House of Women

House of Women is a 1962 American crime drama film directed by Crane Wilbur, starring Shirley Knight and Andrew Duggan. Walter Doniger who had been initially hired to direct the film was fired and replaced by Crane Wilbur ten days into the shooting.

Erica Hayden (Knight) is a young expectant mother who is wrongly implicated in a crime and sent to prison for five years. Erica learns that she must find a guardian for her daughter or she will become a ward of the state. The prison's warden, Frank Cole (Duggan), becomes infatuated with Erica and effectively blocks her chances for a parole.

When another inmate's child dies, the woman becomes deranged. Erica prevents a tragedy and earns the right to be freed to be with her daughter, while the Warden Cole's unethical methods come to light.