''Women in Cages'' is a 1971
women in prison
This article discusses the incarceration of women in correctional facilities. As of 2013 across the world, 625,000 women and children were being held in penal institutions, and the female prison population was increasing in all continents.< ...
sexploitation film directed by
Gerardo de León
Gerardo de León, National Artist of the Philippines, ONA (September 12, 1913 – July 25, 1981), was a Philippines, Filipino film director and actor.
Biography
De León, who was born Gerardo Ilagan, was a member of the Ilagan clan of Philippine ...
and starring
Jennifer Gan
Jennifer Gan (March 2, 1938 – September 15, 2000) was an American stage, film and television actress. She appeared in sixteen film and TV titles in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Career as Ginny Gan
A life member of The Actors Studio, she first be ...
, Judy Brown,
Roberta Collins
Roberta Collins (born Roberta Lee Hefley, November 17, 1944 – August 16, 2008) was a film and television actress who was known for her attractive physique, blonde, curly hair, and Marilyn Monroe appearance. She starred in many exploitation fil ...
, and
Pam Grier
Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress and singer. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star (although, there are some who dispute that claim and believe Cheng Pei-pei actually holds that distinc ...
. Co-produced by
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...
, it was prominently featured in the ''
Planet Terror
''Planet Terror'' is a 2007 American action horror film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Set in Texas, the film follows the survivors of a biochemical outbreak as they battle zombie-like creatures and a rogue military unit. It stars Ro ...
'' portion of the 2007 film ''
Grindhouse
A grindhouse or action house is an American term for a theatre that mainly shows low-budget horror, splatter and exploitation films for adults. According to historian David Church, this theater type was named after the "grind policy", a fil ...
''. ''Grindhouse'' director
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...
said of the film, "I'm a huge, huge fan of Gerry de Leon.... the film is just harsh, harsh, harsh." He described the final shot as one of "devastating despair".
Plot
Carol "Jeff" Jeffries (
Jennifer Gan
Jennifer Gan (March 2, 1938 – September 15, 2000) was an American stage, film and television actress. She appeared in sixteen film and TV titles in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Career as Ginny Gan
A life member of The Actors Studio, she first be ...
) is set up by her boyfriend, Rudy (
Charlie Davao
Charles Wahib "Charlie" Valdez Davao (October 7, 1934 – August 8, 2010) was a Filipino actor known for roles in film and television.
Early life
Born Carlos Wahib Davao y Valdez in Iloilo City of a Filipino mestizo of Spanish and Arab descent ...
). Jeff does not realize that Rudy runs a ship-board prostitution, gambling, and drug dealing empire. Rudy sees the heat closing in on him and stashes his illegal goods in Jeff's purse.
Thrown into a harsh prison where the inmates are kept barefoot and subjected to hard labor and sadistic punishment, Jeff encounters Alabama (
Pam Grier
Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress and singer. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star (although, there are some who dispute that claim and believe Cheng Pei-pei actually holds that distinc ...
), a
sadistic
Sadism may refer to:
* Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation
* Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...
lesbian guard fond of torture. Cellmate Stokes (
Roberta Collins
Roberta Collins (born Roberta Lee Hefley, November 17, 1944 – August 16, 2008) was a film and television actress who was known for her attractive physique, blonde, curly hair, and Marilyn Monroe appearance. She starred in many exploitation fil ...
) is a heroin addict who agrees to a plot against Jeff that will secure her more
heroin. Another cellmate Sandy (Judy Brown) also agrees to a plot against Jeff that could secure her own release. Their other cellmate Theresa (
Sofia Moran
Soledad (Sol, Solly) Ballon Magdaluyo (born March 11, 1940), better known by her screen name Sofia Moran, is a Filipina actress, singer and record artist, credited with over 60 Philippine and foreign films. The Philippine actress began her film ...
) is Alabama's girlfriend. Jeff endures a horrible experience made worse by her cellmates as she struggles day to day.
Finally realizing her boyfriend is not helping her, Jeff hopes to escape through the jungle. She then learns that local poachers are paid to track and kill escapees, who inevitably become lost in the wilds surrounding the prison.
When Theresa falls out of favor with Alabama and loses her privileged position in the cell block, escape becomes an attractive option to her. Theresa reveals that she knows the jungle well and can obtain outside help. Despite the fact that two of her three cellmates had previously agreed to covert plots against Jeff, all three of them accompany her on the escape.
DVD releases
''Women in Cages'' has been issued numerous times on DVD since the original release and prior VHS issues due to continued interest in Roger Corman productions. Most recently it was released by
Shout! Factory as part of ''Roger Corman's Cult Classics'' on June 21, 2011.
wtf-film.com accessed 24-Mar-2014
See also
* List of American films of 1971
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Women In Cages
1971 films
1970s English-language films
Films directed by Gerardo de León
American sexploitation films
Women in prison films
New World Pictures films
1970s exploitation films
1970s prison films
Cockfighting in film
1970s American films