A petty thief is put on trial for the attempted murder of a lawyer. Through a series of flashbacks, the intertwining lives of the thief, the lawyer, and the thief's defense lawyer are illustrated.
On a Christmas Eve, a lifeless body of teenage boy is found. The victim's revenge-driven twin brother checks himself into a juvie to hunt down the suspects.
Thymian Henning, an innocent young girl, is raped by the clerk of her father's pharmacy. She becomes pregnant, is rejected by her family, and must fend for herself in a harsh, cruel world.
William Franklin is a teacher who was born in Ireland and moved to the United States only to repatriate in 1939 after his leftist political views cause him to lose his job. Franklin becomes the first non-cleric instructor at St. Jude's, a school for wayward boys run by Brother John, who is a firm...
Members of a teenage gang are sent to the State Reformatory, presided over by the callous Thompson. Soon Patsy Gargan, a former gangster appointed Deputy Commissioner, arrives and takes over the administration to run the place on radical principles. Thompson needs a quick way to discredit him.
A hunchback working in a morgue falls in love with a sick woman. He goes berserk when she dies and seeks help from a scientist to bring her back from the dead.
Berit is a young woman with problems. She is suicidal and depressed. Since it has been impossible for her to live with her mother, she has spent many years in institutions. She has now gotten a job in an industry on the condition that she can live together with her mother again. Their relationship...
A teacher discovers his calling. Marco relocates to Palermo from Milan and takes a job teaching in a reform school while he waits for a high school position. He tries to understand and motivate his handful of students, reading them colloquial poetry, encouraging them to stand up for their rights,...
While on trial for her life, a young woman recalls her tough upbringing and her involvement with the men who brought her to this current state of affairs.
A tough street kid takes the rap for a burglary committed by the son of his foster family and is sent to a boys reformatory, where the inmates are under the thumb of corrupt guards and a brutal prison doctor.
Jackie lives in poverty with his widowed mother. In a bid to escape poverty he gets involved in a robbery that sees him sentenced to three years in Borstal where he meets a tough crowd, tougher than anything on the outside.
The title character, played by Bonita Granville, is the secretary at a boys' reformatory. Sociology professor Noah Beery Jr. shows up to study the juvenile-delinquent mindset. Not surprisingly, he ends up taking a post-grad course in amour from the winsome Ms. Granville.
