Sweet Sugar

Sweet Sugar (1972)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Sugar (Phyllis Davis) is a prostitute that plays by her own rules but she's set-up for a drug charge and sent to work in the fields cutting cane. She strikes up a friendship-rivalry with Simone (Ella Edwards) and it doesn't take long for them to realize Dr. John (Angus Duncan) is a sexual psychopath.

SWEET SUGAR is yet another exploitation film that takes place inside a prison and features a lot of beautiful women being abused by a lot of not-so-beautiful men and of course there's the wicked leader calling all of the shots. There were so many different WIP (women in prison) movies being made during this period that you really needed to have something that set your film apart from the others. When you look at the genre as a whole, it would get much more darker and more brutal when various European director's starting making films like BARBED WIRE DOLLS.

How does SWEET SUGAR stand up? Sadly, it's a pretty boring affair and unless you're a completest for the genre then you can just stay away from this. The biggest problem with this movie is that it wants to play the game of a WIP movie but there's no indication that the screenplay or direction knew what to do. On a technical level the film looks nice and it's better made than a lot in the genre but the biggest issue is that it's downright boring and this is never a good thing for an exploitation movie.

The screenplay offers up a checklist of things that you might find in a film like this but there's nothing entertaining about it. Everything on display here has been done better in movies made before this and after it so you're basically just watching a watered down version of something you've seen too many times. There's nothing erotic about the sex scenes. There's nothing overly graphic with the violence. Yeah, there's a couple lesbians kissing and there are some beautiful women naked but everything going on around them is just boring.

Director Michel Levesque directed WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS the year before and I wasn't overly fond of that film either. The movie is just way too boring for its own good and it just doesn't stand out in a crowded genre.

Quality-wise "Sweet Sugar" is standard Women-In-Prison (though the setting is not exactly a prison, but a sugar cane plantation) fare, but it does make an effort to distinguish itself from the pack by mixing broad comedy (the heroine is injected with a drug that turns her on so much that she causes the machine she is connected to to explode!), sadistic violence (including involuntary cannibalism!), supernatural elements (one of the male prisoners knows voodoo and talks to "the spirits"), and just plain weirdness (coming mostly in the form of "the doctor", a creepy nutcase who like to perform "experiments" on the girls just for kicks). Phyllis Davis and Ella Edwards are both strong and attractive heroines, though not quite at the level of, say, Pam Grier and Margaret Markov. The film looks rather good, but it does not flow very well from scene to scene, and the sexy parts as well as the action parts are too short to satisfy. Worth a look for Phyllis and Ella. (**)

It is surprising that we did not see more of Miss Davis. A few Love American Styles, Sweet Sugar, Terminal Island, a Love Boat or two, Dan Tanna's secretary, and that was about it. Given her obvious "attributes" and her being such a good sport about sharing them with the camera, I would have thought producers would have been lining up to sign her. I could have seen her as a Charlie's Angel, as a Bond girl, as one of J.R. Ewing's other women on Dallas, and other things. Spoilers throughout from here: Here she plays what is described as a prostitute, although, she denies being one, who when caught smoking a joint, gets railroaded onto a sugar plantation prison for 2 years, and takes the deal rather than facing something worse(?). Actually it's not as bad as some prison movies. The prison is not as strict at times seeming like a summer camp- that is between torture, rapes,and the sexual based experiments from the prison warden, a dimented, cackling Dr. John. However, Phyliss is the star and she never loses that smirk. More accurately, the star is that body, which is accented with Daisy Duke type shorts and halter tops with, of course, no bra, as one of Dr. John's experiments seems to be how long Sugar's abundant bosom can remain firm while cutting cane every day without one. The catalyst that moves the plot along is when Sugar refuses Dr. John's advances and has sex with a guard, for which she is whipped. But just one stroke with the whip? In keeping with you the spirit of the movie, why not a hard paddling and having her rub a sore bottom instead? This one hits you with everything and if you only like half of it, the movie served its purpose.

This used to be a regular on USA Up All Night, back when Gilbert and Rhonda were still hosting. Phyllis Davis is really gorgeous in a Russ Meyer kind of way (if you don't know what I mean, go rent a Russ Meyer film and you'll understand). It's supposed to be an action film, and is along the same lines as "Chained Fury" and "Reform School Girls". Closeups of breasts, simulated sex, etc. The acting is pretty bad, but combined with a ridiculous plot and the sexual innuendo it makes for an unintentionally hilarious film. If you've got a Saturday evening with nothing to do, invite a few pals over and rent this. You'll be laughing in no time...

Throw-away film with some fun topless shots of Ms. Davis. She fits a certain zaftig sexuality that was popular in T&A films of the '70s, and this one will meet your expectations if that's what you're after. The dialog is nonsense, but that's part of the format, really. Have fun, and don't let anyone make you explain your pleasures.