That was an excellent one.

Redundant and unnecessary.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

I was expecting some cheesy, low budget, morality infomercial, but this movie was very touching and did a great job of making me care about the main characters, especially Donna. I think Gloria Castillo was a good choice to play Donna. She came across as an all-American girl who found herself in bad situations that became overwhelming. Plus, she was very pretty and easy to look at. This role was similar to her part as Ruby in Night of the Hunter, where she was a lost, teenage orphan that needed to be loved. Anyway, Gloria Castillo's performance really sucked me into Donna's world and made me care about her.Was this film perfect? No, of course not. Some of the problems I had with it: 1) Why would Donna's uncle be afraid of some young punk - not very realistic? 2) I found the "code of silence" thing to be very frustrating. It was acceptable up to a point, but when you are facing possible death, self-preservation would kick-in and make you say or do anything to stay alive. I couldn't believe that Donna or her friend didn't "squeal" after having a baseball bat thrown at them by Jethrine (Sally Kellerman - boy, did she look AWFUL!). Again, not very realistic. 3) The newspaper article that said Donna was the one who informed the authorities about the blond girl being involved with certain crimes is ridiculous! Think about it - a person tries to be a good citizen and reports a crime and then the newspapers tell the whole world you're an informant! I wasn't alive in 1957, but I seriously doubt this would happen. What would Joe Friday say about that!?!

I expected a really bad film. The cheesy photograph in the cover of the DVD package didn't announce any great findings. Obviously, the film is low-budget, but this time it didn't equal with terribly bad.I liked the script. The film had good rhythm, the characters were either extremely good or bad, the action was interesting, there were touches at the psychology of the girls... Many scenes take place at the reform school, but Donna's flat, the courtroom, the flat of Vince's girlfriend, there is even a very short scene at the workplace of the aunt's boyfriend... make it more varied for my taste. I also liked outdoors scenes: the run-over, Vince asking for directions when he's after Jack... I liked them because I don't usually appreciate films which look like theatre plays and all the action happens in just one location.It's an interesting and probably an underestimated film, which in fact I liked. I didn't know the director, the script-writer, the main actress (Gloria del Castillo, which sadly didn't have much success in Hollywood), but some other actresses would become well-known with time, Luana Anders and especially Sally Kellerman. Maybe they are not at their best here, because they were just beginning their careers, and they'd become much better but everybody has to begin somewhere, and this was a flick to be proud of.

Low-budget crud with a great, campy title and a marvelously-designed graphic poster, instantly calling up nostalgic memories for baby-boomers of the drive-in movie era. Sleazy, hilariously awful melodrama from A.I.P. stars Gloria Castillo as a harried young woman, pawed at by all men, who gets sent to a girls' home where she fights with the other teenagers. Edward Byrnes, 'Kookie' to his "77 Sunset Strip" fans, is odious as a windbreaker-wearing delinquent, although a very green Sally Kellerman (in her debut) isn't too bad as one of the inmates (watch out for those scissors!). Supporting players Jack Kruschen and Luana Anders look properly embarrassed. Remade (sort of) in 1994 for cable TV. *1/2 from ****

A little word in advance: since this producer sadly passed away in 2001, several of his film received a re-release on DVD under the group name `The Samuel Z. Arkoff Library'. Which is actually a good thing because otherwise, many of his productions would be lost and undiscovered forever. The largest part of his film is extremely low-budget horror (The Undead, The war of the colossal beast, Voodoo Women…) and at first sight, this Reform School Girl seems to be a misfit in that collection. Nonetheless, it's a film definitely worth checking out. Reform School Girl is a raw and intense social drama, which portrays the lesser attractive aspects of humanity. Some of the main topics of the film include betrayal, egocentrism, blackmail, abuse, jealousy and juvenile violence. It's about a young girl who's sent to a reform-institution after being involved in a car accident. The guy she was with threatened to kill her if she would tell his name to the police. Therefore, her lips are sealed and she brought to a closed institution. Yet, even there she has to face that the ‘code' doesn't allow her to speak freely. Disappointed by the whole world, Donna turns into an anti-social and hostile girl who has to rediscover her trust in mankind. Even though the film obviously suffers from a lack of budget and professionalism, it still manages to touch you and leave a huge impression behind. The script contains a few illogical elements (like the uncle who's scared to death because of a phone call by a youngster) but overall, it's fascinating and a much bigger triumph than most overbudgetted drama's that are only out to bring tears to eyes of the viewer by using cheap sentiment and morality lessons. The ‘message' in Reform School Girl is kept limited and the entire atmosphere is strictly dramatic. The acting is surprisingly good considering most cast members are young and inexperienced actresses. Certainly a film worth a look whenever you have the chance of seeing it. It was re-made for the TV-screen in 1994 by Jonathan Kaplan starring Matt ‘Friends' LeBlanc, among other familiar faces.