Uriah43 While on a date at a night club "Terry" (Anitra Ford) is kidnapped by revolutionaries after they rob everyone of their valuables. The police chase one of the getaway cars which has Terry in it and when the leader of the revolutionaries named "Django" (Sid Haig) realizes he can't outrun them he abandons the car leaving Terry behind. However, rather than being freed Terry is falsely accused of collaborating with the revolutionaries and sent to a prison deep in the Phillipine jungle. When she gets there she finds that the warden is physically abusing the female prisoners and working the women to the point of death on a dangerous sugar mill he calls "the Big Bird Cage". What follows next is the general "Women-in-prison" scenario which typically includes a mixture of nudity, abuse, drama and action. However, this one has quite a bit of humor as well. Unfortunately, the humor seemed to get a bit old after awhile and tended to detract from the other elements which define the genre. Likewise, some of the scripts and scenarios were rather weak and disjointed which made the entire film seem to lose its focus. Along with that, some of the actresses, particularly Candice Roman (as "Carla"), weren't utilized to their fullest potential. In essence, what could have been an outstanding addition to this genre turned out to lose its sizzle by the end. Frankly, I found it to be a bit disappointing. Accordingly, I rate this movie as slightly below average.

Woodyanders Haughty celebrity Terry (a delightfully brash performance by slinky brunette minx Anitra Ford) gets arrested and sent to a brutal women's prison work farm. Gutsy revolutionary Blossom (robustly played with splendidly sassy aplomb by the one and only Pam Grier) decides to engineer a break out from the outside in. Ace B-flick writer/director Jack Hill relates the entertaining story at a constant quick pace, stages the action set pieces with real flair, and maintains a winningly easy'n'breezy tone throughout. Moreover, the eager cast have a field day with the wacky material: Carol Speed as the scrappy Mickie, Teda Bracci as raucous top con Bull Jones, Candice Roman as sex-starved strumpet Carla, Karen McKevic as fearsome and predatory lesbian Karen, Andres Centenera as the strict and sadistic Warden Zappa, and Marissa Delgado as the fragile Rina. The always terrific Sid Haig is in fine lively form as merry bandit Django while legendary Filipino sleaze movie mainstay Vic Diaz almost steals the whole show with his hilarious turn as mincing gay guard Rocco. Better still, this film covers all the pleasingly sleazy grindhouse bases: a group shower scene, torture and degradation of women, a sizable smattering of tasty bare distaff skin, fierce catfights, and an exciting last reel revolt and subsequent escape. However, it's Hill's trademark sly humor that really gives this movie an extra uproarious lift (Django has to pretend to be a flamboyant homosexual in order to get hired as a prison guard and poor Rocco winds up being raped by the ladies during the thrilling climax). Philip Sacdalan's pretty polished cinematography does the trick. The funky score by William Loose and William Castleman hits the get-down groovy spot. An absolute blast.

lost-in-limbo Jack Hill is back again (a year after 'The Big Doll House'), to write and direct another low-budgeted drive-in Roger Corman produced women-in-prison joint in the tropics of the banana republic. This second run-of-the-mill dig is meaner, snappier, sweatier and is a lot more accomplished technical production, but I really do have a soft spot for rough-around-the-edges, but enjoyable 'Big Doll House' that sees me actually favour it over this particular effort… plus it had the feisty blonde buxom Roberta Collins! Nonetheless Hill competently engraves the prominent staples (even adding few new novel ideas) and patterns one hope for from its exploitative subject matter, which is handled in a brightly lit manner than truly beating it down with despair. Sleaze, violence, profanity and a whole lot of socking personality all rolled in one. There's no better to deliver it… a lively Pam Grier and charming Sid Haig come to the show with such an electric chemistry. When they go missing-in-action, you simply crave for them to appear again. Vic Diaz is delightfully amusing as camp gay prison guard and Anitra Ford adds brazen class, but seems to be struggling to keep a straight face. Saying that it seemed more comically daffy, as the script holds a cheeky edge amongst it harden dialogues. In the latter half it became insanely humorous and hysterical. Hill confidently executes it with a little more briskness and latitude, concentrating not only on the posing drama at hand, but detailing the exotically open locations with crisp photography work despite the limitations. The story can open up a notable can of worms, but it's in-your-face and well-rounded flavor made it hard not to simply enjoy.

gridoon First of all, I would like to say that I find Leonard Maltin's review of this film rather inaccurate. "Amusing SPOOF of prison films"? Calling "The Big Bird Cage" a spoof is like calling "Die Hard" a spoof of action films because it contains some wisecracks and comic-relief characters. That said, I found this film inferior to its predecessor in pretty much every aspect. It is more exploitative, the direction has no pace, the characters are not as strongly drawn and Roberta Collins is sorely missed (Candice Roman is a pretty blonde, but not as pretty as Roberta). Pam Grier's dominating presence (especially in the scene where she proclaims herself the leader of the prison camp) is not only the best, but one of the few things that this film has going for it. (**)