- Warden Hannah Graves: The state saved Thelma's child the stigma of being born in prison, but her greatest punishment will be throughout the years to come. Thelma will be denied seeing her child for twenty years. Her trail of thrills has ended in the knowledge that her baby must never know that his mother is a convict and that his father was a murderer slain by the law.
- Girl Graduate #1: Now that I'm getting my diploma, I'm gonna find myself a guy with a cute Ford and get married.
- Girl Graduate #2: How about you, Thelma?
- Thelma Black: Oh, not me! I'm gonna get a kick outta life while I'm still young enough to enjoy it.
- Thelma Black: With every job I became more thrilled. It all seemed so simple. Such an easy way to get everything I'd wanted out of life: luxury, money, excitement.
- Thelma Black: After I graduated, I went to a school of beauty culture. And then I got a job in the Astor Salon. I made up my mind that I was going to get everything that life has to offer. I wanted money, clothes, luxuries.
- Thelma Black: Oh, I thought I was riding high. The things I had craved were coming my way. I wanted thrills and I was getting them!