Policewomen (1974)

Wonderful Movie

Great Film overall

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Better Late Then Never

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.

Policewoman Lacy Bond (Sondra Currie) longs for more interesting and meaningful assignments than guarding female prisoners. After almost single handedly thwarting a mass prison escape, Lacy catches the eye of her superiors and is finally given her big chance. Her assignment – go undercover to bust up an all-girl smuggling ring. But she better be careful, because this gang is deadly.I loved the opening prison break scenes. They had a quirky feel to them that worked. After the first 10 minutes, I thought for sure I had found a winner. But after getting off to a great start, once the real plot kicks in, Policewomen loses steam. What should have been a wild, fun ride turns into . . . well, in a word, it gets boring. The plot has way too much talk and not enough action or sleaze. The case that Lacy Bond finds herself involved in isn't terribly interesting. I can't really blame Sondra Currie. She may not be the best actress I've seen (in fact, she's downright bad), but she sure does give it her all. I am happy, however, to see that after Policewomen she went on to have a good career. The casting of Elizabeth Stuart as the ring-leader Maude and Phil Hoover as her boyfriend Doc was an interesting choice. I'm not saying it was a good choice, just interesting. Policewomen also features some of the sloppiest editing I've run into recently. Big, obtrusive splices right in the middle of action scenes. It's pretty obvious that Currie and the other actors had problems with the action so cuts had to be made to set-up and finish a scene. It's really weak. The film's final scenes do help redeem the movie somewhat, but not enough to make me call the movie "good". For what it's worth, I've rated Policewomen a very generous 4/10.

Policewoman Lacy Bond,played by small dynamic redhead Sondra Currie,is a "supercop" assigned to take down a band of female gangsters who are up to all sorts of fiendish criminal activities.She uses(pretty basic)martial arts skills against them,and is later joined by undercover agent Pam Harris,played by Jeanie Bell,to help her take down the bad girl mob.The guys are generally pretty unimportant in this movie.Tony Young,as Lacy's boss and partner is reduced to a hapless sidekick,muttering his disapproval when he thinks she is putting herself in danger(and at one point having to be rescued by our heroine from some murderous babes who are beating him to death!).Only Phil Hoover,playing a funny and pretty vicious villain,and the great William Smith,sending himself up in a cameo as a patronizing police fight instructor,really register among the male cast.This cheap but entertaining movie contains all the elements expected from Lee Frost's "drive-in" fare,some sex and nudity,scantily clad girls,and lots of action.Fans of female fighting in movies should like the scenes where Lacy and Pam use judo and karate battling the female villains-such as tough con Janette (Laurie Rose)and Caroline (Dorrie Thomson) and her gang.

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).