Frauengefängnis (1976)

... aka: Barbed Wire Dolls
... aka: Caged Women
... aka: Gardiennes du Pénitencier, Les
... aka: Femmes en cage
... aka: Jailhouse Wardress
... aka: Woman Caged
... aka: Women's Penitentiary IV

Directed by:
Jesus Franco

There's wall-to-wall female nudity and sadism galore in this very sleazy Swiss / West German women-in-prison torture flick. Along with ILSA, THE WICKED WARDEN (1977) and WOMEN IN CELLBLOCK 9 (1977), it made up a troika of w-i-p flicks that Franco made for Swiss producer Erwin C. Dietrich over the course of three years. If one wanted to be a little more lenient then WOMEN WITHOUT INNOCENCE (1977), another Franco / Dietrich collaboration, could be thrown in there, as well. Even though it's set in a mental asylum for female patients instead of a prison, it was basically the same thing. These kind of films of course came back into vogue in the early 70s thanks to the success of the Roger Corman-produced, Jack Hill-directed films like The Big Bird Cage (1971) and The Big Doll House (1972), which became such big hits that hundreds of similar efforts were made around the world well into the '90s. Prior to the Corman films, Franco had already made at least one women's prison feature, 99 Women (1969), which is very mild in comparison to what he'd later do. His later ventures into this genre were also, tonally, a bit different than what others were doing with the same format. The female empowerment angle present in nearly all other w-i-p films, used perhaps as a crutch to justify all of the torture and nudity, is thrown right out of the window in favor of degradation and graphic nudity. Cellblock 9, for instance, found every single one of its female captives getting killed off at the end. Some reward for enduring such torture, huh? One of ladies fares a little better in this one, but most do not.

Things open with a long sequence of a starving, chained woman being treated like a dog while she desperately pleads for food and a guard barks out things like "Bitch!" and "Filthy whore!" while whipping her. It'll be a sign of things to come for poor Maria (Lina Romay), the newest prisoner in this women's island rehabilitation camp. Maria has been tried by some tribunal and given a life sentence for the murder of her father. Naturally she's actually innocent of the crime as a ludicrous later plot twist will reveal. Instead of having to work 14 hour days in the salt mines at another prison, the evil directress (Monica Swinn) has convinced authorities Maria is insane, so now she'll be subjected to these wacko's idea of therapy. Dr. Carlos Costa (Paul Muller), who is actually Dr. Moore but killed the real Costa and is now impersonating him, has her sign papers allowing them to do shock treatment on her. Next thing she knows she's tied down naked to electrified bedsprings getting jolted into submission.

The corrupt prison staff are breaking each girl's will and then pimping them out to high ranking government officials on the side. One girl goes to an impotent Governor (Roger Darton) who has Nestor (Eric Falk), chief torturer at the prison, rape her while he watches. One of the prisoners gets a letter out they're being tortured but it's intercepted. For punishment, they have their food rations cut in half and more girls get tortured and violated. Most of the prisoners being held there have gone crazy from all of the psychological and physical abuse they've had to endure. Ingrid (Peggy Markoff), who murdered her own brother because she had incestuous designs on him, is a delusional nymphomaniac who constantly plays with herself and keeps talking about Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella. Rosa (Beni Cardoso) has been reduced to a giggly, child-like state. And the virginal Berta (Martine Stedil) has somehow managed to keep it all together since she's been there, but the staff's still working on that. After getting simultaneously electro shocked and anally raped with a cane, Maria gets thrown into a cell with those three and eventually several of them plot to escape.

If this film belongs to anyone, it's probably Swinn as the cruel lesbian wardress. She has dialogue like "This isn't some country club!" and refers to the prisoners as "the lowest kind of scum" while prancing around in an outfit consisting of an ill-fitting monocle, an unbuttoned shirt, a belt, panties, knee-high black boots and a riding crop. During one scene, she bends the virgin over a table to test her virginity with her finger, has sex with her then instructs the girl to slap her around. Afterward she has the girl thrown into solitary confinement. And solitary confinement here means being denied food or water, getting chained up on the floor naked and having Nestor whip and degrade you. Swinn's character also makes the occasional aside about how much she detests "bleeding heart liberals" and journalists who want to expose the abuse going on at her prison. I suppose in Franco's mind this is all probably a parable about the need for prison reform.

By far the strangest scene in here is when Maria flashes back to her father (played by Franco himself) sneaking into her bedroom at night and trying to "show his affection." The scene is oddly shot in slow-motion. And I don't mean that the film itself is put in slow-motion, but Franco and Romay move in slow-motion! Aside from that one scene of unintentional hilarity, this film falls into a really gray area. It's too ridiculous to be taken seriously and too nasty and one-note to be "fun." Even the torture and humiliation scenes are boring and tiresome because they're drawn out for so long. The breakout "action" at the end is just plain pitiful. Naked ladies will be the film's chief drawing card and the nudity here is about as graphic as you can get outside of a straight-up porn film, with close-up spread eagle shots, zooms into crotches and fingers (and a lit cigarette!) being inserted into vaginas.

Frauengefängnis was originally released in the U.S. in a heavily cut version as Barbed Wire Dolls (the DVD with the same title is uncut) and would later be issued on VHS (again, drastically cut) under the titles Caged Women and Women's Penitentiary IV. In 1979, hack distributors Eurocine blended scenes from it with Hell Train (1977) and Elsa Fraulein SS (1977) and released it as a new film called Jailhouse Wardress.

★1/2

Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, The (1976)

... aka: La petite fille au bout du chemin

Directed by:
Nicolas Gessner

"How old do you have to be before people start treating you like a person?"

13-year-old Renn Jacobs (Jodie Foster) and her father Lester have just moved to a small New England fishing village. Lester is a reclusive and eccentric published poet who never likes to be disturbed while he's translating or writing. He never seems to leave his study, and he's frequently out of town in New York City or London or some other big city tending to business. At least according to Renn, who spends most, if not all, of her time by herself. She's an extremely intelligent and perceptive girl who home schools herself, listens to classical music, reads Emily Dickinson, cooks all her own meals and teaches herself things like Hebrew. All she really wants is for people to leave her alone. People like Frank Hallet (Martin Sheen). You see, Frank likes little girls... in a way he shouldn't like little girls. And he has no problem conveying to Renn just how pretty he thinks she is. He also wonders why such a pretty, smart girl doesn't have a boyfriend and doesn't go to school like the rest of the kids her age. It's no secret around town that Frank is a "pervert" and child molester, and because he senses that Renn is lonely he starts following her around hoping for more than just a piece of cake to give his kids. But Renn has some deep, dark secrets of her own that Frank may not want to know about.

Frank's mother Cora (Alexis Smith), an uppity, nosy, judgmental, extremely nasty social climber who's leased the home to Renn and her father for three years, begins snooping around after she finds out her son has been there. Not pleased with Renn's standoffish behavior and the fact she's "rude," Cora begins trying to cause problems for them and eventually threatens to kick them out. But that's all solved when she's killed in a freak accident down in the cellar. Renn decides to leave her down there and go about her business like nothing has happened. After all, there's something down in the cellar that caused Cora to panic in the first place and it's something Renn wants to keep hidden. Now faced with the problem of Cora's car parked right in front of her house, Renn lucks out that Mario (Scott Jacoby) happens by on his bicycle. A crippled amateur magician and high school student, Mario agrees to help Renn out of her bind. He takes the car into town and leaves it, then returns for dinner. The two quickly form a bond, Mario gets the secretive girl to open up to him and obligatory young love ensues.

Caught up in a web of deceit, Renn has a hard time keeping her story straight about her father. She'll tell one person he's out of town and another he's in his study working or sleeping and can't be disturbed. Most of the intrigue in this film is discovering just what's going on. Did the father die? Did Renn kill him? Was he ever there in the first place? What secret is hidden in the cellar? These are questions your faithful reviewer isn't going to answer here because that would be to spoil all of the wonderful and clever surprises and plot twists this film offers.

Stripped down, Little Girl is little more than a series of lengthy character interactions. In some regards, it resembles a made-for-TV movie and in other ways it seems derived from a stage play. Thankfully, an extremely good cast and Laird Koenig's excellent and insightful screenplay (which is based on his own novel) makes these scenes plausible, interesting and suspenseful. Sheen is very credible playing a truly despicable and unlikable character. He does a fantastic job getting you to hate his guts by the end of the film, whether it's him using sly tactics to try to bully and blackmail young Renn into giving in to him, or burning her pet hamster with a cigarette and tossing it in the fireplace. Smith - who has just two scenes - is his equal as an icy, domineering witch so concerned with her reputation in town she has no problem covering up for her son's crimes. Jacoby is charming in his role and his scenes with Foster are poignant and seem authentic, and Mort Shuman, also this film's music supervisor and a noted songwriter, scores in a nice supporting part as Mario's uncle; a friendly police officer.

The centerpiece of the film is Foster, though. The young actress (who was the same age as her character during production) starred in this the same year she won critical acclaim (and an Oscar nomination) for playing a teen prostitute in Martin Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER. As a result, this particular performance was somewhat overlooked. Regardless, she was a positively perfect choice for playing this clever, precocious character. The part seems almost tailor-made for her, though reportedly Foster disliked the film (and claims to have had problems with one of the producers). Some eyebrows were definitely raised over a nude scene, but it was actually Foster's older sister Connie who body doubled for her.

 

Filmed primarily in Quebec, Canada (with some footage shot in Maine) and the winner of Best Horror Film and Best Actress awards at the 1978 Saturn Awards.

★★★

Mephisto Waltz, The (1971)

... aka: Satan, mon Amour! (Satan, My Love)
... aka: Satan's Transplant

Directed by:
Paul Wendkos

After a four year stint at Julliard, Myles Clarkson (Alan Alda) gave up his love for piano playing after getting scathing reviews for a make-it-or-break-it performance. Now a music journalist, Myles has been called to the home of Duncan Ely (Curd Jürgens), the self-proclaimed "greatest pianist alive," to write an article on him. A crotchety, eccentric and mysterious type, Duncan initially seems most interested in Myles' hands. He even wants his sultry daughter Roxanne (the very sexy Barbara Parkins) to see them. Such fine hands. One in a hundred thousand. It isn't long before Myles and his wife Paula (Jacqueline Bisset) are hobnobbing with rich and famous sorts - writers, film directors... - at one of Duncan's lavish dinner parties. Duncan even has Myles perform dueling pianos with him. Sensing something is a little off about the whole situation, and also sensing Roxanne has eyes for her husband, Paula decides to call it a night. Before she goes, she's introduced to Duncan's snarling, vicious dog. Later, she'll learn that Duncan's previous wife was killed by one such dog. Maybe even that one...

At the grand opening of Paula's new antique store - which she owns with her friend Maggie (Kathleen Widdoes) - she gets a surprise visit by Duncan, Roxanne and all of their rich friends, who start throwing down tons of money on ridiculous things. Paula grows even more skeptical about them, begins to wonder what their intentions are and just why they're trying to "study" both her and her husband. At a New Year's Eve party at Duncan's, where everyone dresses in animal masks (aside from the dog - who wears a human mask!), Roxanne continues to flirt with her husband and Paula even spots Duncan and Roxanne - who are supposedly father and daughter - making out. She tries to sever ties with them, but Myles isn't having it. Duncan has become like a father figure to him and even confesses he's dying from leukemia. Paula tries to be understanding despite her reservations, but her suspicions continue to grow the more time Myles starts spending with them.

After donating some blood to the cause, Myles comes back to Paula with news that Duncan has passed away. Myles has also come back to his wife a completely different man. That's because his body is now inhabited by Duncan, who - through black magic - has managed to take over Myles' body to extend his own life. And he's not the only one doing it. His whole circle of friends do as well. Use up a body? Just find a new one. No longer so polite and meek, Myles now is picking up right where Duncan left off. Paula is happy at first. Her husband has a renewed passion for her and has inherited a healthy sum of money. However, it isn't long before Paula starts to realize that her husband isn't her husband at all. She must get to the bottom of things, especially after her young daughter Abby (Pamelyn Ferdin) dies from a mysterious illness that seems to be connected to what's going on.

This is a very good major studio (20th Century Fox) horror film. It's a well-made, well-paced, sometimes creepy film that boasts glossy production values, an intriguing storyline and a good cast. The direction and cinematography are both quite stylish: in particular during the dream sequences, which utilize soft-focus, smeared lenses and glimmering light to give them an other-worldly feel. If there's a weak link on the roster, it's a miscast Alda, who isn't fully convincing in his role. Not that he's awful or anything, but one gets the impression a more skilled actor would do a better job separating the Myles and Duncan personas (which nice guy Alda never quite pulls off). Thankfully, it's not all that important. Though billed behind him, this is actually the beautiful Bisset's film and the movie is really about her quest to uncover the truth. The actress makes a fine, likeable centerpiece for all the action. Parkins and Jürgens also give great performances and head up a fine supporting cast, which also includes the busy Bradford Dillman as Roxanne's ex-husband, William Windom as a doctor, Lilyan Chauvin (Mother Superior in SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT), Berry Kroeger (NIGHTMARE IN WAX) and Terrence Scammell.

I'm not saying this set the precedent or created such things, but it's hard to watch and not think about films that came after that utilized some of the same exact elements / imagery. For instance, the demon dog (1976's THE OMEN), the celebration of strange animal-masked guests (1973's THE WICKER MAN), the dog with the human face (1978's INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) and so forth. Mephisto itself recalls ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) at times in that the husband's ego and gullibility puts him in a dangerous situation with occultists while the wife is the rightfully cautious of the two who senses something is awry.

The title comes from the Franz Liszt composition of the same name. It's based on a novel by Fred Mustard Stewart (adapted by Ben Maddow). Jerry Goldsmith did the score.

★★★