The Big Doll House (1971) User Reviews

An Interesting Low-Budget "Women-in-Prison" Film

[Uriah43 · 6/10 · 29 January 2014]

After killing her rich husband a woman by the name of "Collier" (Judith Brown) is sentenced to 99 years at hard labor at a women's prison somewhere deep in the Philippine jungle. She is put in a cell with 5 other beautiful women who go by the names of "Alcott" (Roberta Collins), "Bodine" (Pat Woodell), "Grear" (Pam Greer), "Harrad" (Brooke Mills) and "Ferina"(Gina Stuart). While each of them have their own story to tell they all share one particular view which is that the head guard, "Lucian" (Kathryn Loder) is extremely sadistic and the attractive warden "Miss Dietrich"(Christiane Schmidtmer) is either incompetent or ambivalent to the torture and abuse within the prison. Yet although a recently assigned doctor named "Dr. Phillips" (Jack Davis) is trying to correct the problem the inmates decide to take matters into their own hands and attempt to escape. Now, rather than detailing all of the events that transpire and risk spoiling the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was an interesting low-budget "Women-in-Prison" film which covered most of the main aspects associated with movies of this type. It certainly had more than its share of gorgeous women. And while I certainly can't complain about that the fact is that the overall plot was a bit too "by the numbers" and lacked credibility. No doubt fans of this genre will find it enjoyable though and overall I rate it as slightly above average.

Sid steals the show

[bensonmum2 · 6/10 · 26 June 2005]

• A WIP film with Pam Grier and Sid Haig with Jack Hill directing – what could go wrong? The Big Doll House is not as over-the-top as it might have been. In fact, a lot of what happens is fairly tame for a WIP. The torture scenes aren't as graphic as you might expect. The fight scenes aren't as brutal as you would hope for. And some of the acting is terrible. Pam Grier may be one of my favorite actresses of all time, but it's easy to see that this was one of her first movies. There's a big difference between Pam Grier in The Big Doll House and Pam Grier in Jackie Brown.

• So why rate it a 6/10 and not lower. Regardless of its problems and shortcomings, it's still an enjoyable movie. There's a lot of really fun 70s cheese on display. And Sid Haig is magnificent. Every scene he's in is a highlight of the movie. Watching Sid run through the woods in his tighty-whitey's had me laughing out loud.

Enjoyable chicks'n'chains movie.

[Infofreak · 18 November 2002]

'The Big Doll House' may not be the first women in prison movie of the 1970s but it was one of the most influential, kicking off the short lived but legendary Made-in-the-Philippines-but-set-in-some-nameless-Banana-republic cycle. The tape I watched was part of "The Pam Grier Collection" but to say Grier is the STAR of this movie is an exaggeration. Judy Brown is the star and Roberta Collins is equally important as Grier. But Brown didn't do all that much after this, and Collins is only remembered by exploitation buffs (for 'Caged Heat', 'Death Race 200' and 'Eaten Alive'), while Grier became a blaxploitation icon. That's cool, but let's not fool ourselves here. As enjoyable as it is watching Pam in this one she really doesn't do all that much. Jack Hill regular Sid Haig ('Spider Baby') has some memorable and amusing schtick with her. He plays a horny guy who brings the female prisoners food and other treats for cash. Grier and Haig obviously made a great team, and Hill would exploit this in his even more enjoyable 'The Big Bird Cage', which isn't a sequel to this movie as many seem to think. 'Bird Cage' is the better movie, but 'Doll House' is still a pretty good movie that any fan of 1970s b-grade movies will get a kick out of.

Very good for its genre

[gridoon · 7/10 · 20 August 2006]

What separates - and, in my book, makes better - "The Big Doll House" from most Women-In-Prison films is that the focus here is NOT on the exploitation of the women (though there is some of that, of course), but on their STRENGTH and determination. Roberta Collins and Pat Woodell, in particular, have well-defined characters that know how to take care of themselves. The fights (including some mud-wrestling) are rough and wild. The casting is excellent: you know something is right when Pam Grier isn't even the most beautiful woman on the screen! Collins, in particular, has a kind of beauty that you rarely see nowadays. Contrary to what other people have said, I found the scenes involving Sid Haig and his partner to be the most undesirable: they do provide some form of comic relief but they go on too long and occasionally kill the pace of the movie. (**1/2)

The Definitive Women in Prison Movie

[gavin6942 · 7/10 · 30 August 2013]

Beautiful women prisoners are abused in a Philippine prison, until five of them plot an escape by taking the evil female warden hostage with the reluctant help of two male fruit vendors.

I have to say this film is an exploitation movie, and therefore has some aspects that many people might find objectionable -- gratuitous nudity, sexual assault and some scenes of torture. This is not just a fun film to watch with your kids.

That being said, director Jack Hill makes the most of the exploitation genre and does it in a stylish, colorful way that sets this movie apart from the scores of others in the same category. And he utilizes Sid Haig well, in a way that no other director ever has. Thanks for introducing Pam Grier to the world, too.

A Trained Cat?

[boblipton · 4/10 · 14 March 2020]

It's a Women In Prison movie set in an unnamed tropical country where Judy Brown, Roberta Collins, Pam Grier and Brooke Mills are up for 99 years at hard labor, for crimes against the state. The prison personnel all have vaguely Mitteleuropean accents, people get stabbed without reacting, Pam Grier has not yet learned to act, and there's a kitty-cat which runs errands.

There are mini-skirts for prisoner's clothes, topless scenes, some rather desultory torture, and you get to see Sid Haig in his skivvies. This was the sort of movie teen-aged boys snuck out of the house, lied about their ages, and were mildly disappointed in back in the day. Then they would lie to their friends about how cool it was. While they might have seen Judy Brown's breasts (twice!), they'd know that any movie in which a cat is trained to fetch and carry is nonsense.

This cult classic is a Jack Hill gem.

[kevin_robbins · 7/10 · 10 June 2023]

The Big Doll House (1971) is a movie that I recently rewatched for the first time in a long time on Tubi. The storyline follows a group of women prisoners in a Philippine prison with no hopes for a future, so they do what they need to do to survive. Until a new boss chick comes in and delivers hope for escape; but to do it, the women will have to put their differences aside and work together if there's any hope for success.

This movie is directed by Jack Hill (Spider Baby) and stars Pam Grier (Coffy), Roberta Collins (Death Race 2000), Judith Brown (Mission: Impossible), Sid Haig (House of 1000 Corpses), Pat Woodell (The Roommates) and Kathryn Loder (Foxy Brown).

This cult classic is a Jack Hill gem. The cast is absolutely gorgeous and there's so many memorable scenes. The mud fight sequence is legendary, the torture scenes are unique, the girl fights are entertaining and the shower scenes are fun. The writing was impressive and I enjoyed the diversity of characters, their needs and backgrounds. Sid Haig was awesome in this picture and was an easy character to root for. The conclusion and what happened to all the characters was rewarding and felt realistic.

Overall, this is a well done exploitation film that is an absolutely must see. I would score this a 7/10 and strongly recommend it.

Get it up or I'll cut it off!

[OldAle1 · 5/10 · 5 February 2009]

So says one of the denizens of the "big doll house" to a man from the outside who has come to make deliveries but gets more than he bargained for....The Big Doll House is exploitation with a capital X, made in the peak period for such stuff by the redoubtable Jack Hill and starring future cult blaxploitation actress Pam Grier. Shot in the Phillipines, clearly on next-to-no-budget, this is good cheesy fun, women in prison with a lesbian/Nazi guard and a couple of fumbling good ol' hippie-boys (one of them played by cult actor Sid Haig, in an early performance back when he was thin, had hair and came off as an oily ladies' man) who help them out at the most opportune moment. The acting's pretty mediocre, though Grier is just awful here and you get the sense that this film and some of her other early work could have killed her career if not for other...uhh...assets. Hilarious shoot-out ending, awful stunts and effects, lots of bright red paint, I mean blood....

Switch off after 60 minutes...

[Markmainwaring · 6/10 · 18 February 2006]

For some reason I was expecting more from this films. I don't know why.

It began well enough with opening credits that stylishly zoom in and Pam Grier singing 99 years (which also featured in the film Jackie Brown).

For the first hour this Corman produced Women in Prison film was a great slice of exploitation cinema. It was surprisingly well made, with good characters and above average acting. Pam Grier and Sid Haig standing out above the rest of the cast.

Then after about an hour the film becomes repetitive and boring. The same things happening over and over again. Still its good while it lasts, maybe just turn it off when it starts too get boring.

For a better Women in Prison film try maybe Ilsa: She-wolf of the SS.

Bog-standard WIP flick - at least it has Grier and Haig

[Groverdox · 5/10 · 14 November 2018]

The genre of women-in-prison movies has never been my favourite type of exploitation movie. You know the deal: young woman goes to a prison (usually in a jungle somewhere in Asia or South America), she was probably framed and is innocent, there are tough lesbians in the prison and the warden punishes the inmates with devices and techniques inspired by sadomasochism.

Oh, and I forgot the main reason anyone watches these: shower scenes. What would a WIP movie be without one of those? That's right: basically pointless. You watch for nudity, and maybe the kinkier among you watch for the bondage situations the warden inflicts on the inmates. And it all culminates in an escape attempt.

"The Big Doll House" could be described as notable for two unimpressive reasons: it's an early example of this particular subgenre, which would go into overdrive in the '70s, and it's actually quite toned down by contrast to the rest of them.

For one thing, there's no full frontal nudity. Some of the actresses in the shower scene are clearly not even naked - you can see glimpses of underwear. The filmmakers apparently didn't have the neat idea of elevating the camera, or just angling it up, so you can't tell they're not really naked.

There's not really much to say about "The Big Doll House" other than that; the rest applies to all other WIP flicks as well. In this one, the warden is a lesbian, so we don't really get that from the other inmates, nor are they depicted as being all that vicious, apart from one scene at the very beginning where the protagonist has her hair dunked in a toilet bowl. The movie kind of forgets that right after it happens, and they all band together. It does that a few other times, though I have already forgotten the specifics: it has what feels like an episodic story-structure, but I'm not sure if it's supposed to. A lot of events seem isolated because they have no effect on the narrative; another example that just occurred to me is a mudfight between Pam Grier and some other girl.

The movie is also pretty badly acted. The actresses all seem dazed, as though they'd been hypnotised. The only stand-out is, yes, Grier, in what I think was her first speaking role. Some of her lines are delivered pretty badly too, but she just has a presence, inflected with power and intelligence. The actresses who play the other inmates are all completely forgettable.

There is, of course, also Grier's perennial counterpart Sid Haig, playing his usual sleazoid role. Those two were good together; the other performers, and the script they're performing, is just so pedestrian that it gets in the way.

Fantastic women in prison exploitation!

[The_Void · 8/10 · 21 July 2009]

The Big Doll House was followed-up by The Big Bird Cage a year later. The two films do not follow on from each other; but are very similar in style and content. While this film is not quite as great as the later one; it's still an excellent women in prison flick. The film was shot in the Philippines and set in some backwater country; but we don't get the same great outdoor shots that we got in the later film, and most of this film takes place in the classic, dingy, prison setting. That, however, is not a problem; as a constant stream of sleaze and action will keep most viewers from worrying about where it's taking place. Naturally, the film takes place in a prison where most of the prisoners have little chance of release. A new girl enters the prison and is put in with a motley crew of female prisoners. It's not long before the conditions inside the jail force the girls into planning an escape; but not before various rivalries amongst themselves are sorted out.

This film is just great fun to watch, and that's what makes it so successful. The script is rather ridiculous; but there's plenty of laughs to be had with it too so it doesn't matter. The biggest names in the cast belong to Sid Haig and Pam Grier; although neither one of them is the star. As would be the case with the later film, Sid Haig provides the most memorable role; this time as a pervy bloke that goes round delivers various goodies to the female prisoners. Most of the rest of the cast are nice to look at, as is standard for films like this. The Big Doll House is a rather lighter affair than the women in prison films by the likes of Jess Franco et al; but it's all the better for it. There's plenty of action to keep the pulses racing, including various cat fights, arguments and gun fights. There's also a series of rather trippy torture scenes, which seem weirdly out of place in the film. The Big Doll House boils down to an explosive ending and overall I wouldn't hesitate to name this as one of the all time best women in prison films (although The Big Bird Cage is slightly better).

WIP origins

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 4 March 2023]

According to Stephanie Rothman, Roger Corman started this film by having James Gordon White write it, but he didn't like the results. She, her husband Charles S. Swartz and Frances Doel plotted the idea and had Don Spencer write the actual script. Corman wanted her to direct it, but she turned it down. Enter Jack Hill and enter the Philippines, where John Ashley and his partners put up a chunk of the money, leading to this movie getting its unique look.

Collier (Judy Brown, The Manhandlers) is the new girl in prison, there for murdering her old man. That's Pam Grier singing as we meet the girls on the block: tough lesbian Grear (yeah, Grier), her dominated girl Harrad (Brooke Mills, The Student Teachers), blonde badass Alcott (Roberta Collins, who dominated the screen in Caged Heat, Death Race 2000, Wonder Women and Unholy Rollers), Ferina (Gina Stuart) and her cat, and political dissident Bodine (Pat Woodell, a long way from Petticoat Junction). They're all under the watchful and brutal eye of Miss Dietrich (Christiane Schmitdmer, The Giant Spider Invasion) and head girl in charge Lucian (Kathryn Loder, an out of control lunatic in this; she was the daughter of a theologian and nearly died of undiagnosed diabetes during the filming of the movie; she's also in Foxy Brown).

Nearly everything the women in prison genre is known for comes from this movie and the Caged Heat. This also throws in Sid Haig - more movies could use him - and Roberta Collins assaulting a man, snarling "You'll either get it up or I'll cut it off!" in a scene that had to titillate as much as it terrified men more than fifty years ago. She also has a movie stealing mud fight with Grier and then you also have Woodell double firing submachine guns and realism be damned, it looks incredible.

When this was cast, Grier was working as the receptionist at the American-International Pictures front desk. Can you imagine coming in for a meeting and Pam Grier is just sitting there? Two years later and she'd be perhaps the biggest non-major studio actress of the 70s. While many of the actresses in this film had to be convinced to do nude scenes, she asked for them. She'd later tell Rolling Stone, "I call it the Brown Nipple Revolution. We weren't the epitome of sexual attraction for the male audience, in movies, magazines, anything. We were told our brown nipples weren't attractive. I was trying to break that line of what was acceptable in society."

meh...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 21 December 2018]

Right, well you know exactly what to expect from a movie such as this when you sit down to watch "The Big Doll House". And if you've seen one of the numerous exploitation movies from the same era as "The Big Doll House", then you have essentially seen them all - more or less. Sure, there may be some deviation in the plot from movie to movie, but roughly said, it is the same standard formula each movie follows.

I decided to watch "The Big Doll House" solely because Sid Haig was in the movie. But it was also nice to see Pam Grier - whose name is very much the essence of these exploitation movies - perform in the movie. But I was actually also interested in the movie as it was filmed in the Philippines, though this was merely a backdrop that reared its head from time to time.

Sure, you should not expect a particularly well-constructed plotline or script, nor expect overly much from the dialogue. But the movie has what it offers, and you will not be disappointed, I am sure.

There is a little bit of drama, suspense, action and erotica in the movie. But nothing that really turned out overwhelmingly interesting any of them. Which resulted in a very bland and mediocre movie, despite this being an exploitation movie, which aren't all together all that great to begin with.

Hardly an outstanding movie, and hardly a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time.

The groundbreaking Women in Prison film!

[Goredog · 11 August 1999]

Jack Hill has always been a master of turning such a controversial subject (especially at that time) into a fine film. The Big Doll House stars Judy Brown, who is taken to a prison on some remote island where she is accompanied by other jailbirds: Pam Grier, Brooke Mills, and Roberta Collins. Grier and Collins are driving forces throughout the film and seem to double-handedly run the entire joint. While Mills plays everybody's favorite psycho junkie, making an art out of hallucinating. Sid Haig is the dominating warden who uses poisonous local snakes to torture the prisoners. The movie ends with Grier, Mills, and Collins dying and Brown being captured and taken back to prison. Definitely an acquired taste and compulsory for fans of old skool "Women Torture and Revenge Tales!"

A good entry, excuse the pun.

[RatedVforVinny · 6/10 · 13 February 2019]

Horribly dated but fans of 'W.I.P' films will rate this, as somewhat of a classic. Plenty of cat fights, shower scenes and other devious going's on, in a well paced 'Women Behind Bars' movie. Even the wildly predictable break-out, is exciting and well handled. The sequel though 'The Big Bird Cage' was rather disappointing. But judge them for what they are.

Daddy and Mommy

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 12 October 2020]

Or just plain the genesis of Prison exploitation movies involving women ... good looking ones that is. I have to admit and even though this still is sleazy as can be: I did not expect this to be as entertaining as it was. And the fact the director acknowledges some of the shortcomings and his initial unwillingess to go through with making this, only makes me admire him more. Because not only did he go through with (and maybe he got lucky with the cast a little bit), but he made the best of it. Well for back then and again the circumstances.

Having said all that, this is or at least feels like the origin of what became a very lucrative subgenre. And I'm not talking about filming in the Philippines (although there is a great documentary about that too I've heard)! Nudity, violence and many things that might make a person that is politically correct cringe ... or worse! And if they add the fact that this spawned many cheap imitations you kind of understand where they're coming from. Still this is good stuff and funny at times, where you don't expect it. Enjoyable romp, that spawned one sequel of sorts ...

For fans of the genre only

[pmtelefon · 4/10 · 5 August 2020]

I've seen my fair share of female prison movies. "The Big Doll House" is an okay example of the genre. It checks off all of the boxes but it ends up being an unsatisfying watch. Pam Grier is as dreamy as ever and Sid Haig is always welcome. It's just that "The Big Doll House" starts feeling pretty long after a while. There a couple of highlights but the overall package is not so hot. Honorable mention: the mud wrestling scene.

women in cages

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 25 July 2020]

Collier (Judith Brown) is a new inmate in a foreign tropical prison. Alcott and Grear (Pam Grier) are two of her cellmates. This is a Roger Corman women-in-prison B-movie filmed in the Philippines. It delivers what it delivers. It is certainly not a good movie. It has women in literal hanging cages. It's boobs. It's a lot groping. It's prison lesbians and sadistic guards. It's generally a mess but I don't think it matters to its intended audience.

A waste of 95 minutes

[cougarblue-696-806128 · 1/10 · 17 March 2020]

The acting is weak, the script is clumsy, the women are beautiful. This film is about titillation not to be appreciated for its acting.

Classic feelgood exploitation! One of Roberta Collins' finest movie moments!

[Django-21 · 8/10 · 15 September 2003]

What a great movie! An entertaining female "Great Escape"! Roberta Collins, Pam Grier and Sid Haig in particular are real hoots with some great moments and dialogue. Bodine (Pat Woodell) is a great character too (introduced as someone not to be messed with), especially letting loose with twin machine guns in the final gunfight. Lots of fun to be had in Jack Hill's Women In Prison exploitation classic. See Matilda The Hun and Foxy Brown themselves duke it out and mud wrestle. Ponder as to how someone so skinny (whereas the resident junkie is quite healthy) got to be head guard. The obligatory prison breakout relies on the help of one prisoner's pet cat to come through at the right time. The scenes with the junkie being completely out her tree are hilarious, although she also gets to show her creepier, more deranged side too in some scenes. The prison break attempt and the final gunfight with the authorities are fun and exciting stuff and for me Roberta Collins steals the show. Not content with the aforementioned mudwrestle with prison bully Pam Grier, she gets some male action at knifepoint and gets great revenge on the evil prison governess. Roberta has some great dialogue too in "Get it up or I'll cut it off!" and "Bye bye lardass!" The head guard has a slight Barbara Steele resemblance. The ending is a bit rushed, some character's fates are left up in the air and the dialogue that seals Judy Brown's fate was a dub forced on the film but it's still great fun and was a groundbreaking hit for AIP. Roberta, Pam and Judy had all just been in "Women In Prison" beforehand and Jack Hill later also directed Pam Grier in some of the blaxploitation flicks that made her an icon. Roberta Collins would of course go onto starring in the masterpiece "Death Race 2000" and the inferior (in my opinion) prison classic "Caged Heat". As you'd expect from this type of movie, there are chances to see attractive women getting naked or scantily clad and you get amusing foodfights and catfights. The female leads are obviously in on the joke though and have fun with it. There's some amusing moments and unlike the "Charlie's Angels" tv show, these resourceful, smart women really do get a chance to kick ass and get tough. Classic feelgood exploitation!

Dum yet fun

[Vartiainen · 4/10 · 19 September 2020]

The Big Doll House was directed by Jack Hill, one of the most notable exploitation directors in history. It's a story about a women's prison in the Philippines and a group of women attempting to break out of it. Over the top scenery chewing and nudity ahead.

So, is the film any good? Not really. Was it supposed to be? Again, not really. It's an exploitation film, with all that entails. Meaning that you don't really watch it to enjoy the art of storytelling or to admire the craft. You watch it because you're in the mood for something more baseline. It's very much the junk food of cinema and there's nothing wrong with that. We all like our grease-soaked hamburgers and our bacon fries every now and then. Why wouldn't we? They taste awesome. Likewise with this film. It's so over the top and so blatantly pandering to our sex drive that it circles all the way back around to being good again. Kind of. You know what I mean.

All that being said, it was filmed in the 70s. Meaning that by today's standards it's actually pretty tame. And while the acting is surprisingly good given the genre and the budget, it's still not great. For the most part. I actually enjoyed both Pam Grier and Sid Haig in their roles. Both have that presence.

I can't really give the film a higher score, but I did enjoy watching it.

Camp

[Michael_Elliott · 10 March 2008]

Big Doll House, The (1971)

** (out of 4)

Beautiful women, catfights, food fights, torture, lesbianism, mud wrestling and nudity are the highlights of this cult classic Women in Prison film from Jack Hill. There's always a slight bit of sleaze that makes this interesting but overall it's pretty dull without enough story and the dramatic moments don't work. Judy Brown and Pam Grier star.

It should also be noted that I prefer the rougher women in prison films by the likes of Jess Franco. Franco started this genre with 99 Women but I prefer his darker WIP films like Barbed Wire Dolls, Women in Cell Block 9 and Sadomania.

Worst of the Women in Prison Films

[alfredpr-69611 · 2/10 · 6 August 2021]

This movie had great locations, but it is all wasted as the atrocious acting and dismal casting totally destroys this flick. The women look absolutely gorgeous, that's the whole problem as there is zero believability. This movie looks like they went to an elite modeling agency for the main cast even some prison guards look ravishing.

Nightmare in Badham County was a real good movie with a real feel.

This is an absurd movie.

The Big Sleaze

[Tweetienator · 5/10 · 6 January 2023]

No doubt, The Big Doll House is a movie that earns the label "guilt pleasure" big time - bathed in sleaziness, super beautiful woman in prison, erotic scenes, women fighting half naked, exploitation scenes, and a story right out of pulp fiction wonderland - but without doubt The Big Doll House entertains me more (if you belong to the right kind of free spirited audience, of course) than many big Hollywood productions these days do. The production is on a solid budget for that kind of movies, and with Pam Grier and Sid Haig we get two actors the connoisseur of cinematic wonders knows very well, and with Jack Hill a director who knows this genre to the bone.