaches girls a trade.
But the same girl was
hysterical a few hours ago,
locked up in solitary confinement.
Meditation, Dr. Jason.
A disturbed girl
needs to be isolated.
It protects the others.
In the laundry room, what kind
of therapy do you call that?
Well, there are a lot of
unpleasant jobs in the world.
There have to be people to do them.
But they're not adults,
they're children.
Were they sent here to be healed or
to have a profit sweated out of them?
Is that what you meant?
Meant?
That I was making promises
that couldn't be kept
and you wished I could
do something about it?
I'm afraid you misunderstood
me, Dr. Jason.
Mind you, I'm not opposed
to an occasional experiment,
but we must operate
within our budget.
There's no time to pamper
individual problem children,
they must be given
group discipline.
I don't see how I can operate this
way. I can't do the girls any good.
Frankly, Dr. Jason, taking on
a psychiatrist was not my idea.
The state of hierarchy sent
you here without consulting me.
Because, Mr. Riggs,
as I've since found out
you have the highest number
of returnees in the east.
If you want to leave, Dr. Jason,
that's your privilege.
I see.
Look, I've had a lot of
experience in penal institutions.
Believe me, your whole
approach is impractical.
You mean, you can't
change human nature?
Well, most of these girls will be arrested
again before they're out of here a year.
Oh, why be sentimental
about congenital criminals?
It's in their blood of course.
Tell me, Mr. Riggs, what do
you propose to do for these girls?
Give them custodial care,
punish them when necessary...
...and teach them
to respect authority.
I think that's something
we can all learn, Dr. Jason.
Thank goodness this was a new school,
not like a prison, no stonewalls.
- Hi, Dr. Jason.
- Hi there.
- Taking your day off in town?
- Yeah.
You ought to stay
around for visitor's day.
I, uh, hear you may be
leaving for good.
- Things get around
fast, don't they?
- Well...
Well, good afternoon, girls.
May we come in?
Girls, these people are from
the city council to see our school.
For the girls who have no parents
coming to see them on visitor's day,
we usually arrange
some sort of recreation.
Oh, well, of course.
All right, girls...
...recreation.
Perhaps the gentlemen
would like to hear them sing.
- Yes.
- Thank you.
All right girls.
Is D all right for everybody?
# Just a song at twilight...
Girls, you...
You know the words, girls.
I've heard you sing it.
Try it again,
Ms. Beuhler, please.
All right, girls.
# Just a song at twilight...
Girls.
It doesn't really
matter, Mr. Riggs.
Don't make them sing it again
if they don't feel like it.
Of course they feel like it.
Don't you, girls?
Really, I'd like to see
the grounds once more.
Wait a minute, mister.
Mister, I've got
something to tell you.
Hey, mister, we're not shy.
Try your skill mister?
Three for a quarter,
win a lucky Kewpie doll,
a lucky cupie doll. A lucky winner.
Thank you, sir.
You lose your temper,
you miss your aim.
- Good evening.
- Looks just like him,
doesn't it?
Good sh*t!
Captain of the softball team,
Baines, '42.
Pick your choice, lady.
Here's 26.
Hey, what's the idea?
Are you really
leaving us, Dr. Jason?
I've been pounding the pavement all day,
trying to figure out an alternative,
but there is none.
- Would you like a hotdog?
- No, thank you.
The girls will forget soon enough,
they're used to disappointments.
It was a great mistake appealing to
you in the staff meeting this morning,
I thought you'd bail me out.
And lose my job? What good
would that have done the girls?
What good are you doing now?
A little,
at least I like to think so.
I'm afraid you don't understand
the problem of social work, Dr. Jason.
But Riggs gives you an
idea of a sound approach.
At least he's realistic.
When you're short of staff and money,
you've got to work with groups.
Well, I was an idealist
once like you.
I should have known you then.
Dr. Jason, until I came here,
I never knew what part of the country
I'd be in from one year to the next.
I've never had much time
for life of my own,
but I have learned a lot about
the lives of girls like ours.
The alleys they play in when they're
little, their homes and their gangs.
What good can we do a girl here when she
goes back to the strange environments,
that made us this way
in the first place?
Take Dolores Guerrero,
how will she be treated on the outside?
What kind of jobs will be
open for a girl like her?
Pass please.
What are you doing
about that, Dr. Jason?
If Dolores were able
to live with her herself,
she'd be better equipped to face the
kind of life she'll find on the outside.
Every time I bring
a girl one step forward,
Riggs and institution
would pull her back.
He can break your heart
for just so low.
Then you begin to compromise.
I do what I can within
an existing framework.
One compromise after the other
until you're fighting on the enemy side.
Oh!
Sit down, lady!
Wait until it stops!
You can't work
within this framework.
It's more than Riggs. It's a
whole system. You've got to fight it.
- And leaving it as your idea
of fighting it, doctor?
- Well...
Who are you to judge anyway?
I've spent every shred of my
time and emotions on these girls.
I've lived every girl's life.
Why? Are you afraid
of your own emotions?
Save that for your patients.
Wait until it stops, lady. Do
you want to break your neck?
Why don't you try living
your own life for a while?
You might find it highly enjoyable.
I warned you, lady.
You can't sue me.
- Are you hurt?
- Stay away from me!
- Young lady, you look
like you need a lift.
- Out of the way!
Here, that one's for me.
That babysitter, she ran off to
Chicago with... For some job.
Now my folks are boiling.
So my mother slipped me
this letter and it's from him.
Well, go on and read it.
It's got some very
intimate details.
Oh, come on.
Attention, girls.
I haven't been up here
for some time, girls.
But judging from the lack of
discipline I observed this afternoon...
Maybe I'm neglecting my duties.
I'm afraid things are getting
a little lax around here.
We can't nail pictures
up here, girl.
It's defacing public property.
Take it down, girl.
Take it down.
Come on. This thing...
Dust catchers.
This things mark up the wall.
You girls must learn to take
better care of your quarters.
Come on now.
Let's keep you girls...
Just fold that one for me.
Put that down.
You too.
I'm afraid you'll
have to take it down.
Very good, child.
- What is this?
- Nothing.
Well now, there is too.
So let me see. Sit down.
There it goes.
Take this stuff down
and get rid of it.
When one girl has
something the rest don't,
it makes the others dissatisfied.
Now let's make sure we don't
accumulate any more trash.
Let's grow up.
That dirty...
Hey, Lila, give me them matches!
Jackie, what are you doing?
Let's burn the joint down!
Look at it! Look at it go!
We're going
to burn the building down.
The fire's out, Mr. Riggs.
All right, girls, get over
against that wall.
I'll give you one last chance.
Who started that fire?
Hey, what is she going to do?
Turn it off! Turn it off!
Turn it off already!
- Anyone hurt?
- No, everything's all right.
- Where are you going?
- To see the girls.
No need. I've asked Mrs.
Beuhler to take care of it.
It's all right.
They're with Mrs. Beuhler.
Order has been restored by
the proper use of discipline. And...
Well, sit down, Jason.
I'm just finishing my report to
the state authority on the fire.
Did you know that Beuhler was
using a fire hose on those girls?
She what?
You'll put that in your report
or I'll file a report of my own.
Dr. Jason, the board has known
me and my work for many years.
They would never believe
any such cock and bull story.
I was there! I saw it!
Your word against mine.
Ms. Levering was there too.
Ms. Levering has been with
me for a good many years.
She wouldn't say anything to
discredit the school, would you?
How about it now,
Ms. Levering?
I've never seen
Mr. Riggs mistreat the girls.
He employs sadists
to do it for him.
...employs sadists
to do it for him.
He provokes the girls to the point of
rebellion and then punishes them for rebelling.
Put that in your report, too.
You robbed these girls
of every ounce of dignity.
You've warped and threatened them
until they've turned into wild animals.
We better file a report of our own.
Just a moment,
Dr. Jason, please.
Suppose you do file a report,
have you thought what will happen?
It will be a great big noise
for a little while, bad publicity.
Mud-tracking reporters
traipsing through the place.
Make the girls feel as if
they're in a gold fish bowl.
- Of course, you'll be
in the bowl too.
- That's true.
I may lose my job, may,
that's a matter of opinion.
However, suppose I do,
suppose the board puts someone in my job
who's even further from your way of thinking?
You see, it may not come
out the way you want it to at all.
Very well, Mr. Riggs,
we won't file our report.
You want to keep your job?
Keep it.
Do the personnel work, keep the books,
but we will plan the program.
We'll set up
the working conditions,
and if someone needs discipline,
we'll decide that too,
with no interference
from you or Ms. Beuhler.
I guess it's your school, Dr Jason.
Personal possessions
help a girl's morale,
make her feel like a human being.
We began real occupational therapy,
taught them skills
they could use outside,
skills they were anxious to learn.
We gave them
cultural recreation too.
Some girls are more
aggressive than others?
Well, it takes aggression to put out
a newspaper and keep it operating.
These girls used to spend
their energy breaking things,
sometimes they still did.
But they didn't have much energy
left after an afternoon of softball.
Loretta was a bit of
a problem sometimes...
So was Dolores.
She still lived in a world of her own,
no contact with other girls.
Then one afternoon...
- Oh, sing it again, Dolores.
- Yes, go ahead. Sing it again.
- Go on.
- Yes. Dolores.
Of course,
it wasn't all clear sailing.
I know we're way over budget.
We've had a lot of
new equipment to buy.
The first month of any program
is bound to cost money.
I just wanted to draw it
to your attention, Dr. Jason.
But Mr. Riggs,
we can't go on...
Ladies, there's no use
bringing your complaints to me.
The board isn't going to fire
him unless there's real trouble.
Come.
When the deport train
came through again
taking some girls home and
bringing new ones to the prisons
and the reformatories
throughout the country,
our new arrivals were matched
by the girls who were ready to go.
But the ones who were left behind in school
must be thinking of the months ahead.
We didn't want them
to be lonely months...
And so Ms. Levering and I wrote letters,
made long distance phone calls.
Between us, we even
raised enough money
to buy a round trip bus ticket
for one of the parents.
And when the next
visitor's day came...
Jane.
My father?
I wouldn't know him if
I met him on the street.
You're looking fine. I...
Thank you. So are you.
Yeah, I didn't think
I'd see you looking so good.
- You see I...
- Did you...
- You go ahead.
- It wasn't anything.
Say what you were going to.
You look just fine.
What did you say about me?
I said, "Poor man,
he doesn't know how to speak Spanish."
Loretta?
Don't tell me I have a visitor.
Nobody would walks across
the street to pay me a call.
I thought we'd go
calling on the phone.
Good afternoon, girls.
What's the gag?
Oh, it's a couple of hours drive.
We have some business to attend to.
Dr. Jason coming with us?
No.
Oh.
I thought this would be a good day
to pay a visit to the
Saint Elliot Maternity Home.
Oh, no, we don't!
The reason is Dr. Jason
asked me to.
Then why didn't he take me himself?
Or did you fix it, so he wouldn't?
Why don't you get it through your head I
don't want to be bothered with that brat?
I don't see how anyone could be
so cold-blooded about her own baby.
Cold-blooded?
Looks who's talking!
Lady, you're the
original jellyfish.
I'm sorry.
I had no right to be personal.
If that's the way you feel,
you may go back to the reception wing.
Cold-blooded.
Can you tie that?
You spend six days a week
looking starry-eyed at the doctor.
Loretta, I said I was sorry.
But you're afraid to come out of
your igloo and make a pass at him.
Loretta, that will be enough!
I sized you up right, didn't I?
I said you weren't
100% professional.
You're in a spot.
You're beginning to feel like a woman
and you don't know how to act like one.
You're such a lady.
You never give him
the old, come on.
If he ever did lay a hand
on you, he'd get frostbite.
Stop talking nonsense!
But he won't. He's no fool. He wants
somebody made of flesh and blood, see?
- Somebody like me.
- Stop! Stop it,
you vain little fool.
You don't know what he wants
and it's none of your business!
Hey, you're catching on!
Maybe you're human after all.
Hello there.
Come into the office Loretta,
I'd like talk to you.
I'd like to talk to you too.
I gather you didn't
want to visit your baby?
You thought I'd get
mushy and want to keep it.
The maternity home is not for adoption,
you have to sign papers.
I've been hoping you'd want
to see your child first
to be sure you know
what you're giving up.
Just give me the papers,
I'll sign them right now.
Look, Loretta, for you,
for any woman,
there is no bigger experience
than having a child.
You said it. Lost me my job,
got me messed up with the law.
All right.
But you've been through it. Why
leave yourself nothing to show for it?
- Why rob yourself?
- It's my life.
A baby has a life too.
If he gets the wrong home, he'll
soon be shuttled back to the nursery,
and don't think those babies
don't know what's happening.
A baby gets lonely too.
You know, I like to talk to you.
We kids get a big kick out of it whenever
you ask us to come up to the office.
Well, thank you.
A lot of the girls
miss having dates.
Stuff like that.
But I couldn't go for those
young punks, not anymore.
Some of the girls say
you haven't any favorites.
Do you?
Is there any girl you like
more than the rest?
Loretta, we were talking about you.
Well, aren't I your favorite?
Yes.
One of them.
I think you'd have a lot of love
to offer a child or a husband.
It's just a matter of
learning to control.
You have everything else,
the love, the vigor, the intelligence.
I have faith in you to make
a wonderful mother and wife.
Now, uh, think about it.
I don't need to think about it.
It just came to me rather forcibly
how lonely for boys
and girls it must be.
Shut away here month after
month, a very unnatural life.
- Very unnatural.
- Hmm.
What will you think
of a dance every so often,
something for them
to look forward to
and to think about
the long term afterward?
Riggs could send over the
other boys from Platte School.
What are you doing?
Dr. Jason,
I'm going to resign.
What?
For the first time in my
entire professional career I...
I lost control of myself.
Loretta? Oh, well.
No matter what the provocation,
a person has no right to do social
work if she loses her objectivity.
To tell you the truth, it was my objectivity
slipping pretty fast for a while.
I lost my temper.
I was so angry,
I didn't know what I was doing.
Now, resigning
is out of the question.
I couldn't get along without you.
Now, how did it all start?
It really doesn't matter, does it?
Well, what did she say?
Come on, tell me.
She said I was in love with you.
Oh?
Ridiculous.
- Yes, isn't it?
- No wonder you were upset.
Girls get these ideas, you know.
She doesn't realize
how busy we've been.
We haven't had time to think of
each other in a... In a personal way.
That's right.
As a matter of fact, it would
have made much more sense
if she had accused me
of being in love with you.
I mean, you're such
an attractive woman.
It's just that we didn't have time.
You don't have to explain anything.
Oh, but I do. I guess
I'm rather clumsy but...
Very clumsy.
The night of the dance,
the girls made
a solemn agreement
about the only showers.
Dolores, your hair is beautiful.
Gee, you look super.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Let me see you.
Oh, you look fine.
Oh, this is all dopey.
Hey, look perfume.
- But where'd you get it?
- From Buehler's room.
You're going to get
your head bashed in.
- Well, I only borrowed it.
- But suppose she finds out.
- Why should she?
- Well, she can smell,
can't she?
Oh, we'll only use a few drops.
Sure. Her musk will be better
on us than that scarecrow.
Oh, give me some. I smell
like sewing machine oil.
Even her best friend wouldn't tell.
I'm not going to stand around
smelling the back of your rear.
Hey, hey, here come the boys.
Men.
I can die happy.
All right, girls,
it's time to come downstairs.
The perfume!
Do you like my dress,
Mrs. Beuhler?
Gee. We're all looking
forward to the party.
Who brought that bottle up here?
Now, Dolores, you are going to
tell me who stole that perfume.
- We all used it.
- I know.
But who came to
my room and stole it?
Take your hands off me!
I don't belong here.
I haven't done anything
wrong like the other girls.
I'm going away on a train and wherever
I go, I'll tell people about you,
how you hurt girls
when you have no right...
Don't cut my hair!
Don't cut my hair!
Don't cut my hair!
A liar can infect the whole group.
All right. Girls...
Let's all go downstairs
and have a good time.
Now, hurry up.
#
Hello, girls.
How about some decorations?
You look lovely Anne,
and Mary, what a pretty dress.
Hello, Dr. Jason.
Oh, look at the monkey
acting so grand up there.
Why don't you come down and join us,
so you can throw stuff too...
No.
Look over there.
Just waiting for someone
to make a false step.
Preferably us.
Hello. Hello.
Okay kids, the next dance is
a lady's choice, soft and slow.
#
Would you like
to dance, Dr. Jason?
Sure. Delighted.
Is your hair different
or something?
You seem quite changed tonight.
I'm so used to seeing you
in business suits and things.
Do you know what I thought
the day I met you?
I thought there, if she chose,
would be a lovely woman.
Why did you go to such lengths
to conceal all this...
...this charm?
Please, don't tease me,
Dr. Jason. I...
I'm so unused to compliments,
I'm afraid I'd take them seriously.
I mean them seriously.
Lady's choice, doctor.
Sorry, Ms. Levering.
- It's all right.
- Oh, Ms. Levering?
Punchbowl is empty again.
I've been putting water
until you could wash in it.
- I'll get some more.
- I'll go with you.
There's no one left to dance
with but the g*ons anyway.
I want to talk to you.
Hey, I said I want to talk to you.
Sure, go ahead.
Not here. Not with
everybody watching.
Something important?
Could you come outside with me?
- Well...
- Just for a few minutes.
It's about the baby.
Well, in that case, all right.
- Nice out here.
- Hmmm.
There was something about the baby?
I've decided to keep him,
if you want me to.
Oh, that makes me
very happy, Loretta.
From now on, I want to do
whatever you want me to do.
That's the way I feel about you.
It's funny...
I never wanted to make plans,
get married.
When you said I'd make
a wonderful wife and mother,
nobody ever thought
that way about me before.
It felt all funny.
Well, you didn't need
to say that the way I feel.
But since you did,
I just want to be the kind of
girl you want for a wife.
Loretta...
You didn't understand what I meant.
I know what you said.
Come here.
I'll tell you a big secret,
Loretta.
Now sit down.
You're the loveliest girl
I've ever seen in my life.
You're something that
many men dream about
and never expect to really meet.
Maybe I too let myself
go on dreaming for a while.
I wouldn't be the right
husband for you at all.
You don't want to
hurt her, is that it?
Well, neither do I, honest.
I used to want to hurt her when I
was jealous of her, but I don't anymore.
- No...
- I'm not as bright
as she is but...
I can try to learn
if that's what you want.
There is nothing
wrong with you. It's me.
I'm quite a bit older
than you, you know.
If you insist, I'll confess
to just how many years.
And besides, I'm the only man
you've seen around here.
You'll feel quite different
when you have been out awhile.
Is it because
I kicked around so much?
No, of course not.
You're not the girl that came
here a few months ago.
You've changed and I'm proud
of the way you've changed.
You're wrong about me!
I haven't changed, not one bit!
I don't want that bv
I don't want to be anybody's
wife and mother.
I just want to go to back
to what I was before!
You can't go back to the girl
you were before, Loretta.
No one ever goes back.
You don't know what goes on
inside me or anybody else.
Just a tramp!
That's what I'm going to be
when I get out of her!
And I hope to God it's quick!
You boys get out of here. Line
up in the hall ready to go back.
Dr. Jason, Ms. Levering
you're under suspension.
Ms. Beuhler, will you take
over the college please?
All right, girls, line up.
Turn off that phonograph, boys.
All privileges canceled
until the girls calm down.
Many of the girls
are still disturbed,
give them a day
or two in meditation.
I'm sick of the
disorganization around here!
Insubordinate staff,
terrible girls.
You see what they're coming to?
Where was I wrong?
What could I have done differently?
The 180 human lives...
What happens to them now?
There's some hot coffee in the
mess hall, would you like some?
The girls in the kitchen
detail saw you and...
They knew you were in trouble.
You're not blaming yourself,
are you?
There is nobody else to blame.
Yesterday, when I saw Dolores, I told
myself she was saved, she was adjusted.
What she did last night was insane.
Cut off her own hair
and then k*lled herself.
Then it was inevitable. Nobody
could have done any more for her.
Nothing is inevitable. I was just an
optimistic, blundering fool, that's all.
Did you see Riggs?
What are you going to do?
Whatever you do.
There's nothing so useless as an
unemployed social worker, is there?
I'm sorry I cost you your job.
Working with you has been
worth a dozen jobs.
Would you mind very much being
the wife of an unemployed psychiatrist?
Under the circumstances,
I'd be very proud.
Dr. Jason!
Ms. Levering!
Jane!
- Have they found Jackie yet?
- Aren't they with you?
No. I tried to catch
the truck, it went too fast.
- I've been hiding.
- She's half frozen.
Let's take her in and get
her some hot coffee.
Yes. Here, put this on.
Jane, you were with Dolores last
night before the dance, weren't you?
We were all together.
Were you with her
when she cut off her hair?
- She didn't cut her hair.
- What?
Ms. Beuhler cut it. Dolores
wouldn't tell who stole the perfume.
Beuhler cut it!
Jane, don't worry about Jackie.
Don't you worry about anything.
And furthermore,
until recently the school
had the highest percentage of
returnees in the east, why?
Because the girls were
taught only menial jobs.
Their self-respect was destroyed.
Some became so institutionalized
they'll never adjust
to a free environment.
Every device was used to,
to rob the girls of their individuality,
to humiliate them.
And if they rebelled, they
were bullied into submission.
Gentlemen, these are
pretty hysterical accusations.
You want proof, something specific?
Our girl k*lled herself last night because
this matron viciously cut off her hair.
Unfortunately, the girl
is not here herself
to tell us what happened
or how she felt, gentlemen.
I'm afraid this is inconclusive.
Inconclusive?
Mr. Chairman,
may I call witnesses?
Here are their names.
In June of this year, eight of our
girls were punished with a fire hose.
Let them tell you about it.
I was with Dr. Jason
the night of the fire.
We both saw the fire hose
being used to punish the girls.
For several years,
Ms. Levering was one of our best workers
but since Dr. Jason came,
I don't like to bring personal
matters into this investigation,
but I'm afraid her testimony is
going to be colored by her emotions,
not to say her
relationship with this man.
- Gentlemen...
- I'm going to marry him,
is that what you mean?
You see, I think we must disregard
her whole testimony, gentlemen.
Come, Jane.
Sit down.
Will you please tell these gentlemen
exactly what happened after the fire?
Well...
We slept in the living room.
No, Jane. I mean,
what happened down in the cellar?
- Nothing.
- But Jane...
Nobody went down in the cellar.
Nothing happened.
Tell us, Jane,
what you told me about Dolores,
about Ms. Beuhler cutting off her hair.
Ms. Beuhler didn't
cut Dolores' hair.
Jane, you don't need
to be frightened.
I won't let anybody hurt you.
- Just tell us what happened.
- I've told you!
- Can I go please?
- Yes, thank you.
Gentlemen, this girl
has been intimidated.
She's afraid to talk.
You were in the reception cottage
the night of the fire, what happened?
Gloria, these gentlemen
want to know the truth.
They want to help you.
You don't have to be afraid
if you tell the truth.
No, nothing happened.
But, Gloria!
Did Ms. Beuhler ever use a
fire hose to punish any of you?
- No.
- No, never.
One moment please.
Hey, look.
Boy, you think they'd have the
nerve to stand up to that guy.
What a bunch of weak sisters.
Beuhler must have given
them the old one-two.
Oh, wouldn't I open my
mouth if I was there.
- But we're not there.
- Right.
- And we can't go back.
- Right.
I mean, it would be
crazy to go back.
Yeah, and serve
the time all over again?
Who said anything about
going back? Are you crazy?
- Of course not. I didn't say any...
- Ssh!
Do you think the cops
have found the truck yet?
We better make it snappy.
I wish we didn't have to stop here.
How else are we ever
going to get the dough?
You want to walk to Chicago?
You go in there and
give the nurse a pitch.
I'll stay here and
keep an eye out. Go on.
- Yes?
- I'm Loretta Wilson.
- You have some adoption
papers for me to sign.
- Oh, yes come in.
My friend and I have
been looking for a job...
We were wondering
if the home could help us out
with a little dough,
just until we get located.
Hmm? Oh, you sit there.
I'll be right back.
The parent's adoption papers
are in the nursery file.
When I was here before,
they used to give the girls
a few bucks just to
tie them over until...
Hey, I didn't want to see him.
Well, he won't bite you.
We call him Butchie.
The nurse girl has been trying
to give him a finger wave.
Here, hold him
while I find the papers.
Here, Butchie.
Please, you take him.
I don't want him.
As I remember,
the couple who want him
haven't any children of their
own and are very eager.
He's a contractor, I think,
and both Presbyterians,
and they own their home,
although there are wo mortgages on it.
Gosh, I guess it isn't here,
must be in the more current file.
I'll be back.
You, what a pest
you turned out to be.
You better sit over there, brother.
For Pete's sake, don't cry.
You messed up my life,
you get me in trouble with the cops.
Right down that hall, you gave
me the worst 24 hours I ever had.
Now, you expect me to hold you
on my lap and pretend like l like you?
Well, I don't.
And I only don't like you,
I hate the sight of you.
I hate kids, always have.
Where has that dame gone anyway?
Hey, don't go fall on the floor!
Cut it out, cut it out.
What a pair of lungs you've got.
Just imagine having that
around all the time.
Just imagine.
Another thing, you tell that little mother
out there to quit curling your hair.
You're going to be a great big kid.
You don't want anybody
making a sissy out of you.
Well, do you like me?
Huh?
It doesn't matter whether
you like me or not.
Are you going to like that
contactor with the two mortgages?
They're going to like you,
the way you are...
Or they're going to dress you up all
fancy and make a sissy out of you.
Gosh, Almighty, you feel so good.
You can't to go back to the
girl you were before, Loretta.
No one ever goes back.
Hello, Butchie.
Hello, Butchie.
Dr. Jason,
I'm afraid we're all agreed
that your charges against Mr. Riggs
have been without substantiation.
On the contrary, the evidence
indicates that your whole...
- Let go of me!
- I caught the runaways,
Mr. Riggs.
He caught nothing. We were
walking in on our own two feet.
Gentlemen, the findings are all in.
- I don't think these girls
can add anything.
- Oh, can't we...
These two are the worst
trouble makers in the outfit!
They did return
on their own freewill.
I think we ought to hear
what they have to say.
In the first place, Beuhler
did use a fire hose on us!
If you bring my so-called friend
Jane in, she'll tell you the same thing.
She darn near drowned.
All the kids got pleurisy, you
can look it up in the nurse's record.
Hello.
- This is Dr. Jason.
- Yes, sir?
Send the girls from reception
wing to Mr. Riggs' office immediately.
Yes, Dr. Jason.
You have a long sentence
now for running away.
You know that, don't you?
Now, you know how
I feel about girls who lie.
I don't want you to tell any rash
lies about Ms. Beuhler and me.
We do the interrogating,
Mr. Riggs.
What is your feeling
about Dr. Jason?
We came back to get him
out of a spot, didn't we?
A guy who makes you feel
like people again,
you don't want to
see him pushed around.
We're going to ask you the same
things we asked you yesterday.
And we want you to
answer carefully, Jane.
Were you punished after the fire?
Go on. Tell him.
- Yes.
- How Jane?
- With a fire hose.
- Oh, come now.
And Dolores, Jane?
Ms. Beuhler was
trying to scare her.
She took those old
sewing shears with her.
- Why didn't you
say so yesterday?
- I was afraid to.
Why, Jane?
Ms. Beuhler told me not to.
Just told you, is that all she did?
No. Not all.
I demand the arrest and punishment of
the man and woman responsible for this!
Well, the deport train
is choo-ing again.
That means a new batch of problems.
Most of our old girls are
ready now for the outside.
Loretta, Jane.
Jackie still needs a little more time
here but she's making real progress.
Goodbye.
See you when you get paroled.
No. I don't want to see
your ugly puss again.
I'm going to
get a job in California.
The home found a nursery where
Butchie can stay while I work.
Gee, imagine me a working mother.
Come.
Goodbye, goodbye!
Bye.
Bye.
Coming in, Mrs. Jason?
So Young So Bad (1950)
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The older Classic's that just won't die. Everything from before 1960's.
The older Classic's that just won't die. Everything from before 1960's.