The Big Bird Cage

There is a curious theme of homosexuality throughout the majority of Women In Prison (WIP) flicks. Usually there'll be a lesbian character in the sadistic warden like in "The Big Doll House" (this one's predecessor) and "Women In Cages", or it's one of the inmates, like the Sybil Danning character in "Chained Heat", who will protect the young ingenue from the prison gangs if she'll just scrub her back in the shower. "The Big Bird Cage" is the only one I can remember seeing in which there are no lesbians, but there are gay men. It's notable for a scene where Sid Haig, that dependable b-movie stalwart who had a renaissance with Rob Zombie, pretends to be gay to con his way into the prison camp by flirting with the guards. It's also notable for an inexplicable lack of shower scenes - though there is one point where women cover their naked bodies with chicken fat and streak through the camp in an escape attempt! This provides some of the first full-frontal nudity I have seen in the genre. The filmmakers were apparently slow to realise that shower scenes were the WIP sub-genre's main draw; they're pretty much the only reason anyone watches these movies now. The only other thing I can think of to say about "The Big Bird Cage" is that it barely seems to qualify as "prison" movie; there are no bars on the windows or cells, and no high prison wall. It's set in what is more like a forced labour camp, which kept reminding me of Pol Pot's genocidal "re-education" program. So it's an outlier for a few reasons, but none of them are particularly engaging.

While on a date at a night club "Terry" (Anitra Ford) is kidnapped by revolutionaries after they rob every one of their valuables. The police chase one of the getaway cars which has Terry in it and when the leader of the revolutionaries named "Django" (Sid Haig) realizes he can't outrun them he abandons the car leaving Terry behind. However, rather than being freed Terry is falsely accused of collaborating with the revolutionaries and sent to a prison deep in the Philippine jungle. When she gets there, she finds that the warden is physically abusing the female prisoners and working the women to the point of death on a dangerous sugar mill he calls "the Big Bird Cage". What follows next is the general "Women-in-prison" scenario which typically includes a mixture of nudity, abuse, drama and action. However, this one has quite a bit of humor as well. Unfortunately, the humor seemed to get a bit old after a while and tended to detract from the other elements which define the genre. Likewise, some of the scripts and scenarios were also rather weak and disjointed--which made the entire film seem to lose its focus. Along with that, some of the actresses, particularly Candice Roman (as "Carla"), weren't utilized to their fullest potential either. In essence, what could have been an outstanding addition to this genre turned out to lose its sizzle by the end. Frankly, I found it to be a bit disappointing. That said, I rate this movie as slightly below average.