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Ladies They Talk About

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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 58% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A district attorney feels a strong attraction for an imprisoned gun moll who rises to the top of the prison ladder.

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Ladies They Talk About

Critics Reviews

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Raquel Stecher Out of the Past 12/07/2023
thoroughly enjoyable despite a rather weak romantic storyline. Go to Full Review
Mattie Lucas From the Front Row 01/06/2022
3/4
An early entry in the "women in prison" subgenre, this delightful pre-code crime picture makes the most out of Stanwyck's "bad girl" persona. Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 06/11/2007
C-
This film's only claim to fame was that it established the WIP genre film. Go to Full Review
Michael W. Phillips, Jr. Goatdog's Movies 09/11/2004
3/5
[Stanwyck is] absolutely stunning, and even if the rest of the film wasn't any good (although it was), she really made it worth watching. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Steve D 05/07/2023 Not sure it would be worth it without Stanwyck, but it does have Stanwyck. See more 09/04/2017 Ugh don't waist your time. See more 02/05/2017 If you're not a Barbara Stanwyck fan, you should skip this movie. It's a pretty silly story, the scenes in prison are far too comfortable, and there are a couple of cringe-inducing, racist scenes showing African-Americans frightened as if they were stupid children. If you are a Barbara Stanwyck fan, however, you will probably like this movie at least enough to watch it, and perhaps as a guilty pleasure. She simply has an amazing screen presence, and it's fascinating to see her in the role of a streetwise criminal. She has scenes ranging from 'tough girl' to one hopeful for love and a second chance, and she goes all out in her anger in one scene towards the end, with spittle flying and really letting loose. Much is made of the lesbian reference in the prison ("she likes to wrestle", indicating a butch looking woman smoking a cigar), but it's a passing thing and made me smile, as did the old madam reminiscing about the men coming to her "beauty parlor" for "manicures". It's all pretty tame for a pre-Code film. Of her fellow actors, DeWitt Jennings stands out in the role of the detective who consistently sees through Stanwyck, but she's the one to watch the film for. See more 06/23/2014 Barbara Stanwyck is a smart, tough dame...in prison! And the (female) prisoners are much more interesting/attractive than the (Christian) revivalists (who of course are prisoners outside of prison). See more 04/19/2013 Barbara Stanwyck is a woman sent to the big house for her part in a bank robbery. Once behind bars, all sorts of prison flim clichés occur, although by likely were not clichés when this pre-code female prison film was released. I'm always fascinated by pre-code Hollywood films and to see how much studios were able to get away with before the Hayes code went into place. Stanwyck is great in the lead, although the story is awfully silly and not nearly as hard hitting as it seems to think it is. See more 04/15/2013 Until its final moments, I was liking a lot of this prototypical WIP (Women in Prison) slash-gangster picture. Early Barbara Stanwyck performances can be a bit stiff, like her gun-moll is here, but always display a natural charm. The Hollywood ending undercuts this film being anything particularly memorable, however -- wouldn't have pulled that sort of thing on Cagney... probably not Bette Davis, either. See more Read all reviews
Ladies They Talk About

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Movie Info

Synopsis A district attorney feels a strong attraction for an imprisoned gun moll who rises to the top of the prison ladder.
Director
William Keighley, Howard Bretherton
Screenwriter
Brown Holmes, Billy McGrath, Sidney Sutherland
Production Co
Warner Bros.
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 4, 1933, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 6, 2017
Runtime
1h 9m
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