Mark Turner For young people today it's hard to believe that there was a time when certain movies were made that weren't headed for regular theatrical release so much as for drive-ins that were scattered around the country. While some still remain (and should be treasured) there are few drive-ins these days, enough so that some have no idea what a drive-in was. And yet there was a time when stars were made roughing through the trenches of low budget films only to become big later in life. Such was the case with Pam Grier who found bigger roles later in life after having paid her dues in Blaxploitation films like this one.The story is simple: in some small spot in the Philippines two very different women are sent to a women's prison, one a seemingly upright revolutionary determined to help the people and another a would be harem girl on the outs with her "boss". Neither one takes a liking to the other and are more likely to kill each other than those around them. Never the less, the pair find themselves having to work together when they are handcuffed to one another during a transport and escape still chained together.While Karen (Margaret Markov) wants to rejoin her fellow revolutionaries with information they can use all Lee (Grier) wants to do is get as far away as possible along with the money she stole from her gangster lover. Their trek across county in search of assistance and an escape makes up the majority of this movie. Along the way we get to learn about the ruler of the island, connections to dirty cops and bounty hunters (including the great Sid Haig) who want nothing more than to take on the job of finding these two women. Will they escape? Watch and see.The movie contains everything that was essential to drive-in movies, especially exploitation films, at the time. If you have a women in prison film expect to see gratuitous nudity and at least once a shower scene that allows women to be displayed. Cat-fighting in these films is a must and can be checked off the list for this film. A lesbian guard is almost always in attendance, another check off the list here. And corrupt officials are always to be found, one more check on the list completed.What makes this film work is first off the plot device of two women, one black and one white, chained together who must work together to get where each one wants. The easiest comparison for this is the film "THE DEFIANT ONES" where Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier found themselves in the same situation. While not a rip-off of that film it does use the same device. The other thing that makes it work is the acting ability of all involved. The three main leads, Grier, Markov and Haig, made a living in many low budget flicks in their time. What many may not recall is just how good they were in those films. There are many low budget films with some of the worst acting in them. This isn't one of them.As with most Arrow Film releases (which I always praise) this one is no exception to the rule. They have once again outdone themselves for fans of the film and the genre. The transfer of the film has never looked better. That's always a plus when it comes to films that have more or less been tossed aside and not given their due. Arrow always makes each release look as close to a new film as possible with the best transfers around.As for extras they have done more than many as well in that department. Not only do you get the best looking print of this film to be found as well as one that has had the sound retooled, you get a commentary track with filmmaker Andrew Leavold, and interview with Margaret Markov, and interview with Sid Haig, an archive interview with director Eddie Romero and the trailer for the film. All at a reasonable price. Not only that but the first pressing also includes a booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by Temple of Schlock s Chris Poggiali and extracts from the original press book, illustrated with archive stills and posters. Wow! Fans of the movie, fans of Pam Grier and Sid Haig and fans of the drive-in will delight in the release of this film. For me it just showed once again how great a job Arrow Film continues doing and makes me anxious to see each month just what they have to offer.

Scott LeBrun From story authors Jonathan Demme & Joe Viola, screenwriter H.R. Christian, and the prolific Eddie Romero, comes this diverting Filipino chase movie that puts an exploitative spin on the premise of "The Defiant Ones".It starts out as your average women in prison flick, with blonde revolutionary Karen Brent (Margaret Markov) and black prostitute Lee Daniels (Pam Grier) meeting. While escorted away from the prison, they are shackled together. They soon make their break for freedom, often arguing over methodology and directions but coming to rely on each other and even care for each other.Director Romero makes this a pretty lively affair, and it's worth noting that things take on a rather tongue in cheek tone at times. The ample humour helps to make this quite easy to watch, with Pams' frequent co-star Sid Haig given a meaty role which he plays with relish: a flamboyant, horny, loud talking dude in a cowboy costume. Romeros' pacing is effective, and the action scenes are fairly intense; there are some brief bursts of bloody violence. The location shooting is excellent, and the supporting cast features some familiar faces from Filipino exploitation cinema: Eddie Garcia, Alfonso Carvajal, Bruno Punzalan, and the always welcome Vic Diaz, who's a hoot as an oily crime lord. Sexy Lynn Borden has the role of a lustful prison guard. Stars Markov and Grier look fantastic and get some great chemistry going.The true highlight of the movie definitely has to be the sequence where Markov and Grier masquerade as nuns; it provides the biggest laughs. But it must be said that Romero knows how to get down to business, delivering delectable nudity in the obligatory shower scene that occurs no more than four minutes into the movie.All in all, this is solid entertainment that should please fans of the A.I.P. drive-in flicks of the 1970s.Seven out of 10.

Michael_Elliott Black Mama, White Mama (1973) ** (out of 4)Silly if mildly entertaining rip-off of THE DEFIANT ONES only with females. Pam Grier plays the black girl and Margaret Markov is the white one, they hate each other but must come together to escape prison and eventually go on the run trying to do get done what they need to live peaceful. This film was shot in the Philippines by a director known for creating some low-budget horror films including MAD DOCTOR OF BLOOD ISLAND and BRIDES OF BLOOD. He brings a nice atmosphere to the film as he obviously knows the land very well and the Philippine settings really add a lot to the movie. With that said, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that they didn't achieve a tad bit more considering some the camp talent they had involved here. For starters, both Grier and Markov fit into their roles very nicely. Both look extremely sexy and they work well off of one another even if neither one gives what one would call a good performance. We also have Sid Haig playing a bounty hunter and he adds some additional entertaining especially in one scene where he goes up to a father and takes his two daughters into a bedroom. The film has been labeled as a blaxploiation pic but that's really not true as Grier is the only black member in the entire cast. The racial elements from the original film have pretty much been taken out and the main reason the two hate one another is that Markov was willing to sleep with a female guard to get off work detail! Future Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme was credited with co-writing the story that the screenplay was based on and one would have thought a little more imagination would have gone into everything. We get a few nods to the original film and one to COOL HAND Luke but the screenplay and story really don't add anything fresh or original. The movie does feature non-stop nudity and we get the shower scene with all the female prisoners. I think the film would have done a lot better had it gone for more instead of trying to simply tell a bad story. The nudity is fine, the cast is fun but in the end there's just not enough here to make this a complete entertainment. It was a nice touch having Grier in white panties and Markov in white.

lastliberal Give me Pam Grier anytime. It doesn't take long for her to be in the shower at the prison all naked, with one of the matrons looking through a peephole and getting all hot and bothered as some of the girls play around.Standard prison fare: fight in the dining area, a day naked in the hot box, bare breasts, lesbian matron trying to come on to prisoners, torture; you know the drill.One of the prisoners (Margaret Markov) is part of the revolution on the island, so she and Pam Grier get sprung. They cop some nuns habits as disguises. The cowboy drug dealer (Sid Haig) provided lots of laughs as they chased the two women. Another drug dealer provided lots of flesh to view when he was on screen. With a rebel group and the police in on the search, there was plenty of action.