The Big Doll House

Two factors make THE BIG DOLL HOUSE a must-see, Women In Prison classic: Factor #1- It's directed by none other than cult film maestro, Jack Hill! Factor #2- It stars the one and only cult goddess supreme, Pam Grier!

This is sheer, unabashed exploitation done right. All of the requisite parts are in place- blazing hot female inmates, fascistic guards, a psychopathic warden, corrupt military figures, sadistic torture, and endless nudity. If that's not enough, it also features Sid Haig as an unscrupulous fruit vendor!

Plus: mud wrestling, a massive food fight, and sudsy-sudsy shower fun!

Accept no substitutes...

Beautiful women prisoners are abused in a Philippine prison, until five of them plot an escape by taking the evil female warden hostage with the reluctant help of two male fruit vendors.

I have to say this film is an exploitation movie, and therefore has some aspects that many people might find objectionable -- gratuitous nudity, sexual assault and some scenes of torture. This is not just a fun film to watch with your kids.

That being said, director Jack Hill makes the most of the exploitation genre and does it in a stylish, colorful way that sets this movie apart from the scores of others in the same category. And he utilizes Sid Haig well, in a way that no other director ever has. Thanks for introducing Pam Grier to the world, too.

What separates - and, in my book, makes better - "The Big Doll House" from most Women-In-Prison films is that the focus here is NOT on the exploitation of the women (though there is some of that, of course), but on their STRENGTH and determination. Roberta Collins and Pat Woodell, in particular, have well-defined characters that know how to take care of themselves. The fights (including some mud-wrestling) are rough and wild. The casting is excellent: you know something is right when Pam Grier isn't even the most beautiful woman on the screen! Collins, in particular, has a kind of beauty that you rarely see nowadays. Contrary to what other people have said, I found the scenes involving Sid Haig and his partner to be the most undesirable: they do provide some form of comic relief but they go on too long and occasionally kill the pace of the movie. (**1/2)

Big Doll House, The (1971)

** (out of 4)

Beautiful women, catfights, food fights, torture, lesbianism, mud wrestling and nudity are the highlights of this cult classic Women in Prison film from Jack Hill. There's always a slight bit of sleaze that makes this interesting but overall it's pretty dull without enough story and the dramatic moments don't work. Judy Brown and Pam Grier star.

It should also be noted that I prefer the rougher women in prison films by the likes of Jess Franco. Franco started this genre with 99 Women but I prefer his darker WIP films like Barbed Wire Dolls, Women in Cell Block 9 and Sadomania.

'The Big Doll House' may not be the first women in prison movie of the 1970s but it was one of the most influential, kicking off the short lived but legendary Made-in-the-Philippines-but-set-in-some-nameless-Banana-republic cycle. The tape I watched was part of "The Pam Grier Collection" but to say Grier is the STAR of this movie is an exaggeration. Judy Brown is the star and Roberta Collins is equally important as Grier. But Brown didn't do all that much after this, and Collins is only remembered by exploitation buffs (for 'Caged Heat', 'Death Race 200' and 'Eaten Alive'), while Grier became a blaxploitation icon. That's cool, but let's not fool ourselves here. As enjoyable as it is watching Pam in this one she really doesn't do all that much. Jack Hill regular Sid Haig ('Spider Baby') has some memorable and amusing schtick with her. He plays a horny guy who brings the female prisoners food and other treats for cash. Grier and Haig obviously made a great team, and Hill would exploit this in his even more enjoyable 'The Big Bird Cage', which isn't a sequel to this movie as many seem to think. 'Bird Cage' is the better movie, but 'Doll House' is still a pretty good movie that any fan of 1970s b-grade movies will get a kick out of.