
A female warden takes over at a state reform school and attempts to bring about needed changes. Restored in 2020 by the Academy Film Archive with additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts from a 16mm print donated by Giancarlo Esposito and Laurence Fishburne.
Directed by Leo C. Popkin, Reform School leans on a strong ensemble — Louise Beavers, Reginald Fenderson, Monte Hawley — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about action titles of 1939.
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Jeff, a young delinquent, is enrolled by his father in a kenpo school, in the hopes of teaching the boy some self-discipline. Years later, Jeff's mentor, Kim, is being threatened by one of the Korean mafia families. Jeff tries to help his old friend, but is too late to prevent Kim's death at the hands of an unknown hitman. Vowing revenge, Jeff takes on all of the families, using his martial arts skills to find the man who killed his friend.
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