| Reform School | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Leo C. Popkin |
| Written by | Joseph O'Donnell Hazel Barnes Jamieson |
| Screenplay by | Zella Young |
| Produced by | Harry M. Popkin |
| Starring | Louise Beavers Reginald Fenderson Monte Hawley |
| Cinematography | William Hyer |
| Edited by | Bart Rauw |
| Music by | Lou Frohman |
| Distributed by | Million Dollar Productions, Inc. |
Release date | April 27, 1939 |
Running time | 82 mins |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Reform School is a 1939 Million Dollar Productions American film produced by Harry M. Popkin, directed by Leo C. Popkin, written by Joseph O'Donnell and Hazel Jamieson and starring Louise Beavers.[1][2][3][4]
In 1944, the film was rereleased as Prison Bait.
Beavers plays Mother Barton, a probation officer[5] of a large city who believes in a plan for an "honor system" at a reform school. When the previous superintendent of the school is ousted, she becomes superintendent and must address a brutal guard, the previous superintendent's henchmen and students at the school.[4]
The film marked the debut of the Harlem Tuff Kids, a group that included Eugene Jackson, DeForrest Covan, Eddie Lynn and Bob Simmons.[6] The group also appeared in the 1942 film Take My Life.
In 2022, a print restored by the Academy Film Archive premiered on the Turner Classic Movies television channel.
Cast
- Louise Beavers as Mother Barton
- Reginald Fenderson as Freddie Gordon
- Monte Hawley as head guard Jackson
- Maceo Sheffield as Superintendent Stone
- Robert Webb
- Paul White (actor)
- Harlem Tuff Kids[1]
References
- 1 2 Dodson, Nell (6 May 1939). "Million Dollar Pictures Scores Dramatic Hit With "Reform School"". Afro-American. p. 11. ProQuest 531249052. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ↑ Grant, Barry Keith (December 1, 2012). Film Genre Reader IV. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292745742 – via Google Books.
- ↑ ""Reform School" Brings Out Great Beavers' Talent". Atlanta Daily World. 17 Apr 1939. p. 2. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- 1 2 "Reform School at Apollo: Louise Beavers to Appear With Gripping "Dead End" Drama". New York Amsterdam News. 17 June 1939. p. 17. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ↑ Gates (Jr.), Henry Louis; Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks (November 25, 2009). Harlem Renaissance Lives from the African American National Biography. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195387957 – via Google Books.
- ↑ Harry, Levette (17 Apr 1939). "Louise Beavers "Tops" In "Reform School" Feature: Interpretation Is Best In Her Career". Atlanta Daily World. p. 2. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
External links
- Reform School at IMDb
- Reform School at the TCM Movie Database
- Reform School at AllMovie
- Reform School at the American Film Institute Catalog