Convicted Woman is a 1940 drama starring Rochelle Hudson, Freda Inescort, Glenn Ford, June Lang, and Lorna Gray, released by Columbia Pictures.
Unemployed Betty Andrews (Hudson) is falsely accused of shoplifting from a department store. She is aided in court by attorney and social worker Mary Ellis (Inescort) and journalist Jim Bent (Ford), but despite their efforts she is convicted and sentenced to one year in a women's prison, the Curtiss House of Correction. Once there, Betty soon discovers Chief Matron Brackett (Esther Dale) runs the facility with an iron fist, with inmates Georgia Mason "The Duchess" (Lang), Frankie Mason (Gray) and Nita Lavore acting as her lackeys in exchange for power and privlidges, demanding things like a bribe for clothes that fit.
After another woman commits suicide and is covered up, Betty sells the story to Jim and uses the money to bribe Frankie to help her escape, but Frankie betrays Betty and gets her sent to solitary. Meanwhile, Jim's story of the conditions and corruption creates a scandal that sees Brackett dismissed and replaced by Mary Ellis, who makes a number of reforms. But The Duchess and her cronies, angered at losing the power they enjoyed under Brackett, set out to sabotage Ellis' plans and punish Betty.
This film has examples of the following tropes:
- Alone-with-Prisoner Ploy: Jim visits Betty by posing as her lawyer with documents for her to sign to reopen her case. He has her write down everything about Gracie's suicide and the conditions inside, which allows him to reveal the corruption and cause a scandal.
- Alpha Bitch: Georgia "The Duchess" Mason.
- Ambiguously Related: Frankie and Georgia "The Duchess" both have the last name Mason, but it's never explained if they're related or just share a common name.
- Benevolent Dictator: Mary Ellis, due to the authoritarian nature of a warden. She makes wide-sweeping reforms, such as abolishing solitary and the laundry facilities, renovates the cafeteria and has high quality food served, institutes occupational training programs and establishes a furlough program. She even asks the matrons to wear their own clothes instead of the austere uniforms.
- Big Damn Heroes: After Jim is tipped off about Betty's kidnapping, he finds the gangsters' hideout and rolls their car into a tree as a distraction, then breaks the window to rescue Betty and drive her back to the prison before the furlough deadline.
- Bribing Your Way to Victory: The Duchess and her cronies run on this, demanding Betty pay them $4 for shoes that fit when she arrives. Betty does pay Frankie to help her escape, but is betrayed.
- Clear Their Name: Betty is innocent of the theft, but Mary is unable to prove it in court.
- The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much: Gracie Dunn hangs herself in the laundry room, but is officially ruled death by pneumonia. When Betty complains about this, Brackett warns her pneumonia can be contagious.
- Crusading Lawyer: Mary Ellis, who is also a social worker. She represent Betty pro bono and is later appointed the supervisor of the prison.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Theft of only $10 and change is enough to send Betty to prison for one year, from a maximum sentence of three years.
- Doomed Fellow Prisoner: Gracie Dunn. Betty covers for her operating a laundry machine so she can lie down, but when she doesn't come back at the end of the shift, Betty finds she hanged herself in the back room.
- Driven to Suicide: One inmate, Gracie Dunn, hangs herself after too many grueling laundry room shifts.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Betty is pardoned after returning from the furlough and free to marry Jim.
- Exact Words: While on a furlough for Thanksgiving, The Duchess arranges for Betty to be kidnapped in order to miss the bus back to Curtiss House. Jim rescues her and brings her back just in time. Betty reports that she missed the bus and Jim helped her, not wanting to risk The Duchess' wrath.
- Girls Behind Bars: Played realistically rather than for sex appeal.
- Great Escape: Betty pays Frankie $50 to help her escape by smuggling her on a truck transporting old mattresses, but Frankie double-crosses her, which gets her sent to solitary confinement.
- Intrepid Reporter: Jim Bent, who aides Betty in court and infiltrates the prison posing as her lawyer to get inside details on the prison conditions and breaks the story of the corruption.
- Miscarriage of Justice: Betty Andrews is wrongly convicted of theft and gets sent to a women's reformatory for a year.
- Prison Riot: One breaks out in the cafeteria over bad food. The matrons respond by throwing tear gas canisters in the cafeteria and locking the doors until the inmates give up. Betty is falsely accused with starting it and gets punished.
- Ultimate Job Security: When Mary becomes Chief Matron, she notes the civil service protects the matrons and guards, meaning she can't fire them all on the spot.
- Wardens Are Evil: Chief Matron Brackett, who doesn't care about and actively covers up the awful conditions, uses harsh punishments and lets inmates like Georgia Mason abuse others in exchange for bribes and favours. Mary Ellis puts a stop to all this when she replaces Brackett.
