Especially since equal rights between men and women still form a socially relevant problem in 2020, it truly rejoices me to occasionally stumble on films that are nearly half a century old and yet extremely feminist and progressive! Okay, writer/director Lee Frost was nothing but a sleazy 70s exploitation filmmaker, I know, but nevertheless his "Policewoman" is (unintentionally?) very accurate and confronting in the depiction of how women in macho-environments have to struggle in order to get respect from their macho male counterparts. This is demonstrated during the first third of the film, when lead character Lacey Bond applies for a job at the police force because she's far too good to remain a warden at the female prison institution. She gets discriminated, laughed at, treated as inferior and humiliated.
Of course, "Policewomen" isn't the type of film to make a forceful social or ethical statement. It's nothing but a light-hearted 70s exploitation effort, with a maximum of beautiful (and scarcely dressed) women and girl-on-girl fighting sequences.
Based on the rating and the other reviews, "Policewomen" isn't too popular, but I enjoyed it a great deal! I like the plot and the violent action sequences, like the steam prison-escape at the beginning or the fighting on the yacht. What I particularly appreciate are the totally bonkers character choices, like a vicious and hideous old hag (Elizabeth Stuart) as the relentless leader of an all-female criminal organization. The only man in the syndicate is her husband, who's 30 years younger and constantly busy weightlifting wearing nothing but a skimpy swimming pants. He's always surrounded by gorgeous girls in bikinis, but he doesn't dare to touch them, and they don't dare to touch him, purely out of fear for the old lady. Great, just great.
Evidently, the film is also heavily flawed. The desperate attempts to imitate the James Bond franchise are almost pitiable. Basically, the whole plot is a 007-knockoff, what with the eccentric villain and her drug and gold smuggling organization. The heroine's name is obvious, but there are also sneaky little details, like the hi-tech gadgetry and the theme song. There's a dreadfully overlong "we-are-falling-in-love" montage, followed by an even longer sex-sequence. The ladies are all stunning to look at (except for Elizabeth Stuart, obviously) and there's a hilarious guest appearance for cult-legend William Smith as a karate instructor.
Of course, "Policewomen" isn't the type of film to make a forceful social or ethical statement. It's nothing but a light-hearted 70s exploitation effort, with a maximum of beautiful (and scarcely dressed) women and girl-on-girl fighting sequences.
Based on the rating and the other reviews, "Policewomen" isn't too popular, but I enjoyed it a great deal! I like the plot and the violent action sequences, like the steam prison-escape at the beginning or the fighting on the yacht. What I particularly appreciate are the totally bonkers character choices, like a vicious and hideous old hag (Elizabeth Stuart) as the relentless leader of an all-female criminal organization. The only man in the syndicate is her husband, who's 30 years younger and constantly busy weightlifting wearing nothing but a skimpy swimming pants. He's always surrounded by gorgeous girls in bikinis, but he doesn't dare to touch them, and they don't dare to touch him, purely out of fear for the old lady. Great, just great.
Evidently, the film is also heavily flawed. The desperate attempts to imitate the James Bond franchise are almost pitiable. Basically, the whole plot is a 007-knockoff, what with the eccentric villain and her drug and gold smuggling organization. The heroine's name is obvious, but there are also sneaky little details, like the hi-tech gadgetry and the theme song. There's a dreadfully overlong "we-are-falling-in-love" montage, followed by an even longer sex-sequence. The ladies are all stunning to look at (except for Elizabeth Stuart, obviously) and there's a hilarious guest appearance for cult-legend William Smith as a karate instructor.