Die Schatten werden laenger on AllMovie

This Swiss/German coproduction is set in a girl's reform school. Headmistress Barbara Rutting feels uniquely qualified to divert teenaged streetwalker Leni von Friel from her tawdry lifestyle; before being hired by the school, Barbara had herself been a prostitute. When Leni escapes from the school, Barbara goes after her. On the street, she confronts her ex-pimp, who threatens to reveal Barbara's past if she interferes in Leni's "training". Barbara kills the pimp and is sent to prison--and it is this sacrifice which finally earns her the respect of the chastened Leni. Also known as Shadows Grow Longer, Defiant Daughters was originally released as Die Schatten Werden Laenger.