Problem Girls

Last updated
Problem Girls
Problem Girls.jpg
Directed by E. A. Dupont
Written by Jack Pollexfen
Aubrey Wisberg
Produced byJack Pollexfen
Aubrey Wisberg
Starring Helen Walker
Ross Elliott
Susan Morrow
Cinematography John L. Russell
Edited by Fred R. Feitshans Jr.
Music by Albert Glasser
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • April 7, 1953 (1953-04-07)
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Problem Girls is a 1953 American mystery film directed by E. A. Dupont and starring Helen Walker, Ross Elliott and Susan Morrow. [1] The film is set in a private school for girls.

Contents

Plot

Psychiatrist John Page seeks a quieter life in Los Angeles, and he applies for a teaching position at the Manning School for Girls. Dr. Manning, the founder of the school, has a drinking problem, and the school is managed by his associate, the domineering Miss Dixon. She warns John that the school is a haven for wealthy young women with behavioral problems.

At dinner that evening, one of the professors reveals that all the staff at the Manning School are unemployable. A few days later, Miss Dixon abruptly demands that John tend to Thorpe's wife Jean. John protests that he is not licensed to practice medicine. Because Dr. Manning is in an alcoholic stupor, John tentatively agrees to examine Jean, who apparently has attempted suicide.

Miss Dixon orders Thorpe not to allow John to visit Jean alone, but the next day, John sees Jean, and he is startled when she weakly discloses she is not married to Thorpe and has no clear memory of the suicide attempt. Miss Dixon catches John with Jean and declares that Manning will assume responsibility for Jean.

Later, John overhears a representative of the trustees of Jean Patterson's estate trying to arrange a meeting with Jean without success. Afterward, John sees Manning alone and expresses his concern about Jean, convinced that she is under a mysterious mental strain. He recommends the use of sodium pentathol to assist Jean in recovering her memory, but Miss Dixon returns and discharges John for his audacity. When he protests, she threatens to reveal that he treated Jean without a license.

Determined to help Jean, John sneaks back into her room and asks her if she will allow him to give her the injection of sodium pentathol. She agrees, and after the injection, discloses that she is not married to Thorpe and that she is not Jean Patterson. Miss Dixon and Thorpe break into the room before Jean can continue, and John is escorted off the school grounds.

The doctor tries to meet with the Patterson trustee, Mr. March, but finds he is unreachable. John then looks up the Patterson obituary and learns that Patterson was a wealthy oil magnate who died abruptly, leaving all his money to his only child, a daughter Jean. In newspaper articles, John read that the daughter is scheduled to inherit the money upon turning 21, and that after a mysterious fire at the Patterson country estate, an amnesia victim was identified as Jean by her husband, Max Thorpe.

John seeks more information at the hospital, and after he says he is a friend of Jean, they give him her personal effects. Among them, John discovers a photo of Jean and tracks down the photography studio, where he is startled to see a large portrait of Jean. The photographer identifies Jean as Babette Nelson, a top model who disappeared after she was involved in a car accident that killed her mother and best friend.

John contacts Richards and reveals his belief that Miss Dixon and Thorpe are attempting to get the Patterson estate and were using him as a witness for Jean's faked suicide after the inheritance came through. Richards helps John get back on campus, and John then asks one of the students to identify her, but she does not recognize the woman in Jean's room. John and Richards then question the superstitious Bella, who reveals that Thorpe beat the real Jean, who later died in surgery performed by Manning. John arranges a diversion among the students in order to smuggle Jean into the basement, and they overhear Miss Dixon’s and Thorpe’s discussing a plan to dig and relocate Jean's body.

In an attempt to escape, John and Jean struggle with Miss Dixon and Thorpe, and Miss Dixon produces a gun, which accidentally goes off, killing Thorpe. Later, the Manning School is renamed for Jean Patterson, and John and Babette decide to stay together at the school.

Cast

Critical reception

Writing in AllMovie, critic Hal Erickson described the film as a "potboiler" that is "essentially an excuse to parade a group of buxom young starlets across the screen." [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Seberg</span> American actress (1938–1979)

Jean Dorothy Seberg was an American actress. She is considered an icon of the French New Wave as a result of her performance in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film Breathless.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeane Dixon</span> American astrologer and psychic

Jeane Dixon was one of the best-known American psychics and astrologers of the 20th century, owing to her prediction of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, her syndicated newspaper astrology column, some well-publicized predictions, and a best-selling biography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rona Anderson</span> British actress (1926–2013)

Rona Anderson was a Scottish stage, film, and television actress. She appeared in TV series and on the stage and films throughout the 1950s. She appeared in the films Scrooge and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and on TV in Dr Finlay's Casebook and Dixon of Dock Green.

<i>Why Didnt They Ask Evans?</i> 1934 detective novel by Agatha Christie

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in September 1934 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1935 under the title of The Boomerang Clue. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00.

The Tattooed Man is the name of three characters appearing in media published by DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of Green Lantern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Slater</span> UK soap opera character, created 2004

Jean Slater is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Gillian Wright. Her first appearance is in the episode first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 16 December 2004. Having only been introduced for one episode, Wright was reintroduced for four more episodes the following year and became more of a regular character in the following two years. The character is introduced as the mother of Stacey Slater who suffers with bipolar disorder. Her disorder strains her relationship with her children, Stacey and Sean Slater. Wright researched the disorder to prepare for the role. In April 2010, it was announced that Jean would be written out of the series, however, Wright was awarded a reprieve in late 2010. Jean departed on 13 January 2011 and returned on 29 March 2011. Wright announced her intentions to leave the series in July 2013, and Jean departed on 17 September 2013. Following her departure, Wright reprised the role for 15 episodes between 2014 and 2017. In December 2017, it was announced that Jean would be reintroduced as a regular character, along with Kat Slater and Mo Harris. She returned on 20 March 2018. On 11 December 2023, Wright appeared in her 1,000th episode as Jean.

<i>The Hound of Death</i> Short story collection by Agatha Christie (1933)

The Hound of Death and Other Stories is a collection of twelve short stories by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom in October 1933. Unusually, the collection was not published by Christie's regular publishers, William Collins & Sons, but by Odhams Press, and was not available to purchase in shops.

<i>The 39 Steps</i> (1959 film) 1959 British thriller by Ralph Thomas

The 39 Steps is a 1959 British thriller film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Kenneth More and Taina Elg. Produced by Betty Box, it is a remake of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film, loosely based on the 1915 novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan.

<i>The Golden Ball and Other Stories</i> 1971 short story collection written by Agatha Christie

The Golden Ball and Other Stories is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1971 in an edition priced at $5.95. It contains fifteen short stories, all of which were originally published from 1925 through 1934. The stories were taken from The Listerdale Mystery, The Hound of Death and Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories.

<i>Les Girls</i> 1957 film directed by George Cukor

Les Girls is a 1957 American CinemaScope musical comedy film directed by George Cukor and produced by Sol C. Siegel, with Saul Chaplin as associate producer. The screenplay by John Patrick was based on a story by Vera Caspary. The music and lyrics were by Cole Porter.

"The Lorelais' First Day At Chilton" is the second episode of the first season of the American comedy-drama series Gilmore Girls. It originally aired on the WB in the United States on October 12, 2000. The episode was written by series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and directed by Arlene Sanford.

<i>The Embezzler</i> (1914 film) 1914 film by Allan Dwan

The Embezzler is a 1914 American silent short drama film directed by Allan Dwan and featuring Lon Chaney, Pauline Bush and Murdock MacQuarrie. The film is now considered lost. A still exists showing Chaney in the J. Roger Dixon role.

<i>Good-Time Girl</i> 1948 British film

Good-Time Girl is a 1948 British film noir-crime drama film directed by David MacDonald and starring Jean Kent, Dennis Price and Herbert Lom. A homeless girl is asked to explain her bad behaviour in the juvenile court, and says she’s run away from home because she’s unhappy there. They explain in detail what happened to the last girl who thought she could cope on her own, and this becomes the main plot.

<i>Decoy</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by Jack Bernhard

Decoy is a 1946 American film noir starring Jean Gillie, Edward Norris, Robert Armstrong, Herbert Rudley, and Sheldon Leonard. Directed by Jack Bernhard, it was produced by him and Bernard Brandt as a Jack Bernhard Production, with a screenplay by Nedrick Young based on an original story by Stanley Rubin.

<i>So Young, So Bad</i> 1950 American film by Bernard Vorhaus

So Young, So Bad is a 1950 American drama film. It stars Paul Henreid, and was directed by Bernard Vorhaus.

<i>Satans School for Girls</i> (1973 film) 1973 American TV series or program

Satan's School for Girls is a 1973 American made-for-television horror film directed by David Lowell Rich, and produced by Aaron Spelling. The film has been named as one of the most memorable television movies of the 1970s.

The Dundee school shootings was a 1967 incident at St John's Roman Catholic High School in Dundee, Scotland.

<i>The Snorkel</i> 1958 British film by Guy Green

The Snorkel is a 1958 British thriller film directed by Guy Green and stars Peter van Eyck, Betta St. John and Mandy Miller. It was a Hammer Films production, and the last film role for Miller.

<i>The Falcon and the Co-eds</i> 1943 film by William Clemens

The Falcon and the Co-eds is a 1943 film under the direction of William Clemens, and produced by Maurice Geraghty, the same team that had worked on The Falcon in Danger (1943) and would stay together for the next film in the Falcon series. The Falcon and the Co-eds was the seventh of 16 in the Falcon series. The story and screenplay was by Ardel Wray, a frequent collaborator with Val Lewton in his RKO horror series, who added supernatural elements to the proceedings.

References

  1. Del Vecchio p.32
  2. Erickson, Hal. "Problem Girls (1953)". AllMovie. Netaktion, LLC. Retrieved 2023-11-07.

Bibliography