The Big Bird Cage (1972)

That was an excellent one.

Boring

Absolutely the worst movie.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Haughty celebrity Terry (a delightfully brash performance by slinky brunette minx Anitra Ford) gets arrested and sent to a brutal women's prison work farm. Gutsy revolutionary Blossom (robustly played with splendidly sassy aplomb by the one and only Pam Grier) decides to engineer a break out from the outside in. Ace B-flick writer/director Jack Hill relates the entertaining story at a constant quick pace, stages the action set pieces with real flair, and maintains a winningly easy'n'breezy tone throughout. Moreover, the eager cast have a field day with the wacky material: Carol Speed as the scrappy Mickie, Teda Bracci as raucous top con Bull Jones, Candice Roman as sex-starved strumpet Carla, Karen McKevic as fearsome and predatory lesbian Karen, Andres Centenera as the strict and sadistic Warden Zappa, and Marissa Delgado as the fragile Rina. The always terrific Sid Haig is in fine lively form as merry bandit Django while legendary Filipino sleaze movie mainstay Vic Diaz almost steals the whole show with his hilarious turn as mincing gay guard Rocco. Better still, this film covers all the pleasingly sleazy grindhouse bases: a group shower scene, torture and degradation of women, a sizable smattering of tasty bare distaff skin, fierce catfights, and an exciting last reel revolt and subsequent escape. However, it's Hill's trademark sly humor that really gives this movie an extra uproarious lift (Django has to pretend to be a flamboyant homosexual in order to get hired as a prison guard and poor Rocco winds up being raped by the ladies during the thrilling climax). Philip Sacdalan's pretty polished cinematography does the trick. The funky score by William Loose and William Castleman hits the get-down groovy spot. An absolute blast.

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!

In one of those jungle prison camps, females are forced into hard labor, working within the "bird cage" of the title, an elaborate sugar mill. Sid Haig and Pam Grier are revolutionaries who rob from societal fat cats, soon finding themselves within the prison labor camp causing a revolt against maniacal warden(Andres Centenera) and his host of homosexual male guards(..including a hilarious turn by Vic Diaz).The center of my attention was the incredibly yummy Anitra Ford, a stunning beauty whose character has a reputation notorious for her sexual involvements with various political leaders..she's deemed a threat whose knowledge is a threat. She seems to have no fear or nervousness about her current situation due to her confidence in getting out of captivity. While Pam Grier is recognized as the star, she often plays second fiddle to Ford because her role doesn't really make a certain impact until getting herself purposely put in Zappa's(Centenera)labor camp, where she forges the girls together in a planned rebellion, tired of their superior's tyrannical ways and slave labor. Teda Bracci is the leader over the girls until Grier challenges for authority / supremacy and secures the role. Candice Roman and the statuesque Karen McKevic supply extra eye candy as other white girls who found their ways into this camp. Carol Speed is the feisty(..she has a mouth that often gets her into heated situations where she runs and squeals when potential harm could come to her)token black girl of the bunch until Grier comes along..her fate when the mill breaks down, in regards to needed repairs, is horrifying. Marissa Delgado is Rina, a nutty prisoner Ford befriends and helps along the way.The mill is essentially a tower with a wooden skeletal frame, gears moving in proactive fashion, the girls keeping it running through blood, sweat, and tears...in the shape of a bird cage, this was designed by Hill's father. You get everything the women-in-prison genre offers in unique ways. There's the shower, cat fights, explosive finale with shootouts and violence, sadistic bonkers warden constantly shouting(barking orders), women yearning for the touch of a man(..poor Vic Diaz gets balled at the end!), attempted escapes, torture towards our heroines, and grim conclusion(..few make it out alive).Haig and Grier are superb together and have marvelous chemistry(..they're mud fight where Haig hits her across the ass with a dead duck is hilarious). Haig's posing as a gay man to gain access inside the labor camp, actually getting hired as a guard because Diaz wants to ravage him, had me in ribbons. The beautiful Phillipine locations compliment the lovely women quite well..and, best of all, the girls are outfitted in short shorts and shirts tied off above their wastes, so that we can lustfully gaze at their impressive figures throughout.

Jack Hill is back again (a year after 'The Big Doll House'), to write and direct another low-budgeted drive-in Roger Corman produced women-in-prison joint in the tropics of the banana republic. This second run-of-the-mill dig is meaner, snappier, sweatier and is a lot more accomplished technical production, but I really do have a soft spot for rough-around-the-edges, but enjoyable 'Big Doll House' that sees me actually favour it over this particular effort… plus it had the feisty blonde buxom Roberta Collins! Nonetheless Hill competently engraves the prominent staples (even adding few new novel ideas) and patterns one hope for from its exploitative subject matter, which is handled in a brightly lit manner than truly beating it down with despair. Sleaze, violence, profanity and a whole lot of socking personality all rolled in one. There's no better to deliver it… a lively Pam Grier and charming Sid Haig come to the show with such an electric chemistry. When they go missing-in-action, you simply crave for them to appear again. Vic Diaz is delightfully amusing as camp gay prison guard and Anitra Ford adds brazen class, but seems to be struggling to keep a straight face. Saying that it seemed more comically daffy, as the script holds a cheeky edge amongst it harden dialogues. In the latter half it became insanely humorous and hysterical. Hill confidently executes it with a little more briskness and latitude, concentrating not only on the posing drama at hand, but detailing the exotically open locations with crisp photography work despite the limitations. The story can open up a notable can of worms, but it's in-your-face and well-rounded flavor made it hard not to simply enjoy.