The Big Doll House

'The Big Doll House' may not be the first women in prison movie of the 1970s but it was one of the most influential, kicking off the short lived but legendary Made-in-the-Philippines-but-set-in-some-nameless-Banana-republic cycle. The tape I watched was part of "The Pam Grier Collection" but to say Grier is the STAR of this movie is an exaggeration. Judy Brown is the star and Roberta Collins is equally important as Grier. But Brown didn't do all that much after this, and Collins is only remembered by exploitation buffs (for 'Caged Heat', 'Death Race 200' and 'Eaten Alive'), while Grier became a blaxploitation icon. That's cool, but let's not fool ourselves here. As enjoyable as it is watching Pam in this one she really doesn't do all that much. Jack Hill regular Sid Haig ('Spider Baby') has some memorable and amusing schtick with her. He plays a horny guy who brings the female prisoners food and other treats for cash. Grier and Haig obviously made a great team, and Hill would exploit this in his even more enjoyable 'The Big Bird Cage', which isn't a sequel to this movie as many seem to think. 'Bird Cage' is the better movie, but 'Doll House' is still a pretty good movie that any fan of 1970s b-grade movies will get a kick out of.

What separates - and, in my book, makes better - "The Big Doll House" from most Women-In-Prison films is that the focus here is NOT on the exploitation of the women (though there is some of that, of course), but on their STRENGTH and determination. Roberta Collins and Pat Woodell, in particular, have well-defined characters that know how to take care of themselves. The fights (including some mud-wrestling) are rough and wild. The casting is excellent: you know something is right when Pam Grier isn't even the most beautiful woman on the screen! Collins, in particular, has a kind of beauty that you rarely see nowadays. Contrary to what other people have said, I found the scenes involving Sid Haig and his partner to be the most undesirable: they do provide some form of comic relief but they go on too long and occasionally kill the pace of the movie. (**1/2)

After killing her rich husband a woman by the name of "Collier" (Judith Brown) is sentenced to 99 years at hard labor at a women's prison somewhere deep in the Philippine jungle. She is put in a cell with 5 other beautiful women who go by the names of "Alcott" (Roberta Collins), "Bodine" (Pat Woodell), "Grear" (Pam Greer), "Harrad" (Brooke Mills) and "Ferina"(Gina Stuart). While each of them have their own story to tell they all share one particular view which is that the head guard, "Lucian" (Kathryn Loder) is extremely sadistic and the attractive warden "Miss Dietrich"(Christiane Schmidtmer) is either incompetent or ambivalent to the torture and abuse within the prison. Yet although a recently assigned doctor named "Dr. Phillips" (Jack Davis) is trying to correct the problem the inmates decide to take matters into their own hands and attempt to escape. Now, rather than detailing all of the events that transpire and risk spoiling the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was an interesting low-budget "Women-in-Prison" film which covered most of the main aspects associated with movies of this type. It certainly had more than its share of gorgeous women. And while I certainly can't complain about that the fact is that the overall plot was a bit too "by the numbers" and lacked credibility. No doubt fans of this genre will find it enjoyable though and overall I rate it as slightly above average.

The Big Doll House was followed-up by The Big Bird Cage a year later. The two films do not follow on from each other; but are very similar in style and content. While this film is not quite as great as the later one; it's still an excellent women in prison flick. The film was shot in the Philippines and set in some backwater country; but we don't get the same great outdoor shots that we got in the later film, and most of this film takes place in the classic, dingy, prison setting. That, however, is not a problem; as a constant stream of sleaze and action will keep most viewers from worrying about where it's taking place. Naturally, the film takes place in a prison where most of the prisoners have little chance of release. A new girl enters the prison and is put in with a motley crew of female prisoners. It's not long before the conditions inside the jail force the girls into planning an escape; but not before various rivalries amongst themselves are sorted out.

This film is just great fun to watch, and that's what makes it so successful. The script is rather ridiculous; but there's plenty of laughs to be had with it too so it doesn't matter. The biggest names in the cast belong to Sid Haig and Pam Grier; although neither one of them is the star. As would be the case with the later film, Sid Haig provides the most memorable role; this time as a pervy bloke that goes round delivers various goodies to the female prisoners. Most of the rest of the cast are nice to look at, as is standard for films like this. The Big Doll House is a rather lighter affair than the women in prison films by the likes of Jess Franco et al; but it's all the better for it. There's plenty of action to keep the pulses racing, including various cat fights, arguments and gun fights. There's also a series of rather trippy torture scenes, which seem weirdly out of place in the film. The Big Doll House boils down to an explosive ending and overall I wouldn't hesitate to name this as one of the all time best women in prison films (although The Big Bird Cage is slightly better).

Big Doll House, The (1971)

** (out of 4)

Beautiful women, catfights, food fights, torture, lesbianism, mud wrestling and nudity are the highlights of this cult classic Women in Prison film from Jack Hill. There's always a slight bit of sleaze that makes this interesting but overall it's pretty dull without enough story and the dramatic moments don't work. Judy Brown and Pam Grier star.

It should also be noted that I prefer the rougher women in prison films by the likes of Jess Franco. Franco started this genre with 99 Women but I prefer his darker WIP films like Barbed Wire Dolls, Women in Cell Block 9 and Sadomania.