I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Framed for the murder of a record company president in 1952 Hollywood, young, aspiring singer Aggie O'Hanlon (Missy Crider) is sentenced to life in prison and tries to adjust to her life behind bars in a hellish women's prison where she is befriended by other "lifer" inmates who help her out when Aggie finds herself marked for murder by an unknown source who thinks she knows more about the murder than she does.From director John McNaughton, best known for "Henry Portrait of Serial Killer" and "Wild Things", and with one of his regular actors, Tom Towles. This seems far beneath McNaughton, but then, the series seemed far beneath everyone who was involved (Joe Dante, John Milius, Robert Rodriguez).This was part of the "Rebel Highway" series that was supposed to be edgy updates of 1950s B-films. Most ended up being cheesy and campy rather than edgy, and this is no exception. Of course, much of this is the low budget (not much over one million) and McNaughton was lucky he happened to convince Sam Fuller to write the script -- Fuller was a genre writer whose work dated back to the 1930s. And there is a brief shower scene that would not have slid in the 50s... but the language is surprisingly clean for a prison.Ione Skye has a decent sized part, and Anne Heche has a small but important role. For those looking for some star power, their interaction might be the highlight of the film. (Oddly, despite her impressive list of credits, Missy Crider does not seem to be considered a star.)

Sweet young songtress Aggie (an appealing portrayal by the adorable Missy Crider) gets sent to a harsh women's prison after being found guilty of a murder she didn't commit. Will Aggie be able to prove her innocence and avoid being killed by a hit girl while serving time in the joint? Director John McNaughton, working from a blithely silly script by Samuel Fuller and Christa Long, relates the entertainingly ridiculous story at a zippy pace, maintains an engaging tongue-in-cheek campy tone throughout, and offers an affectionately broad evocation of the 50's Red Scare era. Moreover, it's acted with zest by an enthusiastic cast: Bahni Turpin as the friendly Melba, Ione Skye as sensitive writer Carol, Miguel Sandoval as shrewd tough cop Lucky, Tom Towles as slimy corrupt guard Norman Stoneface, Jon Polito as irascible music executive Boss Johnson, and Raymond O'Connor as smarmy disc jockey Mickey Maven. However, it's Anne Heche who easily steals the whole show with her deliciously wicked portrayal of ruthless bitch Jennifer (and, yes, Anne does indeed bare her nice breasts in a shower scene). Jean de Segonzac's snazzy cinematography gives the picture a cool stylized look. Hummie Mann's robust score hits the stirring melodramatic spot. A kitschy blast.

A film doesn't have to be good to be entertaining and GIRLS IN PRISON is a case in point . The intelligence of the script starts and ends with a discussion of The Korean War " It's supposed to be a police action " " Yeah ? Then why the hell didn't they send cops " Which is dialogue that will be forever synonymous with Samuel Fuller who used the line in another film set around The Korean War . But after this exchange strange things start happening where we're shown live footage for the battlefront , something that didn't happen till 'Nam . The McCarthy witch hunts are alluded to but somehow feel overblown and false while someone refers to an ashtray that was given to him by " The King " . What in 1952 ? Maybe he meant the King of England ?I won't go into too much detail but in a contrived series of events a teenage girl called Aggie O'Hanlon finds herself serving a life sentence for a crime she didn't commit , and it's essential for anyone wanting to enjoy this TVM that they turn off their brain because there's plenty of things that don't make sense . For example a couple of inmates called Melba and Carol promise to protect Aggie . It's never revealed why they do this . Obviously being lesbian lovers it's very easy to jump to the conclusion that they want to involve the sweet and innocent Aggie in female love games but this isn't their motive at all because there is never any explanation for their motive , the audience just have to accept this without question . The audience have to accept a lot of things that defy credibility as the plot twists and turns but I have to confess I felt very involved in all this , yeah I know melodramatic and far fetched doesn't even begin to describe this movie but it is enjoyable thanks to the good looking cast ( Yes there is some T&A ) and some impressive pastal coloured cinematography from Jean De Segonzac

Don't let the appellation MADE FOR TV throw you off the scent. This movie was made for cable TV, and like any good 'girls in prison' movie, it has 2 really good shower scenes!Also, as it is set in the 1950's, Anne Heche gets to wear some clothes that would look right at home on Grace Kelly.