Mäedchen hinter Gittern

I liked the film Concrete Jungle it reminded me of the Australian TV series shown here in the UK Prisoner Cell Block H. Concrete Jungle had a good storyline, perhaps too much swearing in it, but in this day and age this is nothing to crow about. The swearing in the film would not stop me from watching it again and again The acting was very good from everyone in the film and I was routed to the spot watching the film, I just had to see how the film ended and if everyone got their just deserts. I am a great admirer of the actor Peter Brown and it was great to see him in the part of Mr Bad Guy for a change, although I still prefer him in westerns and Mr Nice Guy.

"The Concrete Jungle" doesn't offer anything you haven't seen before, but it's still an absorbing, fairly well-made & acted little Women-In-Prison drama. What the fans of this sub-genre need to know is that the filmmakers have taken a mostly serious-minded approach here, at least until the last 10 minutes when a massive fight that breaks out in the prison yard turns into a mudbath! Most of the time, though, the film simply chronicles, in a straightforward manner, the daily struggle for survival of a 100% innocent woman who tries to adapt to the harsh prison life. Tracey Bregman's sweet, innocent-looking face is perfect for the part, and she is surrounded by actresses who mostly manage, in a short amount of time, to build their own characters. The standout for me was June Barret as the bad girl Icy, who is both strong and insecure. (**)

I remember watching this on HBO back in the mid-80's. I thought Tracey E Bregman (who apparently took a summer break from Young & Restless) was mostly believable as Elizabeth. I say 'mostly' because there were moments she is just too glamorous to be believable as the hard-luck prisoner. Barbara Luna is quite notable as QueenBee "Cat"; a role she was almost born to play. Jill St. John mostly skirted around her warden role, in which I gave a C+ rating, if that. The best performances, ironically, were the female prisoners, and Robert Miano (Stone).

I had been a young fan of U.K.'s 1970's series, 'Prisoner, Cell-Block-H'. While I don't compare this film to that series, some of the action bears reflection on surreal existence within actual prison life.

The Concrete Jungle (1982)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Elizabeth (Tracey Bregman) is the sweetest and most innocent thing you'd ever want to meet but her sleazy, no-good boyfriend plants some drugs on her and when she enters the U.S. she is arrested for trafficing. The poor woman is sentenced to a prison ran by Warden Fletcher (Jill St. John) who has some illegal doings happening with Cat (BarBara Luna) who just happens to be the toughest and dirtiest woman there.

Tom DeSimone's THE CONCRETE JUNGLE is a rather interesting women-in-prison flick just like his HELL NIGHT is an interesting slasher. What's so interesting about both movies is the fact that both of them try to cash in on a certain genre yet they also want to do their own thing. With HELL NIGHT, it was released during the slasher craze but it was more a Gothic horror film without the brutal slashings. With THE CONCRETE JUNGLE, yes it's a women-in-prison flick but it doesn't go for a lot of the trappings that you might expect.

Those trappings include the lead female getting naked, a manditory shower scene or a bunch of rough lesbian scenes. There's minor stuff throughout the picture but it's clear that director DeSimone wanted to deliver something more that a sleaze feast and to his credit he's actually done that. THE CONCRETE JUNGLE is a pretty entertaining movie thanks to a nice cast and a pretty good story. The prison life story has been told countless times and the story here isn't ground-breaking but it's interesting enough to keep you glued to what you're watching.

Another plus are the performers who do a nice job with their characters. Bregman is wonderful in the lead role because you really do buy her as the character. St. John and Luna are great villains and both of them add a lot of entertainment. The sleaziest moment in the film happens when Camille Keaton from I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE gets raped by one of the guards. You've also got porn legend Carol Connors showing up in a brief role.

While THE CONCRETE JUNGLE isn't the most graphic or violent women-in-prison film you're going to see, it's at least entertaining for what it is and fans should enjoy it.

While no movie from the "women in prison genre" will ever be called a masterpiece, 1982's "The Concrete Jungle" is a cut above the rest, largely because it does take itself somewhat seriously, while it tells a plausible story of what goes on inside the prison system. There are no group shower scenes in this one, but there is some rather ugly, vile depictions of forced sex and other sordid goings on. The best thing about this one is it's effective study of power hierarchy inside the prison system, from guards over prisoners, to prisoners over weaker prisoners, and most interestingly between warden and direct underlings. Every angle is covered. Even the power that a man has over a woman, simply by using love as a weapon to control and deceive; it's all here. The most impressive thing is how this nightmarish world is captured, as the story's heroine, Elizabeth, sinks deeper into the sordid and desperate life behind bars. Tension builds to an almost unbearable level as the attacks of the 'Queen Bee' become more vicious, from beatings, to shooting up rivals with syringes of air, to razor blade attacks, as in the film's most effective scene, that finds the once timid Elizabeth, becoming the aggressor and cutting her abuser with the same blade that was pulled on her. Soap Opera legend Tracey Bregman shines in her role, and is convincing, especially when her character begins to change into one of the animals that had at first horrified her. This title has finally been restored for Bluray and it makes a big difference, as now the competent cinematography and it's highly polished look can now be appreciated. The director followed this successful movie with another WIP film the following year. "Chained Heat" with Linda Blair, which cranked up the exploitative elements considerably, but does not have the same quality of this lesser known, earlier film. As far as the genre goes, "Concrete Jungle" is one of the best. Also recommended are the prison movies "Vendetta," and "Red Heat," which is hard to find in an uncensored version.