Myron Clemons
A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Michelle Ridley
The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity
Mandeep Tyson
The acting in this movie is really good.
Woodyanders
A corrupt general plans on smuggling one million American dollars out of the banana republic he rules with an iron fist. A band of local revolutionaries plan on stealing the loot, but are doubled crossed by scuzzy and treacherous bandito gang leader Malavasi (a deliciously hammy Sid Haig). Tough cop Lynn Jackson (tartly played with winning spunk by Gloria Hendry) and slick'n'shifty con artist W.P. Willingsley (a nicely smarmy portrayal by John Ashley) help two revolutionaries -- brash Jo Turner (a splendidly sassy Cheri Caffaro) and feisty Mei Ling (a suitably steely Rosanna Ortiz) -- bust out of jail in order to get their hands on the cash. Director Eddie Romero, working from a perfectly lowbrow, yet still fairly sharp and witty script by Harry Corner Jr. and H. Franco Moon, relates the enjoyable story at a brisk pace, maintains an amusing tongue-in-cheek mood throughout, and stages the rousing action with aplomb. While Romero surprisingly (and disappointingly) skimps on the T&A, he delivers more than enough goofy humor and bloody'n'brutal violence to compensate for this. The ubiquitous Vic Diaz has a juicy part as Malavasi's wormy toady One-Eye. In addition, Eddie Garcia provides plenty of laughs with his hilarious turn as the slimy and sadomasochistic Captain Morales. Justo Paulino's competent cinematography does the trick. Les Baxter's funky syncopated score hits the get-down groovy spot. A fun little grindhouse flick.
fidomusic-1
An exciting not totally serious film. Gloria Hendry is excellent as Lynn Jackson. She is a totally underrated actress and should have received the fame and acclaim of Pam Grier.'Savage Sisters' is a valuable addition to the blaxploitation/women in prison genre, and is a must for all those into this stuff. It is actually, in my opinion, one of the better examples of the genre.I saw it when it came out in 1974. It was then available on VHS for a while.However, as far as I know, it is NOT available on DVD, although there is a boxed set with the same title it doesn't include the movie!The boxed set of DVDs available entitled 'Savage Sisters'consists of blaxploitation/women in prison movies but DOESN'T include the movie 'Savage Sisters'! Very strange.
rosscinema
If you've seen at least one Filipino action film made in the 1970's than you pretty much know what to expect with this but with all the sleazy aspects of the story this film seems to just fall short in terms of exploitation. Story takes place in a Banana Republic where two female revolutionaries are locked up but while in jail their group robs a General of $1 million dollars. Jo Turner (Cheri Caffaro) and Mai Ling (Rosanna Ortiz) are being prepared for torture by sleazy hooker turned sleazy cop Lynn Jackson (Gloria Hendry) but they get busted out to try and get the money back.*****SPOILER ALERT***** Jo and Mai learn that their revolutionary gang was murdered by a group led by a thug named Malavael (Sid Haig) and have stolen the one million and are now trying to find a way off the island. Lynn is told by her slimy boyfriend W.P. Billingsley (John Ashley) about the money and convinces everyone that they should steal it back with everyone getting equal shares but eventually he shows his dishonest side and the three women decide to do it on their own.This is directed by Eddie Romero who has made and starred in practically every action film shot in the Phillipines during the 1970's and even though he had to work with low budgets he became very adept at using whatever he had and producing some pretty entertaining films. Romero also directed "Black Mama, White Mama" and the ending to that film is almost exactly like the ending to this and I'm pretty sure it was shot at the same pier. This is an entertaining action film but I do think that it fails on an exploitation level and with the exception of maybe 3 nip slips this has no nudity to speak of. I'm not going to defend myself if called a sexist (because I don't think that I am, not a big one anyway) but a big attraction to these low budget Filipino black action films is both the violence and the nudity. This film has scenes that offer hookers, brothels, female prisons, whip wielding S&M guards, Hendry in a bathtub, and a General who uses his fingers but with all this going on the film is noticeably careful not to show much skin. So okay, I was deeply disappointed by that but at the same time how can I not recommend a film that stars the beautiful and luscious Hendry (Live and Let Die) and Caffaro (Ginger) and let's not forget Haig who yet again delivers one of his patented over the top sleazy performances. Not a great exploitation flick but a pretty entertaining actioneer that fits in well with the genre.
Infofreak
'Savage Sisters' comes from the same period as the Jack Hill led Filipino "chicks in chains" flicks of the early 70s ( see 'The Big Doll House' and 'The Big Bird Cage' for the best of the genre). Hill wasn't involved in this one mind you, the director is Eddie Romero, also responsible for the classic 'Black Mama, White Mama', who also appears in a supporting role as Captain Morales. The three aforementioned movies all co-starred blaxploitation icon Pam Grier. Grier isn't along for the ride in 'Savage Sisters', the Grier role is taken by Gloria Hendry ('Live And Let Die', 'Black Belt Jones'), and while the prison side of things isn't as important as the others in the series, fans of them will really dig this one. As always, while filmed in the Philippines, the movie is set in some unnamed Banana Republic. General Balthasar (Leopoldo Salcedo) plans on smuggling one million dollars US out of the country. A group of local revolutionaries plan on stealing the money and form an uneasy alliance with some bandits, led by the wily Malavael (the legendary Sid Haig, a regular in these kinds of movies), and his bumbling sidekick One-Eye (Vic Diaz, another familiar face). Malavael not surprisingly double crosses the revolutionaries and makes of with the cash. Meanwhile Jo Turner (Cheri Caffaro) and Mai Ling (Rosanna Ortiz), each with varying commitment to the Revolution, are captured before they can rendezvous with their comrades, who include Turner's lover. While in prison they are interrogated by tough hooker turned cop Lynn Jackson (Hendry). She is later convinced by the shady W.P. Billingsley (John Ashley, who also co-produced) to break the two women out of prison and help them track down Malavael, with the secret intention of getting hold of the cool million for themselves. However, Billingsley's plan of betrayal may not go exactly as planned as Jackson begins to bond with her "savage sisters" on the jungle journey. Newcomers to these kinds of movies may not enjoy this as those more familiar with their style and approach, but I enjoyed 'Savage Sisters' a great deal, and think it deserves to be much better known than it currently is. A tough and cool movie with plenty of fun and thrills.
