Women in Cages (1971)

On of the best early 70s exploitation women in prison flicks. The production values are as high as the nudity quotient.It seems like every 3 seconds some hot chick is pulling her clothes off and getting tortured for no reason other than to entertain us.And then there's Pam Grier. She was quite the hottie in her day.Move over Lindsay Lohan....this movie shows the original Fire Crotch!The Plot.Carol Jeffries (known as 'Jeff') is a naive American woman staying in the Philippines. She is given ten years in prison after being set up by her drug-dealer boyfriend, Rudy. She endures the harsh conditions, sadistic head matron and attempts on her life, then convinces her cell-mates to try to escape with her through the jungle, in spite of the knowledge that ruthless trackers will be sent out after them.

Women in Cages (1971) *** (out of 4) An innocent woman named Jeff (Jennifer Gan) takes the wrap for her boyfriend's heroin and is sentenced to a dangerous prison ran by the sadistic Alabama (Pam Grier). Jeff keeps holding out hope of getting out with the help of her boyfriend but her cell mate (Roberta Collins) tells her there's only one way out and that's through an escape. WOMEN IN CAGES isn't Shakespeare and it won no Academy Awards but it at least delivers what the title promises. It's easy to see why this film was such a hit when it was released because it features just about every type of perverted situation that you'd want for a sleazy drive-in movie. In fact, just thinking about the days when something like this was getting released weekly makes you wish these type of things were still being produced and especially at this type of quality. In regards to women in prison movies, this one here is certainly among the better ones thanks in large part to the Philippine locations as well as the cast. Both Gan and Collins make for good partners and while their performances might leave a bit to be desired, it's doubtful anyone coming to a flick like this is wanting great performances. Both fit their roles just fine and their beautiful bodies are constantly on display. Grier is once again the main standout as she gets a shot at playing bad and she does a terrific job with it. It's too bad she wasn't given more roles like this because it seems like she's having a blast. The film offers up women in showers, women fighting, torture sequences, sex scenes and just about everything else that fans of the genre would want. Is this a classic, all time great film? No but it's a fun reminder of what made this genre so entertaining.

Naive and innocent Carol Jeffries (a solid and appealing portrayal by the attractive Jennifer Gan) gets framed by her dope dealer boyfriend and winds up incarcerated in a brutal female prison located in the Filipino jungle where the sadistic head matron Alabama (fiercely played with lip-smacking wicked relish by Pam Grier in a rare full-blown villainous role) treats the inmates with appalling cruelty and inhumanity. Director Gerry De Leon, working from an appropriately sordid script by James H. Watkins and David B. Osterhout, relates the harsh story at a constant swift pace and maintains a suitably hard and gritty tone throughout. All the pleasingly seedy grindhouse bases are well covered here: copious gratuitous female nudity, demeaning strip searches, a group shower scene, a ferocious catfight, lesbianism, torture, prostitution, drug use, and a thrilling breakout. Sturdy distaff veteran drive-in flick favorites Judy Brown as the sarcastic, hard-boiled Sandy and Roberta Collins as the resilient, but treacherous strung-out smack addict Stoke both excel in their juicy parts. Moreover, there's a pervasively rough, grimy, and sweaty quality to this picture which greatly enhances the overall supremely seamy atmosphere. Felipe Sacdalan's fairly polished and dynamic cinematography does the trick. The funky syncopated score likewise hits the get-down groovy spot. Recommended viewing for fans of down'n'dirty 70's exploitation cinema.

Recently seen this film, and although I would rate this as a better than average "B" movie, the plot was good. I was compelled to sympathize with the prisoners and wanted desperately for the four main characters (women prisoners) to escape. I would like to comment on an actress who portrayed Teresa in the film, played by Philippine actress Sofia Moran. I felt that she played the role wonderfully and was sympathetic to her character as a victim of the Warden (Pam Grier). I am surprised that she is not even 'Billed" in the opening credits as I felt that she is one of the main characters and provided us with a polished character portrayal compared to the other 3 main characters in "Women in Cages".Overall I can state that this movie rates as one of the "better" films of this genre and "women in prison films" to date.