Policewomen

I have always loved crime or action films starring female criminals, inmates or not. Although there were dozens of women in prison movies. This one is not, or only at the beginning, whilst a bunch of chicks escape from behind bars. Besides this, that film is a great fun, despite the fact that it is really corny, but that's why I love it. Don't watch it in the same way as you could do it with SET IT OFF, A GUN FOR JENNIFER or GIRLS ON THE LOOSE, other girl gang features, which deserve to be seen with other eyes, with a more serious manner. This is a grade B film destined to Saturday evening drive in audiences, nothing else. I would not be surprised to learn that Quentin Tarantino is a great fan for this kind of stuff, and this film in particular. It could have been a series TV pilot, but I guess the TV show starring Angie Dickinson - POLICE WOMAN - would have jeopardize this never made TV show. I laughed with the sequences showing the lead female character - the cop - wearing her suit without undergarment for her breast. We clearly see her tits through the shirt. I am surprised that no other viewer has commented about this. And useless to say that the scenes showing the headquarters of the bikini girls is unforgettable. And the old gang leader with her younger husband, a sort of pencil neck bodybuilder pumping iron...ha ha ha

A must see for grade B cinema. But ONLY grade B cinema. Don't expect any serious stuff.

"Policewomen" (actually, there is technically only ONE policewoman in the movie) is not as sleazy or action-filled as other drive-in movies of the period. However, it does manage to be much more enjoyable than many of them.

Much of this is due to Sondra Currie, who is a delight as the lead. She gives her character confidence, a sense of humor, and a spirit of adventure. Whether arguing with her superiors or in hand-to-hand combat, she constantly shines. Judging from her performance here, it's a mystery why she didn't go onto bigger things, or at the very least become a prominent star in the drive-in genre.

But there is additional enjoyment beyond Currie. There is a good amount of humor - some unintentional, like how Currie's policemen co-workers are surprisingly sexist. However, most of the comedy is intentional and pretty funny at that. The plot has some outlandish touches (an all-girl gang that spends most of its time in bikinis?), a cameo by William Smith, Elizabeth Stuart has some hilariously stingy one-liners, and there is a respectable amount of nudity and sex. The best bits are the martial arts sequences, which are unusually very well choreographed (and surprisingly brutal at times.) Dim the lights, pretend you're at the drive-in, and sit back and have some fun.

Among the films that have featured female super cops (mostly Hong Kong), Sondra Currie is more believable. She's not big, but displays sufficient athleticism so as not to ruin the illusion. This low budget crime action film is passable entertainment. I actually liked it, but I enjoy the action woman genre. None of the movie was believable. After all, who would put a policewoman in such extreme danger without much backup.

The video box cover indicates that this movie is "the most daring caper since "The French Connection". This puffing is a tad overstated, okay, a lot overstated. The cast was fairly extensive and the acting ability varied quite a lot. Don't be mistaken, most viewers will be laughing at portions of the movie. For me, I will overlook the bad and take some comfort in seeing the film and knowing that the film makers tried to make a good movie. Policewomen has largely disappeared from circulation. I gave it a 6 (from 10).

Can you give a low budget b-movie a 7 rating? I am tempted!

I was entertained and amused for 90 minutes by this 1974 flick. No it's not the best script and acting but it is definitely entertaining and I enjoyed it more than some IMDb 8+ rated blockbusters. Plenty of gratuitous nudity and classic 1974 action/fighting / karate scenes.

Sondra Currie was extremely enjoyable and the clear star of the show. And she's not difficult to look at either. A strong 6 plus for this flick.

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.

"Lacy Bond" (Sondra Currie) is a young policewoman who is stuck in a jail-house processing female prisoners and she feels like she is going nowhere fast. Then a mass breakout occurs and she single-handedly manages to prevent all but two female prisoners from escaping. Because of her actions she is offered an extremely dangerous assignment involving a group of female gold smugglers headed by a ruthless leader by the name of "Maude" (Elizabeth Stuart). Now, rather than reveal any more of the movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a mildly entertaining low-budget film which attempted to emulate the James Bond series to a certain extent. Unfortunately, some of the characters and the script clearly needed some fine-tuning and as a result it just wasn't up to the same high standards. But Sandra Currie was definitely hot and having plenty of attractive young women in swimsuits lolling about certainly didn't hurt this movie in any way. In short, this isn't a great movie by any means but it wasn't that bad either. Accordingly, I rate this movie as about average.