Le pénitencier des chattes chaudes

Of all the Ed Wood/A.C. Stephen's collaborations,this one is probably the top of the class.,because everything is actually in focus and the sex is a bit more explicit than their earlier films together.The biggest problem this film has is that most of it was shot outdoors,at night,and these guys never had any real money to spend,so most of the lighting looks like it was done with no more than two lights.Three rape scenes(two of them lesbian scenes),Ed Wood in a dual role as a gas station attendant and a sheriff,unwashed hippies that don't look all that unwashed,70's style haircuts on men that I sure as hell never remember having,what more could a sleaze addict ask for,?

Having worked up a thirst in bed, Paula (Jabie Abercrombe) and her new lover take a trip to the local liquor store for a little post-coital refreshment. While in the store, Paula's man reveals his true colours by drawing a pistol, shooting the cashier, knocking Paula to the ground (when she understandably refuses to act as getaway driver), and then hightailing it, leaving the poor young woman to take the rap.

Unjustly sentenced to a stint in a minimum security correctional facility for women, Paula attracts the attention of lesbian inmate Kat, who forcibly instructs her in the art of 'girl on girl' before insisting that she become the fifth member of her gang, who are planning to break out of prison to go in search of a hidden stash of stolen loot.

If, like me, your knowledge of the work of Ed Wood only extends as far as infamous sci-fi /horror klunker Plan 9 From Outer Space, then Fugitive Girls—which the legendary film-maker co-wrote and starred in—might prove something of an eye opener: it's as trashy and as inept as one would expect, but it's a whole lot raunchier, with frequent sex scenes that look as though there wasn't much in the way of acting required from the performers.

While the raunchy scenes and regular doses of gratuitous nudity are undoubtedly the film's major selling points, the film also benefits from lousy dialogue, un-PC racial slurring, very unconvincing acting (the guy trying to resist being raped by one of the buxom beauties is hilarious), and clichéd characters (including boisterous bikers and sex-mad hippies), all of which adds up to a whole heap of trashy fun for avid fans of drive-in, sexploitation fodder.

No one will mistake "Fugitive Girls" (the most common title for this film) for great cinema. The ultra-low budget, editing errors and continuity blunders alone guarantee that. But taken for what it is - a 1974 exploitation quickie, a drive-in nudie flick about female criminals - this movie really works. With the legendary Edward D. Wood Jr. contributing one of his finest screenplays and also acting in two different roles, the film won't disappear. "Fugitive Girls" is good entertainment!

The acting ranges from passable to good, the dialogue ranges from classic Woodian nonsense to decent, the music often works very well, and technically...well, this aspect doesn't usually manage to impress. Director Stephen Apostolof deserves credit, certainly, for the superb pacing and for bringing out the best in actresses Tallie Cochrane, the '70's adult superstar Rene Bond (now supposedly deceased) and the strangely overlooked but genuinely charismatic Margie Lanier.

Rarely do these no-budget grindhouse flicks deliver like this one does, and not because of overt sex or violence; "Fugitive Girls" succeeds on it's own quirky charm and likability. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is a *good* movie, but a great one for it's genre. Despite all of this, "Fugitive Girls" rarely receives extended mention in Ed Wood discussions, probably because it's such an oddity. It isn't family friendly like, say, "Plan 9 From Outer Space", doesn't feature any of his most famous players from his earlier period (like Criswell in "Orgy Of The Dead"), and this film barely qualifies as softcore, much less hardcore (such as "Necromania"). You get the idea.

"Fugitive Girls" is top-shelf exploitation and recommended viewing for Wood cultists, Rene Bond fans, B-cinema specialists and grindhouse followers alike.

(10 stars for genre excellence, not general brilliance)

Two alternate titles for "Five Loose Women" are "Fugitive Girls" and "Hot on the Trail" (which was the title I viewed it under).

This film was written by Ed Wood at the end of his career, and near the end of his life, when he was basically a down-on-his-luck drunk just trying to afford his rent. He has a minor part in the film where he looks rather beaten down and haggard...I don't think too much make-up was required to achieve that look.

Rene Bond did a great job and looked great, as usual. A.C. Stephens did his usual Ed Wood style of directing. Don't know if it was intentional, but it's hard to tell them apart when it comes to things like lighting and how the actors deliver their parts.

A group of five extremely annoying female inmates plot their big prison break. This consists of them walking out of what looks like a rental cabin while someone off camera waves a spotlight around.

Next, they're "on the run", accompanied by "on the run" music. About now, we realize we're deep into Writer Ed Wood Jr. Territory. Thankfully, there's nothing whatsoever to be taken seriously.

The dialogue clunks along like a tin-can robot in anvil shoes. Of course, there's the obligatory nudity and hideous 1970's sensuality!

The best part is when the convicts stumble upon a commune of naked, performance artist-type hippies. Don't let their organic diets fool you! These hippies are into violence, man! Soon, the groovy tables are turned and the desperate women have some new, freaky threads!

EXTRA POINTS FOR: #1- The pursuing trio of plum idjit hillbillies! #2- The women's sexual assault on a male motorist! #3- The beatdown administered to the world's smallest biker gang! #4- The abuse-of-the-disabled home invasion sequence!

Yes, Rene Bond is in this film. All of her. If the likes of Roger Corman had directed it, it could have been a schlock masterwork...