Btexxamar I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

Patience Watson One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

Scarecrow-88 Women in prison. So many films featuring women behind bars desiring to break out. Luscious women in the shower, naked and yearning for the sexual contact of a man. The sadistic warden who makes life a living hell for the girls, and it's at times a woman who runs the show. The cat fight in the mud or the food fight that breaks out usually resulting in the whole group being punished. The torture sequences featuring prisoners being whipped by a bull dike guard who really seems to be enjoying herself. The planned break out often assisted by outside help. Those who punished and harmed the girls while they were in prison get their comeuppance.Many of the girls are tough talking, strong willed, incredibly sexy, and(..my favorite part)push the guys, that do appear, around. I've seen quite a few of these types of movies, but can not really consider myself an expert because there are still many staples of the genre I haven't viewed as of yet. This has to be the sexiest female cast I've seen in one of these movies..Pam Grier, Judy Brown, Roberta Collins, Brooke Milles(..my girl of the film), and Pat Woodell all preparing for a great escape just so they can be free of the sweaty, trashy confines of their Banana Republic prison cell. Christiane Schmidtmer is Miss Dietrich, the tyrannical ruler over the prison and Kathryn Loder is her ruthless head guard with an affinity for acquiring jungle snakes as a torture(..or murdering)method to extract information regarding possible illegal activities or plotting(..she likes to let her hair down when it's time to whip or pummel a girl). Sid Haig, a prominent Jack Hill regular, has a field day as a food(..among other items of interest)supplier, assisted by Jerry Franks(..who is actually accosted by Collins, who forces him to sex with a knife she confiscated from the kitchen area!).I will admit that I love beautiful women. Especially, beautiful women wearing merely a raggedy dress that barely covers their panties, revealing their wonderful curves and sexy legs. This movie was more violent than I was expecting, but it isn't anything worse than what we normally see in today's cinema containing the damaging treatment towards women. In my opinion you couldn't assemble a more sexy group of gals to spend 90 minutes with. These were the days when inhibitions run amok and women weren't as prudish in endowing upon us their alluring naked bodies. I feel like the 70's featured some of the most stunning women, often barely starring in anything other than a few movies within the exploitation genre, before moving on to other things. I don't know where Corman and Hill were able to secure so many of these delcious sex pots, but they kept them a comin'. Unfortunately two of my favorite scenes feature a character in a heroine induced bliss, addict Harried prancing around in her cell, as if performing some type of yoga exercise, and the other where she's showering, making this little giggling sound with her face just lit up.

theskulI42 After having to sit through film after film.with a fantastically ridiculous premise that mostly features 90 minutes of people wandering around doing nothing, it's nice to go back to a legend of the genre and know that I can still trust.The Big Doll House was my third Women in Prison film, after the infamous Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS and the Defiant Ones-inspired Black Mama, White Mama, but where both of those films seemingly ran out of inspiration fairly quickly (Ilsa grows wearying quickly, and Black Mama stagnates as most of the film is uninspired wandering.While I grew restless with both of those films, Jack Hill and The Big Doll House seemingly has it all covered, and surprisingly, the film draws its strength from restraint and respect towards its characters. Where Black Mama had plentiful amounts of gratuitous nudity, the standards were quite low and, for the most part, it wasn't PLEASANT nudity, while in Doll House, there is nudity, but more usually, they're dressed in these sort of adorably tiny dresses, like over-sized wifebeaters, and it makes them look far more attractive and pleasing to the eye than if they had been naked the entire time.The other unique thing for this film of the three is that the prisoner women seem to be constantly in power. They're never weak-willed, they may get tortured a bit, but they're always feisty, always defiant, and although you definitely get a sense of sexualized satisfaction (it's a Women in Prison movie for f-ck's sake, there's shower scenes, groping scenes, even a scene scantily-clad mud wrestling), you never get any of the uncomfortable, misogynist sleaze you most definitely get from Ilsa. That's a film that delights in the torture so much that it neglects story for much of its runtime.The acting is actually fairly solid save for our hero, Pam Grier (amusingly playing a character named "Grear"). But Judy Brown, Robert Collins, Brooke Mills, Pat Woodell, Kathryn Loder, Gine Stuart and Christiana Schmidter as the warden Miss Dietrich all acquit themselves admirably. On the dude side, the ever-reliable Sid Haig rocks it out without being obnoxious, and Jerry Franks is solild support. They are also given one of the better scripts I've heard here, with a lot of memorable and quotable lines ("Get it up or I'll cut it off!" being the most infamous, although my favorite was "One of these days, I'm gonna come in here, and ZAP!" "Zap?" "You know, Zap. R-A-P-E: "zap".") As for the awesomeness, it's really a laundry list that never runs out. A crazy heroin addict who lights people on fire, a lesbian prison guard who threatens people with cobras, the aforementioned mud wrestling, threats of castration, people getting stabbed (including Pam Grier, who unexpectedly doesn't even survive the film!), the shower scenes, and just the basic gratuitous nudity just seems to be at a higher standard than subsequent films. Oh, and then, when all seems over, they add AUTOMATIC WEAPONRY (and rape-as-comeuppance). I do look forward to seeing more of them to be able to compare, and although being an "expert in Women in Prison films" is not going to be something to put on the 'ol resume, if any of them are as well-composed as The Big Doll House, it'll sure be a lot of fun.{Grade: 8.25/10 (B+/B) / #12 (of 26) of 1971}

lost-in-limbo New meat enters the big house, in the shape of Collier and she learns that it won't be an easy walk in the park. Grear, Alcott, Bodine, Harad and Ferina welcome her to the rough and tumble endurance of prison life and the importance of holding your own to stay alive. Be it, from your inmates or that of their sadistic prison warden named Miss Diestrich. Then there are two peddlers, Harry and Fred who play off the inmates to get what they want. Roger Corman sent out exploitation director Jack Hill to the Banana republic (Philippines) with very little money, but on-hand he had a group of stunning women to work with. Though, to Corman's surprise, the end result was nothing but phenomenal, since it did extremely well with moviegoers. Its been done before, but this old hat Women-In-Prison concept for "Big Doll House" became revolutionary by giving it an ounce of fresh treatment (or maybe it was just great timing) that simply appealed to the drive-in audience to ensure the genre would erupt again. Hill's film is quite watered-down for a WIP exploitation feature (compared to its European cousins), but there are enough nitty, gritty elements involving random drug abuse, sadistic torture, and sexual antics, pumping gunfights and wild cat fights in a very energetic pattern. Production-wise, it's very solid for a meagre budget with it drumming in with a saucy score (and also Pam Grier's tantalisingly, groovy title song) and workman-like camera-work that had a great eye to detail. The bang-up story mainly focuses on a group of well-rounded and strong willed, firebrands who are not easy pushovers. Where they're trying to keep their spirit, pride and dignity in tack. A nice dash of snappy humour is worked into the salty dialogues and fiery language. There are some silly aspects, but it does bust out surprises, spontaneous inventions and comic relief, thanks largely to the minor turn by the charismatic character actor Sid Haig. But it was the memorable Pam Grier's steamily, spruced performance that steals every frame. She was the full package and afterwards would go on to be a true Blaxploitation star. Although, the attractively biting Roberta Collins holds her own quite well and Judy Brown, Pat Woodell and Brooke Mills add to the unique, spicy ensemble. Kathryn Loder performance makes headway too, as the stern and lean prison warden. Director Jack Hill's hardened direction is extremely sturdy and he keeps a quick rapid throughout.An American WIP exploitation flick that keeps it rather tasteful, but still highly entertaining b-grade material with a well-fitted cast.

Goredog Jack Hill has always been a master of turning such a controversial subject (especially at that time) into a fine film. The Big Doll House stars Judy Brown, who is taken to a prison on some remote island where she is accompanied by other jailbirds: Pam Grier, Brooke Mills, and Roberta Collins. Grier and Collins are driving forces throughout the film and seem to double-handedly run the entire joint. While Mills plays everybody's favorite psycho junkie, making an art out of hallucinating. Sid Haig is the dominating warden who uses poisonous local snakes to torture the prisoners. The movie ends with Grier, Mills, and Collins dying and Brown being captured and taken back to prison. Definitely an acquired taste and compulsory for fans of old skool "Women Torture and Revenge Tales!"