The Big Bird Cage

When it comes to Women In Prison movies, I usually want 'em to be as sleazy and as violent as possible, but director Jack Hill's WIP flicks look set to be an exception to this rule: The Big Bird Cage, his second foray in the genre (after The Big Doll House), is a gloriously camp exercise in trash cinema, occasionally tasteless but presented with such a goofy sense of humour that it proves to be far less offensive than many of its contemporaries and almost impossible not to enjoy.

Set in an unnamed 'banana republic' (but shot in the Philipines), the film opens with beautiful brunette social climber Terry (the belly-licious Anitra Ford), a close personal 'friend' (i.e., lover) of the president, being abducted by revolutionary Django (Sid Haig) during a daring robbery. To avoid capture by the law, Django resorts to leaping off a bridge, leaving poor Terry to be apprehended by the police, after which she is accused of being an accomplice in the crime; this presents the authorities with a convenient opportunity to rid themselves of Terry, a potential embarrassment for the government, by shipping her to a high security camp where unruly prisoners are forced to do dangerous work in a towering, wooden sugar mill—the 'Bird Cage' of the title.

Meanwhile, Django, his feisty woman Blossom (busty Blaxploitation queen Pam Grier) and their revolutionary pals continue to plan their political uprising. Concluding that their cause would benefit immensely from the recruitment of more gutsy females like Blossom, they put into motion a scheme that involves Blossom getting herself incarcerated in the same establishment as Terry, and Django going undercover as a camp guard (and I do mean 'camp'—all of the guards are homosexuals so as not to tempt the prisoners).

With his tongue firmly planted in cheek, director Hill delivers everything one might expect from such a set-up—umpteen cat-fights (some in mud), the lesbian inmate, a sadistic warden, the camp informant, the tragic deaths of several prisoners, and an eventual uprising—plus, of course, lots of lovely women wearing very short shorts (I like short shorts!) and ill-fitting garments that frequently expose their breasts. All these lovely ladies AND Sid Haig as a hot-blooded revolutionary who must pretend to be gay to save the day = an unmissable treat for WIP fans!

First of all, I would like to say that I find Leonard Maltin's review of this film rather inaccurate. "Amusing SPOOF of prison films"? Calling "The Big Bird Cage" a spoof is like calling "Die Hard" a spoof of action films because it contains some wisecracks and comic-relief characters. That said, I found this film inferior to its predecessor in pretty much every aspect. It is more exploitative, the direction has no pace, the characters are not as strongly drawn and Roberta Collins is sorely missed (Candice Roman is a pretty blonde, but not as pretty as Roberta). Pam Grier's dominating presence (especially in the scene where she proclaims herself the leader of the prison camp) is not only the best, but one of the few things that this film has going for it. (**)

Jack Hill's "The Big Bird Cage" of 1972 is another highly entertaining Women's Prison Exploitation flick, starring the wonderful Pam Grier and exploitation badass Sid Haig. Director Hill, who has proved himself to be a master of exploitation cinema, as he directed blaxploitation cult flicks "Coffy" (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974), both starring Pam Grier as the sexy and vengeful heroine, is furthermore one of the pioneers of the WIP (Women In Prison) sub-genre, having directed "The Big Doll House" in 1971 and this "The Big Bird Cage" in 1972.

Somewhere on a dictatorially reigned tropical island, American actress Terry (Anita Ford) is taken hostage by revolutionary Django (Sid Haig), when he pulls of a heist on a bar with his girlfriend Blossom (Pam Grier) and other fellow revolutionaries. While on the run from the police, Django leaves Terry back, who is mistaken for his female accomplice and brought to a jungle prison camp for women...

Pam Grier, the sexiest, coolest and most charismatic heroine in Blaxploitation cinema, is great as always in her role of the badass female revolutionary and Sid Haig is the epitome of coolness as rebel leader boyfriend Django. Sexy Anita Ford also fits in her role very well. "The Big Bird Cage" has all the typical WIP flick elements, such as shower scenes, lesbianism, catfights and a fair amount of violence including cruel punishments, as well as some special curiosities, such as two fat and disgusting gay wardens (one of them Vic Diaz whom WIP/exploitation fans might recognize for his role as the sadistic drug-lord in "Black Mama, White Mama") and a huge lesbian inmate.

All things considered, "The Big Birdcage" may not be an exploitation highlight, and it is terribly cheesy in some occasions, but it is also a great fun flick that doesn't take it self seriously. Highly sarcastic more than once, this is not to be missed by fans of 70s exploitation cinema and Pam Grier.

Despite the fact that women in prison films are famous for sex and sleaze (two of my most favourite things to see in movies), I have to say that I'm not a big fan of the genre overall and it's mostly due to the fact that these films are often very similar to one another. The Big Bird Cage cuts down on both of these two elements, but replaces them with a bucket load of fun and good humour; and the result is a film that sets itself apart from most of the rest of the genre. The film is made up of two parts; on the one hand, we have a women's prison ruled over by the usual assortment of sadistic guards, and on the other hand; we have a band of revolutionaries lead by Sid Haig and Pam Grier. After a robbery in a bar, a young female socialite is captured and wrongly imprisoned in said women's prison, where the inmates are forced to work inside a huge wooden structure known as 'The Big Bird Cage'. It's not long before one of the revolutionaries comes up with a plan involving the liberation of the women at the prison camp in order to attract more men to their regime...

This film features three standout performances - from Sid Haig, Pam Grier and Anitra Ford. It's Haig and Grier's screen time together that is the main highlight, and we get treated to things like Haig slapping Grier with a wet fish! Of course, the film is really rather stupid with several silly decisions taking centre stage; but this all just adds to the fun! One of the best things about the film in my opinion was the gay prison guards - quite a difference to most women in prison films! The setting also sets this one apart from most of the rest of the genre - gone are the damp and dirty insides of most women's prisons and it's replaced by a rather more sunny setting and it's certainly a very welcome change. The plot really doesn't make much sense and is often played more for laughs than anything else - but personally I'm completely fine with that and the film really is very funny - Sid Haig's infiltration of the camp being a big highlight. The film is constantly entertaining throughout and manages to keep this up until the climax - although the ending does represent something of a change in tone. Overall, The Big Bird Cage is an excellent film and undoubtedly one of the best women in prison flicks ever made - don't miss this one!

I got a hold of this one mainly for the presence of Pam Grier. Needless to say, I was surprised at just how amusing this one was. Although it contains its share of exploitation elements, large sections of this film are really tongue-in-cheek and pretty damned funny actually. Sid Haig and Pam Grier are great as revolutionaires, and there are a sprinkling of decent character actors that round out the cast for a decent outing. The ending is chock full of early 70's combat sequences and wonderfully photographed burning buildings. Actually, I was also impressed by the director's good use of scenery; I hate to admit it, but the backdrop (jungle and mountains) were actually breathtaking in parts.