Caged Heat (1974)

In a women's prison, a group of inmates band together to combat the repressive and abusive policies of the warden.

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writer:

Jonathan Demme

Stars:

Juanita Brown, Erica Gavin, Roberta Collins

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Juanita Brown	...	Maggie
Roberta Collins	...	Belle Tyson
Erica Gavin	...	Jacqueline Wilson
Ella Reid	...	Pandora
Cheryl Smith	...	Lavelle (as Rainbeaux Smith)
Warren Miller	...	Dr. Randolph
Barbara Steele	...	Supt. McQueen
Crystin Sinclaire	...	Crazy Alice (as Lynda Gold)
Mickey Fox	...	Bernice
Toby Carr Rafelson	...	Pinter (as Tobi Carr Refelson)
Ann Stockdale	...	Bonnie
Irene Stokes	...	Hazel
Cynthia Songé	...	Rosemary (as Cynthia Songey)
Carmen Argenziano	...	Undercover Wrestler
John Aprea	...	Dream Man

Storyline

A girl is caught in a drug bust and sent to the hoosegow. The iron-handed superintendent takes exception to a skit performed by the girls and takes punitive steps, aided by the sadistic doctor who is doing illegal electroshock experiments and raping drugged prisoners. After a while the prisoners put away their petty differences and plan the Big Prison Escape.

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Plot Keywords:

breast fondling | scantily clad female | forced to strip | female pubic hair | female rear nudity | 

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Taglines:

Women's prison U.S.A. - Rape Riot and Revenge! White Hot Desires melting cold prison steel!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

14A

Did You Know?

Trivia

The escape scene in the orchard garden was filmed in one day.

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Goofs

A shadow of the boom microphone is visible on the wall behind Maggie and Crazy Alice as they talk outside the "wrestling" booth when they first meet.

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Quotes

Supt. McQueen: Don't you realize sex is what put you behind bars in the first place? Stealing to dress better for a man. Fornicating from the back of the pockets of women using pimps. Killing to eliminate a sexual rival. Give me contrition! Let's have redemption! Repentance! Repentance! A worm's death to society!

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Connections

Referenced in Women of Wrestling (2000)

User Reviews

Possibly the all-time ultimate WIP movie classic

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 June 1975 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Caged Heat

Filming Locations:

Steeles Motor Lodge - 13949 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$180,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artists Entertainment Complex, Renegade Women Company, New World Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1