Customer Reviews

Caged Heat

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This film is a classic. There are a lot of women in prison films out there, but this one takes the cake. Most films of this type do not contain any real substance aside from violence and nudity. However, not only does this movie have violence and nudity (lots of nudity)but it has real meaning. The story is about the power of friendship. All of the women in prison have done horrible things to get there, but now that they're in a situation where they are faced with extreme punishment they have to stick together in order to survive. It's a masterpiece! Own it....and if you really like it be sure to check out THE BIG BIRD CAGE.

Do you like women's prison movies? Do you like shower scenes of women's prison movies? This is your movie. Also, do you like completely nude solitary confinement scenes in women's prison movies? Then this has two scenes. Plot, women in prison, psycho prison doctor, women escape during farm labor, they break back in to release their friends, shower scenes... all natural torpedos.

This 1974 R-rated girls-in-prison movie is director Jonathan Demme's debut as a director and he is also credited as the writer. This is the same Demme that made many mainstream films, like 1991's Silence of the Lambs (for which he received the Best Director Oscar), and 1993's Philadelphia. The movie stars Erica Gavin (formerly an exotic dancer whose first film was the X-rated Vixen and whose last film she acted in was Caged Heat; she plays Jackie Wilson), Barbara Steele (Caged Heat marked the return of Steele after a five year absence; as Warden McQueen, though she is listed as Superintendent McQueen), Juanita Brown (as Maggie), Roberta Collins (as Belle), Ella Reid (as Pandora), Warren Miller (Doctor Randolph) and Rainbeaux Smith (as Lavelle). This movie is in the "Roger Corman Classics" product line. Corman's company distributed this film, though it did not finance it.

The DVD contains the movie, special features and preview attractions. The special features are an interview with Roger Corman, an "Original Trailer" of Caged Heat, and a "Cast and Crew" information section (three cast, the director, and Roger Corman). The "Preview Attractions" section contains trailers for "Candy Stripe Nurses," "Big Bad Mama II," "The Big Doll House," and "Crazy Mama."

The movie is about a prison in Conorville where a new-inmate (Erica Gavin as Jackie Wilson) joins an unruly prison population managed by wheel-chair bound Warden (or Superintendent) McQueen (Barbara Steele).

The movie opens with the main star of the show, Jackie Wilson, being arrested, tried and sentenced to prison (term of 10-40 years). Then the action moves to the prison just prior to Jackie's arrival. We see an attractive blonde inmate dreaming of her man coming by the prison and fondling her. Then its morning and we learn that strangely enough, the women in this prison do not wear prison uniforms, but whatever street clothes they want to wear (though they occasionally wear uniforms). As the opening montage of prison life scrolls across the screen, one of the scenes outdoors has a blonde woman leaning against a fence, and written on a wall behind her is a sign in big bold block letters that says "No Laughing." This certainly is a rather slow moving movie, at least at the beginning.

While these women in street clothes stand around prison, new arrivals arrive, including Jackie Wilson. The new arrivals are brought to an area that appears to be along a hallway where a doctor is sitting. Three of the new female prisoners are brought before a male doctor, who tells them to strip, right there in the hallway. The women strip and the doctor pulls on some gloves, one of the female guards begins to look very happy, and the scene ends before any actual "inspections."

Jackie then joins the prison population. The women stand around barely clothed (inside) playing games, reading, participating in plays, etc. Sometimes they get to see the outside world when they are sent off to work on farms (where two try to break out of prison). Not all is well in prison, as some of the harder inmates tend to pick on the others (including one scene where a woman searches for her cigarettes, goes into another cell and ribs the shirt off a blonde (a lot less of this type of activity than might expect). The Warden is no better, and might even be a little insane. If she doesn't like something an inmate is doing, she throws them naked into isolation cells (like when she didn't like one actor's performance in a play (or maybe that had something to do with the actress having a picture of her boyfriend with her)).

The woman are bored, somewhat terrorized by other inmates (including some inmate fights), occasionally have the Warden throw them naked into solitary confinement, and occasionally are attacked by the male doctor who shocks them, and sometimes likes using his drugs on the inmates (one shown), and then taking advantage of them. They also tend to have some very strange dreams. The normal prison shower scenes occur (interesting little scene where the women line up nude waiting for the shower, then the star is yelled at by another woman while in the shower, but no "fun" in the shower). There is also some corrective physical therapy that involves electric shock therapy and unnecessary surgery that I don't tend to see in these types of movies. There is also the normal attempted prison break (though these guards seem to be more competent than some I've seen), and there actually are more attempted prison breaks than I normally see (and the guards definitely remember what their guns are for). Two of the women escape and the fact that the inmates were wearing street clothes in prison certainly helped their escape. They wander around in the outside world, robbing a bank, etc. A lot of Jackie's trouble stems from her own stupid actions and her fellow inmates stupid actions (actually, there seems to be a lot of stupid people in this movie).

Overall, the movie is a strange little prison and prison escape film. The film's plot is full of holes, and a little odd. The acting is varied, at times not that bad, sometimes wooden, sometimes good, and some of the women can't act. The setting is a prison, a rather gritty pealing dirty little female prison, and the outside world (including a farm, and a strange little place where men and women wrestle in private rooms in their underwear). The prisoners tend to be attractive, though some are not. While the guards tend to be unattractive, though some are attractive. By comparison, this film is a better film than the Pam Grier "Woman in Cages" movie that is also in the Roger Corman Classics product line-up. As a mainstream film, this film has too much nudity and plot holes, as an "adult" film, this has too little "action." (~4.12)

Let's go easy and be fair: "Caged Heat" deserved its rank as the best of the women-in-prison series that marked the glory days of drive-in movies. Although Jonathan Demme's directorial debut was not a real success, it gave us a chance to enjoy the glamour of so many beautiful girls while showing their skin off and on did try their best to act as well: Erica Gavin (the famous vixen in "Vixen!"), Roberta Collins (Pam Grier's co-star in such previous WIP flicks as "Women In Cages", "The Big Bird Cage", "The Big Doll House"), Rainbeaux Smith (aka Cheryl Smith in "Slumber Party '57"), Juanita Brown (Pam Grier's co-star in "Foxy Brown") etc... What else can we ask for??? I'm glad to watch "Caged Heat" again, now on DVD so I can go to any "hot" chapter any time. Too bad "Vixen!" hasn't been released on DVD yet, but if you like this one I would recommend all the above mentioned WIP hits of the '70s. They aren't as good as "Caged Heat" but still worth checking out for their own flavors.

I was delighted to see more than one shower scene. All natural. Different body types. You will not be disappointed.

Demme's first film a fun B-grade women's prison flick with a feminist twist. Erica Gavin and Rainbeaux Smith are two of the inmates at the prison who are in on a plot to overtake the prison and its sadistic warren, played by Barbara Steele. Features trashy dialogue, tacky '70s fashions and music by John Cale. END

CAGED HEAT begins with the character of Wilson (Erica Gavin, BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS) being ambushed with two male cohorts in crime by three really stupid policemen. This of course leads to her incarceration in a women's prison where you are apparently allowed to wear the same dress in which you were arrested (this should serve as a lesson to guys not to wear a dress when committing a crime). Others characters in this prison include a strict, wheelchair bound warden (Barbara Steele) a sadistic yet laughable doctor, and a mouthy badgirl (Juanita Brown) among others. During her stay Wilson will strip, get in a fight, get shock treatment, shower, break out of prison, rob a bank, and, the unthinkable, break back into prison. CAGED HEAT begins well enough with a stark contrast in both the direction and level of humor. Unfortunately it loses both after about twenty minutes as it tries to develop a more serious side. When this transformation in story and direction takes place the pace of the movie slows. Although there is a logical progression of continuity in its domino effect storyline, it is at times disjointed making the pace and story erratic. CAGED HEAT is a low budget effort where its budget at times shows through like the seams in a leisure suit. It does have the bonus of a southern fried soundtrack and some good humor here and there which help to lift it when the pace does not. Despite its pace and disjointed story, it is still entertaining for its 79 minute runtime and delivers quite a bit of nudity and other fare we look for in 'women in prison' flicks.--Bob

director jonathan demme began his career as did so many others: an apprentice of the great roger corman, learning his craft in a string of B (or less) movies. this "chicks in chains" flick was his first directorial effort, and it is loads of fun. filled with gratuitous violence and kinky sex, it is a masterpiece of its particular type of movie: an ideal way to waste 90 minutes of your life.

I was really suprised when I watched it, but I found Caged Heat to be much better than I had expected. Caged Heat is a really good women's prison movie. Of course Caged Heat is loaded with the T&A that one would expect. Plenty of fine women in this one. Besides the eye candy, Caged Heat is very entertaining. There's the lady who got caught trying to escape from a robbery, and Belle the woman who likes to steal and crawls through the rafters to get food to her friend who is in solitary.

One afternoon while working outside, a couple of women come up with a plan to escape from the prison. Two getaway and meet up with a friend, then they decide to go back and bust they're friends out. Will the women be victorious. Watch Caged Heat and find out!

If you were a teen(male)during the 80's then this is a film for you. Trashy dialogue, corny story line and fantastic girly fight scenes.

I'll never forget the line "My Name's Crazy Honey".........

Get this film now and enjoy it.