WOMEN
IN CAGES (1971)Director: Gerardo de Leon
New Concorde
WOMEN
IN CAGES (1971)In 1971, Jack Hill's THE BIG DOLL HOUSE became box office gold for Roger Corman's New World Pictures, and immediately, more "women in prison" films were ordered. New World quickly followed DOLL HOUSE up with WOMEN IN CAGES, a film directed by Gerardo de Leon, a giant of the Philippines exploitation scene. Starting his long career with TERROR IS A MAN in the 50s, de Leon does not have Hill's talent, wit or creativity, but he still manages to turn in a worthwhile early entry into the endless WIP cycle.
WOMEN IN CAGES uses three of DOLL HOUSE's principle actresses: Pam Grier, Judy Brown and Roberta Collins. Both Brown and Collins are again cellmates and look like they never left the DOLL HOUSE, but instead of a prisoner, Grier is now a sadistic warden named Alabama. When asked, "What kind of hell did you crawl out of?," Alabama replies, "It was called Harlem, baby. I learned to survive, never have pity. This game is called survival. Let's see how well you can play it. I was strung-out behind smack at ten and worked the streets when I was twelve." That will give you an idea of her character!
The lead performer here is Jennifer Gan (THE NAKED ANGELS) as a bimbette named "Jeff." Gan looks and acts like a goofy, Amazonian cross between Stella Stevens and Vicki Lawrence. Her character gets blackmailed by a suave but conniving gangster/drug dealer (Charlie Davao) and ends up in the slammer, thinking he's gonna get her out. Other girls in Jeff's cell are Brown as Sandy--another innocent type who killed her mean husband in self defense, Sofia Moran as Theresa--a native who is Alabama's bitch and later regrets it, and Collins as Stoke--a touchy heroin addict who has a vendetta for Jeff throughout.
Only Theresa gives into Alabama's attentions, but gets a good whipping when she gets just a little to rough in the sack. The other girls just won't give in, and are all subjected to a visit to Alabama's private torture chamber, an out of place throwback that resembles a setpiece from MARK OF THE DEVIL. After these excessive attempts to beat them into submission, the girls plan a clever escape, and they snare the obnoxious Alabama as a hostage. What commences is a trek through the jungle, a very disturbing rape/drowning, some discord on a prostitution vessel, and an assumed happy ending for at least two of our heroines.
No where near as good as Jack Hill's WIP films or CAGED HEAT, WOMEN IN CAGES is still a stimulating New World effort. The film lacks a good male character actor (ala Sid Haig or Vic Diaz), but it allows some of the actresses to stand out. Grier has one of her nastiest roles ever, and is utterly wicked and utters some choice dialog ("A white man raped me, a white bitch can kill me"). Collins is so cute and irresistible that you wish she was playing a likable character (like in other WIP hits) instead of a dubious junkie.
The picture quality on WOMEN IN CAGES is not bad. The image fluctuates from acceptable vivid colors to somewhat dull ones. The full frame transfer is the same used for New Concorde's previous VHS tape, and the composition appears fine. The only major problem is the audio which is riddled with hiss throughout and can be very annoying when amplified. Still it's miles ahead of the cheapo VHS retitling that went under the title "Women's Penitentiary III."
The extras include trailers for the title feature, THE BIG DOLL HOUSE, THE BIG BIRD CAGE, and THE ARENA. There are also filmographies for some of the main participants. Come on New Concorde, give us a DVD of THE HOT BOX next! (George R. Reis)