Atacan las mujeres policías

"Policewomen" (actually, there is technically only ONE policewoman in the movie) is not as sleazy or action-filled as other drive-in movies of the period. However, it does manage to be much more enjoyable than many of them.

Much of this is due to Sondra Currie, who is a delight as the lead. She gives her character confidence, a sense of humor, and a spirit of adventure. Whether arguing with her superiors or in hand-to-hand combat, she constantly shines. Judging from her performance here, it's a mystery why she didn't go onto bigger things, or at the very least become a prominent star in the drive-in genre.

But there is additional enjoyment beyond Currie. There is a good amount of humor - some unintentional, like how Currie's policemen co-workers are surprisingly sexist. However, most of the comedy is intentional and pretty funny at that. The plot has some outlandish touches (an all-girl gang that spends most of its time in bikinis?), a cameo by William Smith, Elizabeth Stuart has some hilariously stingy one-liners, and there is a respectable amount of nudity and sex. The best bits are the martial arts sequences, which are unusually very well choreographed (and surprisingly brutal at times.) Dim the lights, pretend you're at the drive-in, and sit back and have some fun.

Policewomen is an action movie directed by Lee Frost, who made several exploitation flicks including the pleasingly ridiculous The Thing with Two Heads (1972) about a white racist who has his head transplanted onto the body of a black guy! This one is certainly less psychotronic than that effort but is better value overall in my view. Its title makes no sense at all of course, as there is only really one policewoman in the film, seemingly it was going to be titled 'Policewoman' until a TV movie of that name was aired just before its release so the producers just pluralized the title of this one. Whatever the case, it hardly matters. It's about a female police officer who goes undercover to infiltrate an all-female gang of criminals.

I really like films full of women so this one was right up my alley. The guys that appear are very peripheral and sometimes even get beat up by the chicks, which is never a bad thing. But seeing as it's a 70's action flick, while it has some material satirising male chauvinism, the female empowerment stuff is offset by a sprinkling of nudity throughout, so everyone's a winner basically. The lead actress is Sondra Currie who makes for a great heroine. She, and the other women, get involved in much kung fu fighting and it's consistently entertaining stuff. The film opens with a prison break and then moves onto its gangster plot-line but it is in essence a female-led action flick which was clearly aimed at the unpretentious low budget drive-in crowd. I personally found quite a lot to like about this one and consider it something of a success.

Can you give a low budget b-movie a 7 rating? I am tempted!

I was entertained and amused for 90 minutes by this 1974 flick. No it's not the best script and acting but it is definitely entertaining and I enjoyed it more than some IMDb 8+ rated blockbusters. Plenty of gratuitous nudity and classic 1974 action/fighting / karate scenes.

Sondra Currie was extremely enjoyable and the clear star of the show. And she's not difficult to look at either. A strong 6 plus for this flick.

ABOUT MY REVIEWS:

I do not include a synopsis of the film/show -- you can get that anywhere and that does not constitute a meaningful review -- but rather my thoughts and feelings on the film that hopefully will be informative to you in deciding whether to invest 90-180 minutes of your life on it.

My scale: 1-5 decreasing degrees of "terrible", with 5 being "mediocre" 6- OK. Generally held my interest OR had reasonable cast and/or cinematography, might watch it again 7 - Good. My default rating for a movie I liked enough to watch again, but didn't rise to the upper echelons 8- Very good. Would watch again and recommend to others 9- Outstanding. Would watch over and over; top 10% of my ratings 10 - A classic. (Less than 2% receive this rating). For Lifetime Movies for Chicks (LMFC), drop the above scale by 3 notches. A 6 is excellent and 7 almost unattainable.

POLICE WOMEN is a straightforward early '70s action flick about an undercover cop who infiltrates an all-female gang in order to bring some perps to justice. It has a low rent, TV movie-style look and feel to it, but a string of rather basic martial arts fights keeps the running time bubbling along, allowing this to be mildly enjoyable for the undemanding viewer.

Sondra Currie essays the role of the tough, ass-kicking female lead, and she does a fine job with it. She brings some of the sass and verve of Pam Grier to the part, and she's one of the best things about the movie. Elsewhere, watch out for William Smith's amusing cameo as a karate instructor. Director Lee Frost worked his way through an exploitation career incorporating such titles as HOUSE ON BARE MOUNTAIN, THE DEFILERS, LOVE CAMP 7, and THE THING WITH TWO HEADS. What a resume!

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).