Caged Heat (1974)

Thanks for the memories!

Sick Product of a Sick System

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

We have a bunch of chicks that looks pretty good and they have balls too. They are not some amazing actresses but they are OK: Juanita Brown, from "Foxy Brown"(1974), directed by Jack Hill, Erica Gavin, from "Vixen!"(1968) and "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls"(1970), both directed by Russ Meyer, Roberta Collins, from "The Big Doll House"(1971), directed by Jack Hill, "Women in Cages"(1971), "Death Race 2000"(1975), Ella Reid and Cheryl Smith are "the good girls". Barbara Steele is the "bad girl", the crazy Supt. McQueen, the prison boss. And Warren Miller is the "bad boy", the crazy Dr. Randolph, the prison doctor. They are all doing their best in this debut of Mr. Jonathan Demme, it's not so bad like somebody wrote right here, watch it, without high hopes, and judge for yourself! At least, you'll see some naked women...

For a low-budget women-in-prison (WIP) movie this particular film wasn't that bad. Essentially, "Jacqueline Wilson" (Erica Gavin) is arrested after a scene involving a shootout with the police and is sent to a women's prison ostensibly somewhere in California. While there she meets several other female inmates most notably "Pandora" (Ella Reid), "Belle Tyson" (Roberta Collins) and "Maggie" (Juanita Brown). She also meets the warden "Superintendent McQueen" (Barbara Steele) who takes a sadistic approach to any infractions of the rules. Along with that there is also a psychotic doctor named "Dr. Randolph" (Warren Miller) who is even more demented. At any rate, while I certainly liked the presence of Roberta Collins and to a lesser extent Erica Gavin I didn't think that the talents of Barbara Steele were used as effectively as they could have been. Neither did I care for some of the cartoonish aspects in regard to Dr. Randolph. But all in all, this movie wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. But other than Roberta Collins I didn't see that much to be impressed with either. Slightly below average.

This flashy turkey came out about the same time as Corman's great sleaze trio-- Crazy Mama (1975), Big Bad Mama (1974), and Jackson County Jail (1976). Of course, those had cast principals who could act plus writers who could tell a story. Unfortunately, this Corman production has neither (except for an under-used Steele).Now, I have nothing against naked women, machine guns, or cartoon violence, but they should at least be woven into some kind of coherent narrative. Here instead, we get a jumble of rapid-fire events, aimlessly tied together, with precious little dialog or anything like character development. The result is close to a kinetic mess. Reviewer bheyer overstates the case, but he does have a point.This is Demme's maiden try as both director and screenwriter and— thank goodness-- quickly got the arty flash out of his system, especially the Fellini (the fantasy segments). That's because his second try, Crazy Mama, is clearly superior, owing perhaps to the coherent screenplay from Robert Thom that disciplined him.One note of interest— it's a crudely feminist movie. The men are uniformly obnoxious and exploitative, while the women convicts are all attractive and gutsy, finally turning on the system that victimizes them. Demme may not develop the themes, but he does have a point of view. If the movie proves anything, it's that sleaze alone is not enough, not by a long shot or even a medium shot.

After being sent to prison for no less then 10 nor more then 40 years for being busted with drugs and refusing to give up her accomplishes, Jackie (Erica Gavin of Russ Meyer's "Vixen" and "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls", in her last film role) has to get accustomed to life in the big 'doll' house, or at least try to, in this early film by Jonathan Demme. Due to it's tawdry nature and sheer watchability, I would also rank this as one of his best films, right below "Silence of the Lambs" and "Stop Making Sense", but so far above any of his other movies. This minor classic is just campy, sleazy, and fun enough to be an amazingly good guilty pleasure and thankfully never once goes overboard into all out parody of the Women In Prison genre. It ALMOST washed out the rancid bad taste of the ludicrously preachy "Philidelphia" from my mouth. However, the film is not without it's downfalls (the 'un'talent show is a HUGE chore to sit through and goes on far too long, Barbera Steele is sadly wasted, among other small things) But don't let those gripes stop you from watching an otherwise enjoyable movie.My Grade: B- DVD Extras: 5 minute Roger Corman interview; Cast & crew Bios; Original Trailer; and Trailers for "Candy Stripe Nurses" (with nudity), "Big Bad Mama 2", "Big Doll House" (with nudity), & "Crazy Mama" Eye Candy: Juanita Brown, Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith, Erica Gavin, Roberta Collins, Ella Reid, Lynda Gold, and some others all show skin