Women Behind Bars is yet another Jess Franco "women in prison"
film made in West Germany, starring Lina Romay and Martine Stedil.
Yes, those are practically their own sub-genre Compare it to
Barbed Wire Dolls, made the same
year. The major difference between the two film is that Jess himself
takes a major role this time.
The film starts with a diamond theft
in which the gang leader shoots the others,
then returns to a bar owned by him and Romay. She then shoots him
and
turns herself in, claiming that he was cheating, and it was an act
of passion. She is sentenced to a special prison to serve her two
years. An insurance investigator, sure that the new inmate must
knew where the
diamonds are, travels there to talk with her. Meanwhile, the prison warden also
thinks his new prisoner knows the whereabouts of the jewels, so he
asks his inmate
lover (Martine Stedil) to get close to Romay. Of course, there is
more going on.
In a new interview conducted specifically for this release, Jess Franco says that he likes this
film very much, because of a simple plot which is easy to understand.
That's true enough, but is not a significant drawing card for fans
of WIP films. Sadly, Women Behind Bars is lacking in some of the genre expectations,
and isn't, for the most part, especially nasty, sensational, or
exciting. There are two scenes of
torture, a girl/girl scene, and sex between the corrupt warden and a
prisoner. On the other hand, the film is missing other genre staples such as a
shower scene and a good cat fight.
If you are not familiar with our grading system, you need to
read the
explanation, because the grading is not linear. For example, by
our definition, a
C is solid and a C+ is a VERY good movie. There are very few Bs
and As. Based on our descriptive system, this film is a:
