Caged Heat (1974) User Reviews

Women-in-prison lite

[lastliberal-853-253708 · 6/10 · 16 March 2012]

As the director of such films as The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, and Rachel Getting Married, director Jonathan Demme has garnered a basket-load of nominations, and a few awards including an Oscar. Everyone has to start somewhere, and this is his directorial debut.

The film features Barbara Steele, the star of the Italian horror masterpiece, Black Sunday, as the prison superintendent. The rest of the cast were either novices, or veterans of B movie films like Vixen or Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.

Not the most exciting dialog, but plenty of boobage, and one really crazy doctor.

Watered-Down 70's WIP Exploit Film

[EVOL666 · 6/10 · 8 March 2006]

Jonathan (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, PHILADELPHIA) Demme kicked off his directorial career under the tutelage of veteran schlock director, Roger Corman, with CAGED HEAT - a decent 70's WIP film that has a little more substance and a lot less sleaze and violence than some of the more notable WIP entries of the era.

Jackie is busted during a drug deal gone sour, and is handed the pretty vague sentence of "no less than 10 and no more that 40" years in jail. Once inside, Jackie is exposed to gritty prison life and due to a few mishaps, gets on the wrong side of the cold-blooded female warden. Eventually, an opportunity for escape presents itself and Jackie and another prisoner fly the coop. But as anxious as they are to be on the outside again - the girls realize that they left many of their prison buddies in the hands of the ice-queen warden and her sleazy doctor crony. Soon a plan is hatched to go back and break their friends out...

CAGED HEAT is entertaining for what it is - but lacks most of the "strong" content and sleaze that the WIP films are known for. If you're expecting strong violence, lesbo rape scenes, sadistic torture, and prolonged tits and bush shots...you'll want to look elsewhere. CAGED HEAT plays more as a watered-down parody of those types of films as opposed to being a sleazy smut film - and many viewers will appreciate it for that reason. Me...I'll take the sleazy smut. Worth checking out for 70's exploit fans - just don't expect anything very rough. 6.5/10

Cool women in jail

[RodrigAndrisan · 5/10 · 6 July 2016]

We have a bunch of chicks that looks pretty good and they have balls too. They are not some amazing actresses but they are OK: Juanita Brown, from "Foxy Brown"(1974), directed by Jack Hill, Erica Gavin, from "Vixen!"(1968) and "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls"(1970), both directed by Russ Meyer, Roberta Collins, from "The Big Doll House"(1971), directed by Jack Hill, "Women in Cages"(1971), "Death Race 2000"(1975), Ella Reid and Cheryl Smith are "the good girls". Barbara Steele is the "bad girl", the crazy Supt. McQueen, the prison boss. And Warren Miller is the "bad boy", the crazy Dr. Randolph, the prison doctor. They are all doing their best in this debut of Mr. Jonathan Demme, it's not so bad like somebody wrote right here, watch it, without high hopes, and judge for yourself! At least, you'll see some naked women...

Possibly the all-time ultimate WIP movie classic

[poomyatta · 4 April 2003]

Arguably the finest women in prison (WIP) film ever made, CAGED HEAT proves that even a trash exploitation film can aspire to decent artistic values. Jackie (Erica Gavin), an accomplice in a drug related crime, is sent to a southern penitentiary run by an oppressive, wheelchair-bound warden (Barbara Steele). Jackie's cell mate Lavelle (Cheryl Rainbeuax Smith) suffers from suicidal nightmares while another prisoner, Pandora (Ella Reid), is reprimanded for entertaining her fellow inmates with a mildly lewd vaudeville act and placed in solitary confinement. Her loyal friend Belle (Roberta Collins) begins sneaking through the ventilation ducts to bring her food from the kitchen until she's caught when she surprises an elderly staff member who abruptly dies of a heart attack. Meanwhile, the prison bully Maggie (Juanita Brown) picks a fight with Jackie and gets them both in hot water. Though the warden is a bit stern, the real threat turns out to be the demented prison doctor (Warren Miller). He subjects Jackie and Maggie to illegal electric shock therapy and prescribes a more permanent `cure' for Belle: corrective brain surgery, which he intends to perform with a Black and Decker power drill (!). Jackie and Maggie finally work out their differences and manage to escape in a highjacked prison truck. But Jackie can't bring herself to abandon Lavelle, Pandora, and especially the doomed Belle. With Maggie's help, she plans a daring prison break to rescue her friends.

Jonathan Demme's script provides believable characters and several imaginative dream sequences, and his direction is filled with impressive camera angles and novel wipes and dissolves. He even commissioned an appropriately down and dirty soundtrack from blues legend John Cale. Because of these frequent artistic flourishes, CAGED HEAT is one of the few WIP movies to win the respect of critics. In spite of the abundant exploitation and nudity, the film unexpectedly also won the approval of some feminist groups who praised its positive depiction of `Woman Power.'

A hugely appealing cast helps the movie immeasurably. Ms. Steele earned a reputation as the original `Scream Queen' with her edgy performances in horror classics like Mario Bava's BLACK SUNDAY and Roger Corman's THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM (both 1961). She's cast largely against type here as the prudish warden, but a dream sequence in which she performs a raucous Vegas style dance number wearing glittering tights and sheer stockings reveals her character's repressed eroticism, a quality Steele projected in all her roles. Leading lady Ms. Gavin made her screen debut several years earlier in one of the first hardcore adult features, Russ Meyer's VIXEN! (1968), which was a gutsy career move in an era when many actors were arrested for performing sex acts on film, then still a punishable crime. The petite Ms. Smith enjoyed a busy career in exploitation films during the '70s and early '80s; she tragically died of hepatitis in 2002. But beautiful blue-eyed Ms. Collins, who had already appeared in two previous WIP movies (THE BIG DOLL HOUSE and WOMEN IN CAGES, both made in 1971), steals the show as the endearingly faithful Belle. The character takes considerable personal risk to help her friend Pandora and ultimately suffers for her effort. When we see her molested by the perverted doctor and learn that she's scheduled to become his next lobotomy victim, the news is genuinely shocking and upsetting, which nicely sets up Jackie and Maggie's race against the clock to save her. In other words, Belle ultimately becomes the emotional focus of the entire plot, and Ms. Collins handles the pivotal role with winning charisma and grace. She went on to appear in countless more cult B movies, including a fourth WIP film, VENDETTA (1986).

Demme of course went on to even bigger and better things, becoming one of the most successful directors of his generation. He won a Best Director Academy Award in 1991 for THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, which also won the Best Picture Oscar.

More like "Camp Cupcake"!

[PWT20 · 2/10 · 19 January 2005]

First of all, I was expecting "Caged Heat" to be along the same lines as "Ilsa, The Wicked Warden". Boy, was I wrong! In no way is this film 70s exploitation, "chix in chains", or "women in prison". Sure, the plot consists of a bunch of women in prison, who wear street clothes btw (quite comical), but NOTHING happens.

There aren't strong rivalries, no one tries to seduce the warden or doctor in order to try and escape, and no inmates make out. There are 2 shower scenes, that I suspect is just recycled footage, but no fights breaks out / no one is seduced here - or anywhere for that matter! Aside from the lack of plot, unconvincing, unsympathetic, and flat characters, a couple of inmates that do manage to escape actually return to the prison in order to "free" their fellow inmates??!!

PUH-LEASE, the movie should have just ended off with the escapees riding off into the sunset...as opposed to letting this mess continue!

I feel scammed.

Not as sleazy as some entries in the genre, but still good.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 24 May 2015]

Jonathan Demme's feature length first unit directorial debut was this women in prison favourite, done for his boss in the 1970s, Roger Corman. It stars Erica Gavin as Jacqueline Wilson, a young woman nabbed by the police during a drug bust. While serving time, she meets a variety of convicts, among them the ultra tough Maggie (Juanita Brown), the equally feisty Belle (Roberta Collins), and the more low key Lavelle (Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith). When two of the ladies perform a risqué routine in order to entertain the others, the superintendent (Barbara Steele) decides to come down hard on her charges.

Once one stops to think about it, they do realize that there is more going on than in the standard issue type of W.I.P. feature. It *is* exploitative, of course; Demme does realize what's required of him. Still, he waits until about 24 minutes into the movie before he even begins showing off the birthday suits on the babes. There are shower scenes, and cat fights, and generally agreeable mayhem. There's also a decent subtext about the degrees to which males exploit females, and take advantage of them, and what can happen when enough females band together to take preventative steps. One can hardly fail to notice the depravity of a central male character, the nefarious prison doctor Randolph (Warren Miller), who has a taste for electro shock therapy and for taking nude photos of his patients at their most vulnerable.

The script by Demme is also laced with humour at appropriate moments. The characters maintain a good amount of rooting interest, with exploitation veterans like Brown and Collins offering standout performances. However, the most intriguing person here is Superintendent McQueen, played as being very repressed by Ms. Steele. In the real world, McQueen is confined to a wheelchair, and has one very erotic dream sequence.

Fans of the 1970s B movie will recognize a number of the supporting and bit players: Crystin Sinclaire, Carmen Argenziano, John Aprea, Patrick Wright, Gary Littlejohn. Pay close attention to catch Demme's regular cinematographer Tak Fujimoto as a sex emporium customer.

"Caged Heat" is sexy and violent, paced reasonably well, and delivers some excitement in its climactic prison breakout sequence.

Seven out of 10.

From The Director Of PHILADELPHIA

[boblipton · 5/10 · 2 November 2019]

There's lots of naked showering in this movie about women in prison. It's all young woman, ranging in age from 19 to 30, except for elderly, wheelchair-bound Barbara Steele (who's 37) as the warden, who wears glasses. There's also Warren Miller as the doctor who likes to experiment with his unconscious subjects and take pictures.

It's Jonathan Demme's first movie as director, and it's exploitation all the way, baby. It's never clear for most of the movie why they're in prison; it's thirty minutes in before one of the inmates talks about how she wound up in the joint, and like every convict, it's a bad rap. Yet when they get a chance to escape, they all seem competent with stealing cars, handling weapons and so forth.

It may be hard to reconcile the director of films like SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA and PHILADELPHIA with trash like this. Yet that was the entree to directing in that period. Earlier, fledgling directors might come out of the vast landscape of B westerns or short comedies. In the 1950s, directors started out in television and moved to the big screen. In the 1960s and 1970s, they worked for AIP and Roger Corman. Yet despite some prestige pictures in the 1990s, Demme returned to trash, with remakes of THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE and weird stuff like RICKI AND THE FLASH, like John Ford returning to westerns. Some people never forget where they come from.

Light on the sleaze, but still an excellent women in prison flick!

[The_Void · 7/10 · 2 December 2008]

When I think 'Women in Prison', my mind often goes to sleazy Italian/Spanish productions by directors such as Jess Franco and Bruno Mattei; and while these films are often very sleazy, they're also very samey and once you've seen one; you might as well have seen them all. I have to admit that these types of films generally aren't my favourites; but in fact the idea of women behind bars has been done very well on several occasions outside of Italy and Spain; and Roger Corman's New World Pictures is responsible for some of the best of them. Caged Heat is the directorial debut of Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme, and it's a well done little flick with plenty of entertainment value! Naturally, the film centres on the story of a girl who is caught committing crime and sent to a women's' prison where she is introduced to a host of violent inmates. This prison is ruled over by the stuff wheelchair bound Superintendent McQueen; and she takes offence to a play put on by the girls; leading them to plot an escape.

This film is much lighter on the sleaze than I'm used to in a women in prison flick; but this is more than compensated for by some great action scenes and dialogue and that's what ensures Caged Heat entertains throughout. It does have to be said that the plot is not particularly original or ambitious and basically follows a structure similar to many other women in prison films that came before it; but that's not such a big problem. The film never gets boring and is peppered with standout scenes; including an escape attempt while out working in a field and a bank robbery. The film is helped along by assured direction from the man who would go on to helm the masterpiece The Silence of the Lambs and a great cast with plenty of standouts; including best of all the legendary Barbara Steele in the role of the head prison warden. Overall, Caged Heat may not leave the viewer with much to think about by the end; but it's a brilliantly entertaining little grindhouse flick and anyone that enjoys this type of film will surely want to track it down.

Typical '70s exploitation

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 24 November 2022]

CAGED HEAT is a typical women-in-prison film of the era with production values a lot better than many similar films - particularly those made in Italy or South America. However, that doesn't mean it's particularly good, even with Jonathan Demme (who, of course, went on to shoot SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) behind the camera. The story sees a young woman being sent to a tough prison where there's a wheelchair-bound warden, a lot of rape and exploitation, and the inevitable lengthy shower scenes and cat fights. It's all very by the by, enlivened slightly by Barbara Steele playing the warden and a few scenes of graphic violence.

one of Demme's better films

[movieman_kev · 7/10 · 12 February 2006]

After being sent to prison for no less then 10 nor more then 40 years for being busted with drugs and refusing to give up her accomplishes, Jackie (Erica Gavin of Russ Meyer's "Vixen" and "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls", in her last film role) has to get accustomed to life in the big 'doll' house, or at least try to, in this early film by Jonathan Demme. Due to it's tawdry nature and sheer watchability, I would also rank this as one of his best films, right below "Silence of the Lambs" and "Stop Making Sense", but so far above any of his other movies. This minor classic is just campy, sleazy, and fun enough to be an amazingly good guilty pleasure and thankfully never once goes overboard into all out parody of the Women In Prison genre. It ALMOST washed out the rancid bad taste of the ludicrously preachy "Philidelphia" from my mouth. However, the film is not without it's downfalls (the 'un'talent show is a HUGE chore to sit through and goes on far too long, Barbera Steele is sadly wasted, among other small things) But don't let those gripes stop you from watching an otherwise enjoyable movie.

My Grade: B-

DVD Extras: 5 minute Roger Corman interview; Cast & crew Bios; Original Trailer; and Trailers for "Candy Stripe Nurses" (with nudity), "Big Bad Mama 2", "Big Doll House" (with nudity), & "Crazy Mama"

Eye Candy: Juanita Brown, Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith, Erica Gavin, Roberta Collins, Ella Reid, Lynda Gold, and some others all show skin

Tedious and poor WIP genre entry from future 'Oscar' winner

[Bofsensai · 2/10 · 11 March 2017]

Just had to add in another / my review of this, as seeing most of the others here, I can be contrarian and reason, no way is one of the best of the WIP genre, even more so in that it is supposed to be so good, because it was directed by a future Oscar winner; coz truthfully, it's simply not: in fact, other than one tracking shot along the various inmates' cells, I couldn't find one other interesting cinematic flourish; indeed, on the whole, it is tedious and most of the acting is barely (literally, often) perfunctory: even legendary B. Steele, with only merely flashing her large eyes behind a huge pair of specs, seems to be more or less phoning (wheeling!) in her performance.

Perhaps the only reason to endure this - besides to show future Oscar winners can easily start out so poorly - is to listen out for some stupidly daft dialogue, since Demme was also the screenwriter, and to note the either lazy or arrogant anachronistic costuming: like in beginning, the prisoners decked out in top class dresses, no less of all penitentiary things, and clothing e.g. our heroine newcomer, Erica Gavin, with what looks like a Hermes scarf, and another 'exercising' in the yard, in bright scarlet dress, which if not enough in itself, who then also sports a double string of pearls on! Simply ludicrous!

Then how it's supposed to be some sort of feminist fave, I don't fathom: other than the 'inmates' (surprise, surprise / plot spoiler warning, do not read any further .. ?) escape - that mainly thanks to the ridiculously poor shooting abilities of the warders e.g. check how their kneel and take careful aim, virtually never once hit the female escapee targets, but conversely, the latter, wildly, blindly shooting a handgun from behind a truck, hits both targets square on = I couldn't discern any feminism triumphs over evil patriarchal suppressors at all.

If you want revisionist feminist takes on these ostensibly misogynistic offerings, you get better in the genre's 'Isla' series and even 'Last Orgy of the Gestapo', wherein oppressive patriarchal regime guys get their comeuppance in those.

More or less useless, except for to see how future Oscar winner started out so ineptly.

Caged Heat

[Scarecrow-88 · 8/10 · 26 September 2009]

To finally see what many consider to be the greatest women-in-prison film of all time, I felt like I had accomplished something as ridiculous as that sounds. Boy, it sure contained the elements I expected, and delivered so much more. A constant I'm discovering in these films is the toughness and grit of the actresses in the roles of prisoners preparing for escape while their threshold, tolerance, and resolve(..not to mention sanity)being tested by their superiors. While most of them were hired for the way they look naked, because the nature of the genre demands such gratuitous elements, something else emerges, other attributes, such as attitude and guts, that I ultimately respond to.

This, as you may know all too well, was Demme's debut for his mentor Roger Corman, and he provides the target audience with exactly what they desire while putting his own stamp on the proceedings. For instance, there are bizarre dreams certain characters have which define their current psychological states(..there's a particular number featuring warden Barbara Steele where she reminded me of Alex de Large of A Clockwork Orange).

The film has female prisoners planning a daring escape, tired of the crazed antics of their wheel-chair bound warden and her nutty prison doc, Randolph(Warren Miller). Juanita Brown is Maggie, the tough, sassy sister who is fed up with the environment and will do whatever it takes to get out. She's the one all the girls fear to cross. Erica Gavin is Jacqueline Wilson, the newest prisoner who was busted by police and sentenced for the murder of a cop, unwilling to give up the names of those she was involved with. Roberta Collins is Belle, a serial kleptomaniac, best pals with Pandora(Ella Reid). Belle becomes the obsession of Randolph who promises Superintendent McQueen(Steele)that through a surgical procedure he can remove her violent tendencies. Drugging her up, Randolph takes nude pictures and sodomizes her, whimpering like a little girl due to his own mental deficiencies while hugging her naked body in his arms. Cheryl Rainbeaux Smith is Lavelle, in prison for life for murdering a scumbag whose relative was a Senator. Lavelle receives work in Randolph's office and is the one responsible for relating his dirty antics to Pandora. Demme effectively builds the movie to the expected finale as a planned break-out, using those behind the various traumas inflicted on the prisoners as hostages, with gunfire erupting.

I was quite impressed with the photographic work of long time Demme collaborator, cinematographer Tak Fujimoto, as he is able to establish some visually arresting moments within the cramped confines of the prison, cells and rooms, not an easy task. The prison is appropriately crummy and the girls, despite being quite attractive, look the part of desperate inmates longing, yearning from the very pits of their souls, to escape such horrid entrapment. Steele is superb as the warden, understanding how to take the role close to the brink without going to far, candidly able to express the madness of her repressed character within a restraint..notice how she works her glasses and settles herself without blowing her top particularly when certain behaviors she has contempt for push her teetering to the edge. Cale's bluesy score is incredibly depressing, while also casting a wink to the audience that the movie is still fun-and-games..I think Cale's score mirrors Demme's handling of the material. Cale and Demme's partnership is an uncanny alliance that presents the setting as a sad, isolating, oppressive place, while, almost simultaneously, showcasing a humorous tone that permeates due to the colorful characters thanks in part to the personalities of the cast. My favorite scene happens outside the prison, as two of our girls(..joining forces with a third)interrupt a bank robbery already in progress..the kicker is it was a bank they were planning to rob! As you might expect, you get naked women in showers, prisoner in solitary, a cat fight, shootouts, attempted escapes which go awry, and other exploitative elements(..such as a horrifying shock therapy session, not to exclude the shocking aforementioned sequence where the screwy doc takes advantage of Belle). Interesting enough, Demme relates the film to the audience without a whiff of pretension, understanding exactly the kind of movie he was making.

cult classic

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 3 November 2019]

Jacqueline Wilson gets caught and sentenced from 10 to 40 years. Various women are brought into the prison for right and wrong. The prison is a place of cruelty, and survival. The doctor is a creep and the warden is wheelchair hell. The girls attempt a prison break.

I've heard of the title and knew that this is a sexploitation film of the subgenre women-in-prison films. What I didn't know is that this is the debut of filmmaker Jonathan Demme. It's a Roger Corman production. Many big names got their start with Roger. The writing is messy. It needs to focus on fewer prisoners and concentrate on the most charismatic lead. Quite frankly, non of the girls are terribly charismatic. There are some questionable turns in the story and there are some interesting ones. It's a deserving cult classic.

About average

[fryguy-88668 · 5/10 · 21 April 2019]

I try to be reasonable about my ratings. Working my way through the 70's exploitation movies and would grade this out as average...which to me means a 5. Moderate amount of nudity. Dialogue probably better than most but not sure that's a good thing. I kind of prefer it when it's as absurd as the plot. Like many, this movie has the strange contradiction of female empowerment while having lots of nudity. For that same general vibe but not women in prison, I preferred Truck Stop Women and Big Bad Mama.

Demme's directorial debut is a Women In Prison classic!

[Infofreak · 11 June 2003]

Ahhh... 'Caged Heat'! I get a big grin on my face just typing the title! Look, you either dig Women In Prison movies or you don't, and if you do 'Caged Heat' is the second best one ever made, in a tie with Jack Hill's 'The Bird Bird Cage'. (The best for me is still 'Chained Heat' starring Linda Blair and Tamara Dobson, made a few years after this genre is generally regarded as being at its peak). I think the only thing stopping it from being number one is the absence of Pam Grier. If she had played the character of Pandora instead of Ella Reid, 'Chained Heat' would be IT. Funnily enough, three of the major cast members (Juanita Brown, Roberta Collins and Rainbeaux Smith) had co-starred in various Grier vehicles ('Foxy Brown', 'The Big Doll House', and 'Drum' respectively). This is Jonathan Demme's directorial debut after serving his apprenticeship with Roger Corman as a writer and producer, and he really came up trumps. Demme manages to make a tough and tense W.I.P. movie and a playful, tongue in cheek parody of one simultaneously. He has made more accomplished and successful movies since this, but arguably none more entertaining. The cast is an impressive one, not just Brown, Collins, Smith and Reid, but Russ Meyer bitch goddess Erica Gavin ('Vixen!') and horror legend Barbara Steele ('Black Sunday', 'Pit And The Pendulum', 'Night Of The Doomed', 'Shivers',etc.). I also liked the perverted Dr. Randolph played by Warren Miller. 'Caged Heat' is first class trash, and a perfect example of 1960s/70s exploitation movies exemplified by the energetic and fun output of American International and New World Pictures. We will never see their likes again! Enjoy!

Passable WIP action from director Jonathan Demme.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 28 August 2017]

Erica Gavin stars as Jacqueline Wilson, who is sent to jail for between 10 and 40 years. Once inside, she finds herself at the mercy of strict warden Supt. McQueen (Euro horror star Barbara Steele) and perverted Dr. Randolph (Warren Miller), who quietens troublemakers with a spot of lobotomy. Together with some of her cellmates, Erica makes a desperate bid for freedom…

Trashy women-in-prison flick Caged Heat was directed by Jonathan Demme, the same man who, seventeen years later, would win an Oscar for Silence of the Lambs. This being a low-budget exploitation movie from the Roger Corman production stable, there isn't much to suggest the director's future success, his film delivering the expected genre ingredients—lots of nudity (inc. full frontal), (mild) torture, (mild) sexual abuse, a cat-fight etc.—all at a lively pace, but little else of note.

Nowhere near as sleazy as Jess Franco's WIP films, or as memorably fun as Jack Hill's, Demme's film is one for fans who have seen all of the essential titles, but still have a hankering for more babes behind bars action (without scraping the bottom of the genre barrel).

A Low-Budget Women-in-Prison Movie

[Uriah43 · 4/10 · 18 April 2014]

For a low-budget women-in-prison (WIP) movie this particular film wasn't that bad. Essentially, "Jacqueline Wilson" (Erica Gavin) is arrested after a scene involving a shootout with the police and is sent to a women's prison ostensibly somewhere in California. While there she meets several other female inmates most notably "Pandora" (Ella Reid), "Belle Tyson" (Roberta Collins) and "Maggie" (Juanita Brown). She also meets the warden "Superintendent McQueen" (Barbara Steele) who takes a sadistic approach to any infractions of the rules. Along with that there is also a psychotic doctor named "Dr. Randolph" (Warren Miller) who is even more demented. At any rate, while I certainly liked the presence of Roberta Collins and to a lesser extent Erica Gavin I didn't think that the talents of Barbara Steele were used as effectively as they could have been. Neither did I care for some of the cartoonish aspects in regard to Dr. Randolph. But all in all, this movie wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. But other than Roberta Collins I didn't see that much to be impressed with either. Slightly below average.

Silence of the Wenches!

[Coventry · 6/10 · 16 December 2009]

Jonathan Demme's first cinematic tryout is one of the most notorious W.I.P. efforts of the early 70's, but you can nevertheless easily conclude already why he's one of the only directors of his class who went on to do bigger things, like … oh I don't know, making Award winning masterpieces like "Silence of the Lambs" and "Philadelphia". The script contains a handful of really clever findings, like a girl who uses her showering town tome sneak off to the kitchen through the air ventilation system and steal food for her friend in isolation, as well as some ambitiously experimental stuff, like a lurid dream sequence and an ingenious method to commit bank robbery. There's not as much torture, rape, humiliation and lesbian escapades going on in "Caged Heat" as in most other Women in Prison movies, but you can always take comfort in the thought that this is a more story-driven accomplishment. Besides, this weren't the rancid 80's so don't expect another "Chained Heat" (the Holy Grail of W.I.P. cinema) or "Reform School Girls". The rebel girls in this prison facility are subjected to harsh electro shock therapy – beautifully referred to as behavioral correction – that makes them shut up for the rest of their sentences. The prison is run with an iron hand by battle ax head warden McQueen, who's a religiously fanatic crippled woman in a wheelchair who dreams about dancing in front of her prisoners in a bunny outfit. Fantastic, that is! Even more fantastic is that this role is taken up by the legendary cult siren/horror wench Barbara Steele! "Caged Heat" is admittedly slow and boring in places – quite a few places unfortunately – but it actually plays in a different league than the vast majority of Women in Prison movies. Plus, the ending is awesome!

Racks of Lambs

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 4/10 · 2 November 2019]

It''s the 1970s, it's Friday night at the drive-in, and you and your buddies want to see some b00bies. In that case, Caged Heat is for you. But if you are an adult in the 21st century and it's Friday Night and it's showing on TCM Underground, don't expect much. The guards are cartoon villains. The inmates are closer to being runway models than believable prisoners. And the production values are on par with something cranked out by the Canadian Film Board. Lead actress was surprisingly good, though. She was several cuts better than her fellow ham-mates. There was also the dice being tossed in the cell, nicely spoofed by Andrea Martin - ''No dice" - in an SCTV skit that surely was inspired by this movie. Any movie that served as an inspiration for SCTV can't be all bad.

Mediocre 70s women-in-prison film.

[sonya90028 · 6/10 · 5 July 2009]

Caged Heat has all the typical elements of a 70s women-in-prison film; a cruelly sadistic warden and prison guards, wrongfully imprisoned inmates, lust-crazed, predatory lesbians, inmate rivalries, etc. This particular film genre, was as ubiquitous during the 70s, as the Afro hairdo.

It's a Roger Corman pic, starring Roberta Collins, and a few other actors who appeared in many of his other AIP films. It has the low-budget veneer of Corman's other films, along with the nudity, gratuitous sex, over-the-top violence, and subversive story-lines that are Corman's signature as a producer.

This movie isn't the worst of the low-budget women-in-prison films, but I've seen better. For those that like this movie genre, Caged Heat offers adequate, if mediocre entertainment.

Famous but weak

[pmtelefon · 4/10 · 14 April 2020]

I am a semi-fan of the "chicks-in-chains" genre. Sad to say, "Caged Heat" is a pretty weak entry. It has all the elements but it doesn't really work. Sure, there are quite a few dreamy gals, tons of nudity and the proper level of sleeze but the story goes south after a while. The last half hour of so is pretty stupid. I waited many years to see "Caged Heat". Unfortunately, I was let down.

A simply spectacular 70's women-in-prison drive-in gem

[Woodyanders · 10/10 · 26 May 2006]

Jonathan Demme's directorial debut for Roger Corman's legendary exploitation outfit New World Pictures rates highly as one of the finest chicks-in-chains 70's grindhouse classics to ever grace celluloid. Beauteous Russ Meyer starlet Eric ("Vixen," "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls") Gavin gives a robust, winning performance as a brassy, resilient new fish who does her best to persevere in a grimy, hellish penitentiary. The always fabulous Barbara Steele offers a deliciously wicked portrayal as the mean, crippled, sexually frustrated warden (her erotic dream about doing a slow, steamy striptease in front of the lady inmates is a real dilly). Longtime favorite 70's B-movie actress Roberta ("The Arousers," "Unholy Rollers") Collins delivers a hilariously raunchy and endearing turn as a cheerfully forward, foul-mouthed kleptomaniac felon who tells a gut-busting dirty joke about Pinnochio. Lynda Gold (a.k.a. Crystin Sinclaire of Tobe Hooper's "Eaten Alive" and Curtis Harrington's "Ruby") makes her lively film debut as uninhibited wildcat Crazy Alice. And the ever-cuddly Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith does a lovely, touching reprise of her fragile frightened innocent role from "Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural."

Although this picture does deliver the expected ample amount of coarse language, nudity, rape and violence, it's still by no means a typically crass and sexist piece of lurid mindless filth; the movie very effectively explores the many ways in which men cruelly exploit women and strongly asserts the pro-feminist notion that women can overcome any obstacles if they band together into a group so they can bravely face their misogynistic oppressors as one mighty fighting force. Demme's zesty, confidant direction comes through with a glorious abundance of astutely observed incidental details and delightful moments of engagingly quirky human behavior. Furthermore, both Tak Fujimoto's vibrant cinematography and John Cale's marvelously dolorous oddball blues score are 100% on the money excellent. Patrick Wright (Sheriff Mack in the uproariously awful cheap-rubber-monster-suit creature feature howler "Track of the Moonbeast") has a sidesplitting bit as a jerky cop who has his car stolen by a trio of prison escapees when he stops at a gas station to use the bathroom. Lively, rousing and immensely enjoyable, "Caged Heat" qualifies as absolutely essential viewing for 70's drive-in movie fans.

a women's prison movie meant to shock and weird you out more than titillate... and that's good!

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 28 July 2017]

Jonathan Demme started out in such a way that might not seem all that auspicious; he somehow got connected with Roger Corman after years of being a film publicist, and at first was writing and producing (and sometimes for some fine exploitation product like the underrated, or just under-seen, Angels: Hard as They Come, which is the most porny-but-not-porn title for a film ever), but near the end of the women-in-prison "craze" that Corman cooked up via his New World Pictures, Demme asked to take a shot at the genre. What he wrote and directed - used with the budget of what I assume is literally the change that Corman had left over after he called in the phone booth to make the deal for the lights and other things for the crew - is a weird little number, a movie that titillates but only incidentally, and is more concerned with showing how women - or simply PEOPLE in general - are oppressed and repressed to the point where they got to bust out and escape/take over. It's a real late 60's/early 70's feel to this one.

Where it gets weird is in the overall tone, and in part in Barbara Steele's performance as the prison warden. Early on there are a few dream sceees and delusions of grandeur; Steele's warden (who goes about in a wheelchair because... um, because she can, and it seems creepier I suppose with her costume and hair and glasses and voice) sees a performance put on by a couple of the girl prisoners to the rest of the prisoners and it's a tasteless burlesque (maybe, if one wants to get all film history since Demme at the time was a self-professed movie buff, is a little reminiscent of a similar cross-dressing scene in Grand Illusion - I have no way of knowing if that was inspiration, but I'd like to think it was), and it gives her fantasies of... seeing herself as if she is a dancer and performer in front of the girls. This horrifies her to the point of putting the hammer down even harder, and this includes medical experiments like electro-shock (not *really* how it should work, but it's a Corman movie, let it go), and overall oppression on the prisoners.

What's cool about the movie is that it does have a story that unfolds and that you can follow, though at first it doesn't seem that way; early on it feels like it'll be episodic, like we'll follow this character or that as they do one thing or the other. It may even feel a little light as far as some of the requisites for these exploitation fare. Demme only stages one "cat-fight" between two girls, albeit in the shower (though clothed), but this is actually clever because he does this to draw the characters who get into this fight closer together - one of which, the white woman, who we think might be the main character since she's the one seen at the beginning of the film being arrested after a botched robbery, not really the case as it's an ensemble - and they become the pivotal characters in the story.

Some of this may have been heightened by the DVD transfer, which seemed as though it was simply slapped on from an archival 35mm print (I normally don't give warnings in a review such as this, but the audio here for my speakers was among the worst mixed I've had for a DVD by a major director such as Demme before), but it feels as though Demme and company had little to work with technically speaking. This is even to the detriment of a shot or two, like I wondered if Demme and Tak Fujimoto (even his *name* sounds like film) had time for 2nd takes as one of the shots loses its shutter for a few seconds mid-shot and goes dark. And yet this also adds to the grit of the picture; the characters shoot guns a lot and it's sloppy, but that adds to the thrills and the humor. It feels closer to something like real life than the manufactured hackneyed work of a journeyman or someone punching in for New World Pictures.

Demme seems like someone who has something to prove, even if it's for a prison picture that involves an over-the-top sadistic doctor (what IS he going to do with those polaroids?), and an unfolding of a story that, eventually, has a tight logic to it as far as what the two women are going to do who had that one cat-fight and are now on their own. To be sure there isn't a lick of subtlety to this, but I like it that way, all the way down to the soundtrack full of harmonica hootin'-blues ala the end of Stroszek, and the acting which is.... ACTING all around! I loved the energy most of all, that Demme kept the pace so that we could have a moment or two to take a sequence in - like when the one woman goes through the vents, counting every second down, so she can bring food to her beleaguered colleague in solitary confinement (of all things, though I'm sure part of Demme's commentary on how nakedness in this situation is stripping women's freedoms) - and then it goes back into overdrive.

It feels like a movie by someone with something to SAY as opposed to routine, and while not all of it works enough of it does to where you can be entertained, especially by the ending where it goes into madness-mode, and if one were to by some miracle come to this *first* in Demme's oeuvre without seeing anything else, one might think "... huh. What happened to that guy?" God bless Roger Corman for taking chances like this one. 7.5/10

Is it possible?

[flakelviv · 4/10 · 11 March 2018]

You must watch Caged Heat (1974) at least to realize that a person who directed The Silence of the Lambs (1991) could also direct THIS.