In THE COMPANY SHE KEEPS, Lizabeth Scott is cast as a tough but compassionate parole officer in charge of female parolees that are given a chance to prove themselves on the outside. One of her new parolees is a con played by Jane Greer. Greer's character has been in the slammer for nearly two years due to a forgery conviction. She's not a hard criminal, but she has a big chip on her shoulder and is unable to trust people.
The screenplay makes a point of telling us that parolees are technically still serving out the rest of their sentences. While they are released from prison during this period, they have no basic human rights until the sentence is completed. Greer still has three more years to go. However, this may be waived if she marries an upstanding man that the parole board deems suitable (and in essence would transfer the female parolee into the man's care).
But for now Greer rents a room at a boarding house. She has a job as a nursing assistant and must report in to Scott.
Some expected developments occur, as well as some unexpected ones. First, the expected stuff- our parolee has trouble readjusting to society. She experiences temptations that may lead her back into a life of crime, and she has to prove herself on a new job where she doesn't have much say. Also, she has a few ongoing issues with authority which is represented by her relationship with the parole officer.
Now for the unexpected stuff- here's where the melodrama comes in- Greer falls for a journalist (Dennis O'Keefe) who just so happens to be dating Scott. An unconventional love triangle to say the least! After a whirlwind courtship, O'Keefe wants to marry Greer, but he has to let Scott down gently. Creating additional drama is the fact that O'Keefe does not initially know Greer is a parolee and that she answers to Scott.
Scott has to set her personal feelings aside if she is going to do right by Greer and recommend the proposed marriage to the parole board. There is an interesting scene where Scott appears before the board and admits that a complicated romantic relationship has occurred. Meanwhile, Greer has wound up back in jail when she is suspected of participating in a theft where she is in fact innocent.
Scott's work is cut out for her, going to bat for Greer who may end up being wronged by the system. Fortunately for everyone's sake, it all does work out in the end. Greer's legal troubles are dismissed by a judge (John Hoyt) and she is finally free to marry O'Keefe. I did find it a bit contrived that O'Keefe would still be so willing to wed a jailbird, especially when he learns what all her past offenses were. But hey, the guy's smitten so he's going to overlook all that!
It's still a well-played and emotionally satisfying film. I should mention that THE COMPANY SHE KEEPS is directed by John Cromwell, who also helmed the women-in-prison flick CAGED, which was released a year earlier. CAGED seems to suggest some cons cannot be rehabilitated. But this film suggests the opposite, particularly where love is involved.
The screenplay makes a point of telling us that parolees are technically still serving out the rest of their sentences. While they are released from prison during this period, they have no basic human rights until the sentence is completed. Greer still has three more years to go. However, this may be waived if she marries an upstanding man that the parole board deems suitable (and in essence would transfer the female parolee into the man's care).
But for now Greer rents a room at a boarding house. She has a job as a nursing assistant and must report in to Scott.
Some expected developments occur, as well as some unexpected ones. First, the expected stuff- our parolee has trouble readjusting to society. She experiences temptations that may lead her back into a life of crime, and she has to prove herself on a new job where she doesn't have much say. Also, she has a few ongoing issues with authority which is represented by her relationship with the parole officer.
Now for the unexpected stuff- here's where the melodrama comes in- Greer falls for a journalist (Dennis O'Keefe) who just so happens to be dating Scott. An unconventional love triangle to say the least! After a whirlwind courtship, O'Keefe wants to marry Greer, but he has to let Scott down gently. Creating additional drama is the fact that O'Keefe does not initially know Greer is a parolee and that she answers to Scott.
Scott has to set her personal feelings aside if she is going to do right by Greer and recommend the proposed marriage to the parole board. There is an interesting scene where Scott appears before the board and admits that a complicated romantic relationship has occurred. Meanwhile, Greer has wound up back in jail when she is suspected of participating in a theft where she is in fact innocent.
Scott's work is cut out for her, going to bat for Greer who may end up being wronged by the system. Fortunately for everyone's sake, it all does work out in the end. Greer's legal troubles are dismissed by a judge (John Hoyt) and she is finally free to marry O'Keefe. I did find it a bit contrived that O'Keefe would still be so willing to wed a jailbird, especially when he learns what all her past offenses were. But hey, the guy's smitten so he's going to overlook all that!
It's still a well-played and emotionally satisfying film. I should mention that THE COMPANY SHE KEEPS is directed by John Cromwell, who also helmed the women-in-prison flick CAGED, which was released a year earlier. CAGED seems to suggest some cons cannot be rehabilitated. But this film suggests the opposite, particularly where love is involved.