Stometer
Save your money for something good and enjoyable
MamaGravity
good back-story, and good acting
Dana
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Scott LeBrun
"Women in Cages" is a pretty standard Women In Prison flick, with all of the trappings of the genre. It's got lesbianism, wild catfights, nudity, the obligatory shower scenes, and sadism aplenty. Its main drawing card, however, lies in its casting. Instead of playing one of the inmates, the inimitable Pam Grier dominates the proceedings as a brutal head matron.Otherwise, this is familiar enough stuff. Jennifer Gan plays Carol "Jeff" Jeffries, the fresh fish in a Filipino prison who was set up by her no-good drug smuggling boyfriend. She soon makes friends with cellmates Theresa (Sofia Moran), Sandy (Judith Brown), and "Stoke" (Roberta Collins), a gal with a serious drug problem. After enduring the barbarism of the guards (who maintain a torture room they call the "play pen"), they decide that they won't tolerate any more and formulate plans for escape.As directed by the prolific Gerry De Leon, this Roger Corman production is appropriately dingy, gritty, and oppressive. That said, it's not without style: some late scenes take place in silhouette and are quite striking. The ladies are mighty fine looking and throw themselves into their roles, although Gans' co-stars tend to out-act her at every turn. Collins, a mainstay in many Corman productions of this time, is particularly good. However, the chance to see the statuesque Pam Grier as a guard is irresistible, and she makes the most out of the situation. Adding to the midnight movie appeal of "Women in Cages" is the atmospheric music supervised by Tito Arevalo.Among the stand out scenes are those in the "play pen" and those in "the hole", one of those cramped quarters one can often find in films such as this. The climactic prison escape and subsequent chase sequences are fun, and there are some surprises in store for characters and viewers alike. While this can't compare to the best in the genre, it's still certain to keep trash enthusiasts fairly satisfied.Seven out of 10.
gridoon
"Women in Cages" reunites the three main cast members of "The Big Doll House" (Pam Grier, Roberta Collins, Judy Brown), but the results suffer from a massive downgrade in quality. Roberta once again steals the show, as she is three times the looker AND the actress that anyone else in the film is. Sometimes I had to pause the tape just to look at her amazing face. She has one great catfight here, but (sadly) she does no arm-twisting this time. Pam Grier is too young for her role and comes across as wooden, and the main lead is forgettable. The film has its moments, but it's mostly dreary and unpleasant. If it weren't for Roberta, I'd say just forget about it. (**)
emermagd
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.
TroyAir
There have been a lot of movies with the theme of beautiful women being locked in prison and abused by the warden. This film is a classic example of that theme.Pam Grier, the black movie queen of 1970's "B" movies, is the sadistic warden of a women's prison in a foreign country. Two of the prisoners attract her attention - a hot-blooded redhead, and the prison-informant blonde. The redhead is in prison on charges of murdering her husband. I can't remember why the blonde is in prison, but then that doesn't really matter in the film anyway. Let's just say that the redhead and the blonde don't get along, and the warden utilizes her own distinct form of justice when they get into a fight.The redhead is taken into the warden's "play room", stripped naked (we only see the upper half), has her arms pulled up over her head and is then locked into some boots, which are then slowly cranked apart to spread her legs wide. A brazier's flame covers her modesty for most of this scene, as the warden taunts her a bit and then pushes the brazier forward - "This is our version of the hotfoot!". Cut to a scene of the women working in the field as the redhead's screams echo through the prison walls.Later on there's a prison riot and the blonde irks the warden. To punish her, the warden strips the blonde (this time a restraint strap covers the actress' modesty) and binds the prisoner to a wheel and spins her around. After a few rotations, the warden tries to taunt the blonde into submission, but instead of surrendering, the blonde spits into the warden's face. In retaliation, the warden pulls out a trident and stabs the blonde as she's spun on the wheel some more.Eventually the blonde and redhead team up and escape from the prison, and are pursued by the warden and her guards. The prisoners kill off the guards, capture the warden, and leave her tied to a tree as they flee to freedom.The movie is worth seeing if you like women-in-prison films. Not much gore, and the only nude scenes are the ones described above, but what's there is worth a late-night or afternoon screening. People probably won't think of you as a cinematic genius, but what do you expect for a 1970's prison film?
