The Naked Cage (1986)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Boring

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Sweet young innocent Michelle (a winningly perky performance by gorgeous blonde Shari Shattuck) gets sent to a brutal women's penitentiary on a trumped-up bank robbery charge. While serving hard time in the joint Michelle runs afoul of both mean corrupt warden Diane (veteran B-movie actress Angel Tompkins in peak ruthless form) and ferocious predator Rita (essayed with lip-smacking wicked relish by the foxy Christina Whitaker). Writer/director Paul Nicholas tells the entertainingly trashy story at a brisk pace and maintains a perfectly seamy tone throughout. Moreover, Nicholas does an ace job of covering all the satisfyingly scuzzy babes-behind bars bases: A generous amount of tasty gratuitous female nudity, lesbianism, a group shower set piece (natch), a leering pervert racist rapist guard (a deliciously disgusting portrayal by Nick Benedict), a few fierce catfights, and the inevitable climactic riot. This movie further benefits from sound work by Lucinda Crosby as eager rookie guard Rhonda, Stacey Shaffer as friendly and spunky ex-junkie Amy, John Terlesky as Michelle's wormy sleazeball boyfriend Willy, Faith Minton as fearsome top con Sheila, and Aude Charles as tough black inmate ringleader Brenda. Hal Trussell's glossy cinematography provides an appropriately glittery sheen. Christopher L. Stone's syncopated score hits the funky pulsating spot. Recommended viewing for fans of this ever-worthwhile exploitation cinema sub-genre.

A leggy sexy girl (Rita) in short shorts and cowboy boots somehow manages to hitch a ride from some dude driving a stolen red Corvette. They team up in a robbery/shooting and drag the dude's girlfriend (Michelle)into the fracas and she is convicted of armed robbery and is to serve 3 years.Thrown into an all female prison, Michelle tries to cope with the the requisite evil warden, personal conflicts, bad guards, bad prisoners, but hey it IS prison.Actually this film has a lot of social justice between the nude prisoners running around and kissing and making out. The blacks are segregated but Michelle bridges the divide and teams up with them to ferment a full fledged Attica style riot. The big tough gal, Faith Minton, a centerpiece in the population, is tough enough to serve in a men's prison, where she would get respect. Lots goes on in this above average prison flick, and it kinda reminds me of a female version of Brubaker. If you see it for $5, buy it or rent it for a fun evening of chic on chic action with some social justice thrown in.Sadly the movie did not provide IMDb with practicals, i.e. photos of all cast members and bios. So faces are blank, making it hard to identify the actors.Moral: avoid going to prison at all costs. Be a good citizen. Well, even that might not help you if you are framed.

**SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*I bought this video. "The Naked Cage" is a fine, fine film. I would rank it among the very best women's prison movies that I've seen. That is saying a lot as I consider myself to be a connoisseur of the genre. "The Naked Cage" is good stuff.The movie starts off with a hot chick hitchhiking to the song "Tuff Enuff" by the Fabulous Thunderbirds. She gets involved with a loser and they plan a bank heist. Naturally, an innocent blonde is implicated in their robbery. The rest of the movie is at the women's prison where the blonde fights for survival among prison riots and horny guards.All of the elements of a successful women's prison flick are here. Lesbian wardens, sadistic prison guards, mass shower scene, prison fights and plenty of unnecessary female nudity. The key in these movies is to keep the violence level high. The nudity is always good but for a women's prison flick we've got to see the women reduced to animal-like ferocity to survive. "The Naked Cage" keeps the girls very angry.If you like women's prison flicks, check this one out.

I love campy movies like this. The dialogue is a hoot, the scenes of women in jail are so preposterous but who cares? It's a cheap thrill to watch women slap, stab, pull hair and lez out. Even the warden (Angel Thompkins) is a hot babe who gets off being sadistic. In my opinion Faith Minton steals this picture as tough inmate who looks like she just came off of the pro-wrestling circuit. She has the best lines in the movie, my favorite being when she tells a muslim inmate "Nothing you sh#$heads do concerns me!" Sit back, watch and turn your brain off and you will have a good time. Yes, the language is quite foul but when there is this much unintended comedy it loses it shock value. Not the best of this genre (Chained Heat, Concrete Jungle) but close.