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It's hard to go too wrong with a tagline like "Their bodies were caged, but not their desires. They would do anything for a man - or to him." However, one of the reasons that I've decided to make this my last Women in Prison film for a while is that they're all starting to blend together. Once again, we have a bananna republic women's prison that houses five white chicks, one black chick (the perennial Pam Grier), and a hundred Filipino babes.

It's kind of disappointing that the girls stay mostly dressed this time, because BIG DOLL HOUSE boasts one of the more attractive casts, especially with the likes of the stunning brunette Pat Wodell and saucy redhead Judith M. Brown. But the relatively small ammount of skin is more than made up for by a crisp enough pace that keeps things light and fun, as well as the presence of Sid Haig as a sleazy produce and rotgut salesman who peddles food staples and booze to the prison while also smuggling in contraband. Of course, the main reason he's in this racket is to try and get some convict poontang. As he explains to his equally horny dimwit sidekick Fred (Jerry Frank):

"One of these days, I'm gonnna get one of these girls alone and R-A-P-E."

"You mean you're actually going to rape one of them?"

"oh no, I would never do that. I mean she's gonna rape ME!"

Naturally, Harry ends up helping the broads make their big breakout, although at one point he gets a little extra coaxing from one of the girls who puts the business end of a revolver to his nadsack with the caveat of:

"You won't die from this bullet, Harry, but you'll wish you had!"

While THE BIG DOLL HOUSE isn't a four-star film in the conventional sense, it's a fine example its genre that's certainly made all the more watchable by Sid Haig's slimy but likeable characterizations, not to mention plenty of catfights, shower soaping, mud wrestling, and shootouts. Sure, overall it's a piece of crap, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a piece of crap film finer than this one.

And with that, I bid a fond adieu to the 70's sexploitation genre for a while. It's too bad you can't see movies like this at the drive-in anymore (assuming you can even find a drive-in to go to within a hundred mile radius). But as long as flicks like this stay in print, there will always be a little bit of the drive-in left, burned into plastic in zeros and ones.

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originally posted: 09/21/03 11:24:27
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