Black Mama White Mama

Eddie Romero's "Black Mama, White Mama" aka "Chained Women" of 1972 is a stylish and funny 'Women in Prison' exploitation flick full of the usual ingredients like violence, catfights and shower- and lesbian scenes. The movie's highlight is, of course, the great Pam Grier.

Locked up in a brutal prison camp on a tropical island, blonde revolutionary Karen Brent(Margaret Markov) and former black prostitute Lee Daniels (Pam Grier) are constantly having beef with each other. Chained together by the sadistic lesbian prison wardens, the two escape from a con transport. Chased by henchmen of the drug-lord who used to have Lee locked up as a harem-girl, gangsters and the police, the two fugitives have different destinations. While Karen has to find her guerrilla friends, Lee must reach a boat with a case full of cash. On the run, the two have quite some fights, but since they are chained together, they have to get along.

"Black Mama, White Mama" is pretty violent and a typical exploitation flick, lots of shootouts, occasional torture, many catfights and naked breasts. The acting in this movie differs. Pam Grier is great as always, and so is sexy Margaret Markov as Karen. Sid Haig's performance as Ruben, a slightly insane gangster in a cowboy outfit, is another highlight in "Black Mama, White Mama" and makes the movie a lot funnier. The rest of the acting is nothing special, typical B-movie performances, some better some worse. A fan of Pam Grier and lover of blaxploitation classics like "Coffy" as well as films like "Jackie Brown", I found "Black Mama, White Mama" very entertaining. Not one of Pam Grier's best movies, but better than most 'Women's prison' flicks, this is a violent and fun film and definitely worth watching.

"Black Mama, White Mama" has something for everyone. Everyone, that is, who walks directly to the "Action/Adventure" section upon entering their local video store. First, it starts out in a woman's prison in some random South/Central American country. Second, the suggestions of lesbianism that this setting offers are set into hyper-warp by the chaining together of the two rivals for the lead, Pam Grier and Margaret Markov, while they wear nothing but skimpy prison tunics. They go on the run together while the film makes various unnecessary-yet-entertaining visits to all of those on their trail: Grier's former pimp, government agents after Markov, and, last but not least, Sid Haig's delightfully flamboyant "cowboy" character. This is a video that's not necessarily fun for ALL, but rather, a video that's fun for all who keep video stores in business.

Pam Grier and Margaret Markov are the Black Mama and White Mama respectively, Two escapees from a womens' prison, in this exploitation flick. Actually pretty good in a B-movie way. It's not Jonathan Demme's best writing credit ( that would be Caged Heat), and not Pam Grier's best movie (or 5th best movie... or 10th best movie.. or even.. well you get the gist), but it IS Margaret Markov's best film AND it does have Sid Haig (who's good in anything,pretty much the ONLY actor i liked in that "House of 1,000 Corpses" travesty)

My Rating: B-

Eye Candy: shower scene, Pam & Margaret topless in the "hot box", Various hookers, & a 3-way

Where i saw it: TMC Extra

Kudos to Pam Grier, the only woman with her own genre. Where else can you find a woman't prison, 3 race shower scene, Philippino gangsters, revolutionaries, and chase scenes reminiscent of the recent "Run." Not her best, but right up there, a definite recommendation for all you Pam Grier fans.

Wow, this one just about defies description! Although the filmmakers seem to take the project a bit too seriously, our stars (Pam Grier and Margaret Markov) seem to be enjoying themselves. There's sadistic female guards, showers, a prison break, shootouts between revolutionaries and police. This film really typifies the genre.

Despite some of the dire happenings (blood flows like water) the film has a light-hearted feel. It's pure entertainment material, and doesn't pretend to be anything else. The heroines, Grier and Markov, really are the shining lights of this piece. One wonders how they could roll in the mud and catfight their way cross-country without mussing their uniforms. Talented women, they are. A funny note, at least in my opinion, is that Grier's character wears black underpants, and Markov's white.

See it, enjoy it, have a good giggle.