The Big Doll House

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.

After killing her rich husband a woman by the name of "Collier" (Judith Brown) is sentenced to 99 years at hard labor at a women's prison somewhere deep in the Philippine jungle. She is put in a cell with 5 other beautiful women who go by the names of "Alcott" (Roberta Collins), "Bodine" (Pat Woodell), "Grear" (Pam Greer), "Harrad" (Brooke Mills) and "Ferina"(Gina Stuart). While each of them have their own story to tell they all share one particular view which is that the head guard, "Lucian" (Kathryn Loder) is extremely sadistic and the attractive warden "Miss Dietrich"(Christiane Schmidtmer) is either incompetent or ambivalent to the torture and abuse within the prison. Yet although a recently assigned doctor named "Dr. Phillips" (Jack Davis) is trying to correct the problem the inmates decide to take matters into their own hands and attempt to escape. Now, rather than detailing all of the events that transpire and risk spoiling the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was an interesting low-budget "Women-in-Prison" film which covered most of the main aspects associated with movies of this type. It certainly had more than its share of gorgeous women. And while I certainly can't complain about that the fact is that the overall plot was a bit too "by the numbers" and lacked credibility. No doubt fans of this genre will find it enjoyable though and overall I rate it as slightly above average.

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)

The genre of women-in-prison movies has never been my favourite type of exploitation movie. You know the deal: young woman goes to a prison (usually in a jungle somewhere in Asia or South America), she was probably framed and is innocent, there are tough lesbians in the prison and the warden punishes the inmates with devices and techniques inspired by sadomasochism.

Oh, and I forgot the main reason anyone watches these: shower scenes. What would a WIP movie be without one of those? That's right: basically pointless. You watch for nudity, and maybe the kinkier among you watch for the bondage situations the warden inflicts on the inmates. And it all culminates in an escape attempt.

"The Big Doll House" could be described as notable for two unimpressive reasons: it's an early example of this particular subgenre, which would go into overdrive in the '70s, and it's actually quite toned down by contrast to the rest of them.

For one thing, there's no full frontal nudity. Some of the actresses in the shower scene are clearly not even naked - you can see glimpses of underwear. The filmmakers apparently didn't have the neat idea of elevating the camera, or just angling it up, so you can't tell they're not really naked.

There's not really much to say about "The Big Doll House" other than that; the rest applies to all other WIP flicks as well. In this one, the warden is a lesbian, so we don't really get that from the other inmates, nor are they depicted as being all that vicious, apart from one scene at the very beginning where the protagonist has her hair dunked in a toilet bowl. The movie kind of forgets that right after it happens, and they all band together. It does that a few other times, though I have already forgotten the specifics: it has what feels like an episodic story-structure, but I'm not sure if it's supposed to. A lot of events seem isolated because they have no effect on the narrative; another example that just occurred to me is a mudfight between Pam Grier and some other girl.

The movie is also pretty badly acted. The actresses all seem dazed, as though they'd been hypnotised. The only stand-out is, yes, Grier, in what I think was her first speaking role. Some of her lines are delivered pretty badly too, but she just has a presence, inflected with power and intelligence. The actresses who play the other inmates are all completely forgettable.

There is, of course, also Grier's perennial counterpart Sid Haig, playing his usual sleazoid role. Those two were good together; the other performers, and the script they're performing, is just so pedestrian that it gets in the way.

The Big Doll House was followed-up by The Big Bird Cage a year later. The two films do not follow on from each other; but are very similar in style and content. While this film is not quite as great as the later one; it's still an excellent women in prison flick. The film was shot in the Philippines and set in some backwater country; but we don't get the same great outdoor shots that we got in the later film, and most of this film takes place in the classic, dingy, prison setting. That, however, is not a problem; as a constant stream of sleaze and action will keep most viewers from worrying about where it's taking place. Naturally, the film takes place in a prison where most of the prisoners have little chance of release. A new girl enters the prison and is put in with a motley crew of female prisoners. It's not long before the conditions inside the jail force the girls into planning an escape; but not before various rivalries amongst themselves are sorted out.

This film is just great fun to watch, and that's what makes it so successful. The script is rather ridiculous; but there's plenty of laughs to be had with it too so it doesn't matter. The biggest names in the cast belong to Sid Haig and Pam Grier; although neither one of them is the star. As would be the case with the later film, Sid Haig provides the most memorable role; this time as a pervy bloke that goes round delivers various goodies to the female prisoners. Most of the rest of the cast are nice to look at, as is standard for films like this. The Big Doll House is a rather lighter affair than the women in prison films by the likes of Jess Franco et al; but it's all the better for it. There's plenty of action to keep the pulses racing, including various cat fights, arguments and gun fights. There's also a series of rather trippy torture scenes, which seem weirdly out of place in the film. The Big Doll House boils down to an explosive ending and overall I wouldn't hesitate to name this as one of the all time best women in prison films (although The Big Bird Cage is slightly better).