Savage Sisters

I was warned that this would not be a typical women-in prison film. Cheri Caffaro may have tempted us with clothing that she was about to burst out of, but the key words are "about to." Even the shower scene with Caffaro and Rosanna Ortiz was a bust. Even Gloria Hendry in a bathtub was covered in soap. Even the matron (Rita Gomez), who jumps into bed with all the officers, hides herself well.

It's all about some crazy General, who has 10 stars and wears medals on his T shirt, who is after a million dollars the rebels stole. He enlists Capt. Morales (Eddie Garcia) with the promise of a star. Hendry takes Caffaro and Ortiz and they make a plan of their own with a shifty John Ashley, who plans to double-cross them.

Funny, but a big disappointment for WIP fans.

This movie features several different factions of a third-world country who are all trying to acquire a box containing $1 million American dollars. The first faction involves a group of revolutionaries led by a man named "Ernesto" (Dindo Fernando) who needs this money to support his cause. The second faction consists of some armed bandits led by a very unscrupulous man named "Malavasi" (Sid Haig). Initially, they side with the revolutionaries but things have a way of changing in the heat of battle. The third group is headed by a corrupt military officer by the name of "General Balthazar" (Leopoldo Salcedo) who represents the government and has specifically ordered a junior officer named "Captain Morales" (Eddie Garcia) to kill or apprehend all rebels and to obtain the money at all costs. Needless to say, with so much at stake only one side will win. Now, as far as the film is concerned, I liked the steady mixture of action and comedy which kept things entertaining from start-to-finish. Likewise, having two attractive actresses like Cheri Caffaro (as "Jo Turner") and Gloria Hendry ("Sergeant Lynn Jackson") certainly didn't hurt either. On the other hand, this was clearly a low-budget, B-movie which definitely suffered from its limitations. No use denying it. Be that as it may, however, it had enough good points to essentially make up for the obvious defects and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

An exciting not totally serious film. Gloria Hendry is excellent as Lynn Jackson. She is a totally underrated actress and should have received the fame and acclaim of Pam Grier.

'Savage Sisters' is a valuable addition to the blaxploitation/women in prison genre, and is a must for all those into this stuff. It is actually, in my opinion, one of the better examples of the genre.

I saw it when it came out in 1974. It was then available on VHS for a while.

However, as far as I know, it is NOT available on DVD, although there is a boxed set with the same title it doesn't include the movie!

The boxed set of DVDs available entitled 'Savage Sisters'consists of blaxploitation/women in prison movies but DOESN'T include the movie 'Savage Sisters'! Very strange.

I'm surprised this isn't more well known among exploitation fan circles. As far as women in prison movies go, this one is pretty amusing and works better than most of its ilk. Sure, it's not without flaws with some lame action scenes and a surprising lack of sleaze for the genre but the directing and acting do well with the zany script.

The lead women, which are a white, black, and Asian respectively, skip on the nudity but deliver some amusing dialogue and acting which the movie would have been pretty dull without. Performances are over the top lending to a cartoony vibe with John Ashley and Sid Haig being standouts. No ground is being broken here, but after watching countless exploitation movies, this one provides a fun lighthearted atmosphere missing from most.

'Savage Sisters' comes from the same period as the Jack Hill led Filipino "chicks in chains" flicks of the early 70s ( see 'The Big Doll House' and 'The Big Bird Cage' for the best of the genre). Hill wasn't involved in this one mind you, the director is Eddie Romero, also responsible for the classic 'Black Mama, White Mama', who also appears in a supporting role as Captain Morales. The three aforementioned movies all co-starred blaxploitation icon Pam Grier. Grier isn't along for the ride in 'Savage Sisters', the Grier role is taken by Gloria Hendry ('Live And Let Die', 'Black Belt Jones'), and while the prison side of things isn't as important as the others in the series, fans of them will really dig this one. As always, while filmed in the Philippines, the movie is set in some unnamed Banana Republic. General Balthasar (Leopoldo Salcedo) plans on smuggling one million dollars US out of the country. A group of local revolutionaries plan on stealing the money and form an uneasy alliance with some bandits, led by the wily Malavael (the legendary Sid Haig, a regular in these kinds of movies), and his bumbling sidekick One-Eye (Vic Diaz, another familiar face). Malavael not surprisingly double crosses the revolutionaries and makes of with the cash. Meanwhile Jo Turner (Cheri Caffaro) and Mai Ling (Rosanna Ortiz), each with varying commitment to the Revolution, are captured before they can rendezvous with their comrades, who include Turner's lover. While in prison they are interrogated by tough hooker turned cop Lynn Jackson (Hendry). She is later convinced by the shady W.P. Billingsley (John Ashley, who also co-produced) to break the two women out of prison and help them track down Malavael, with the secret intention of getting hold of the cool million for themselves. However, Billingsley's plan of betrayal may not go exactly as planned as Jackson begins to bond with her "savage sisters" on the jungle journey. Newcomers to these kinds of movies may not enjoy this as those more familiar with their style and approach, but I enjoyed 'Savage Sisters' a great deal, and think it deserves to be much better known than it currently is. A tough and cool movie with plenty of fun and thrills.