The Legacy of Roger Corman, Part 1: Women Behind Bars

            “THEIR BODIES WERE CAGED, BUT NOT THEIR DESIRES!”

            So read the provocative poster for The Big Doll House. Released into grindhouse theatres all over America in 1971, the film was one of the early pictures to be produced by low budget legend Roger Corman for his brand new company New World Pictures. Corman, who brought the filmmaking world new Hollywood talents such as Francis Ford Coppola and James Cameron, was searching for a kind of movie that would seem different while sticking to his tried and true formula- action and sex appeal. In other words: Exploitation. For this, he settled on a genre known as the ‘Women in Prison’ film.

           

“The Big Doll House was the second film for my new company, New World Pictures,” Corman explains his rationale, “and I wanted a sure hit. Hollywood had a long tradition of women-in-prison movies, and no one had done one recently.”

           

The set-up is simple (necessarily so, one can’t get too complicated when making an exploitation feature). A group of scantily clad, beautiful women are serving sentences in a prison in the Philippines. They are poorly treated by the warden and miss male company, so they decide to stage an escape. What follows is a lot of explosions and pretty ladies shooting guns.

            Originally, The Big Doll House was to be set and filmed in Los Angeles, California. But Roger Corman moved the project to the jungles of the Philippines because, as he himself put it, “I realized I could get a bigger-looking movie for the same money.”

            To direct the film, Corman hired Jack Hill, one of the many newcomers to the Hollywood circuit looking for a door into the movie industry. With a handful of unknown actresses, and a half written script, the production took off for the Philippine Islands.

            The film’s most direct and lasting impact was the introduction of a new face to the grindhouses, a face to be loved the world over- that of Pam Grier. The foxy African-American actress quickly became New World Pictures’ most bankable visage. This was especially surprising considering The Big Doll House was Grier’s first ever acting role, and the only coaching she’d had was a bit of on-set advice from costar and genre veteran Sid Haig. From her launching point with New World, Pamela Grier would go on to headline some of the most entertaining exploitation films of the 1970’s, including Jack Hill’s Coffy and Foxy Brown.

            For the moment, however, she would remain Roger Corman’s golden girl, starring in a number of resultant women-in-prison pictures- most notably Women in Cages (1971) and The Big Bird Cage (1972; Jack Hill’s not-so-serious sequel to The Big Doll House). She was so popular, in fact, that Corman developed a formula for success entirely around her.

            In his own words, “After the success of The Big Doll House, Pam Grier became our standard leading lady for several pictures. We developed a formula where we’d have two girls in trouble. One would be a white girl and the other would be Pam Grier.”

            But in spite of the cultural impact Grier may have had, these films would make a hard case for anyone making the claim that they had a lasting influence (except perhaps on the style of a few mavericks, like one Quentin Tarantino for example…). So, instead of asking the common question, “what makes these films important?” maybe we should ask, “what makes these films so darned entertaining?!”

            This question is pertinent mainly because of the stigma surrounding the Women in Prison genre. Of course the supposed ‘danger’ to what is ‘appropriate’ is glaringly obvious. What is an exploitation feature if not exploitative? Many who would consider themselves some level of ‘dignified’ decry these films as lurid, lewd, disrespectful, and shallow. And with taglines such as, “MEN WHO ARE ONLY HALF MEN, AND WOMEN WHO ARE MORE THAN ALL WOMAN!” well… who can blame them for voicing such opinions?

            Many others have tried to rationalize their enjoyment of the pulp-injected subject matter by declaring the films ‘progressive’ and ‘political’ and cite a ‘pioneering’ of strong female and black lead characters.

            Whatever the pretense, it is just impossibly entertaining to watch buxom babes blowing stuff up (with good alliteration, no less!) But there has to be more to this confounding, bewildering, perplexingly enjoyable formula than mere personal preference?!

            Without trying to be too vague about it, there is just something unique about the vintage of these movies. This is of course gloriously displayed by the grainy, unkempt, scratched 1970’s film stock, but also in the sort of back-of-your-mind knowledge that, if they were made today, they just would not work. Not in the same way, at least.

            The truth is, these movies were the guilty pleasure resulting from a perfect storm of circumstances. The jungle location, the much too bright fake blood, the liberated, nubile young actresses (Roberta Collins anyone?!), and especially the time period (1971-1974 about) just seemed to fit perfectly together in one gigantic jigsaw puzzle.

            The Philippines were essential in making The Big Doll House and others work. The environment (as much a character as the women themselves) played a much bigger role than simply being a better bang for the buck. The hardship, adventure, backdrop… all are better served (even made possible?) by the jungle! This fact is one of the very few subtle aspects of productions that are defined by their frankness. Hey, it is exploitation, after all! Nowhere is the strength of this location more apparent than when it is absent. In the later, Corman-produced picture Caged Heat (1974; helmed by Jonathan Demme, who would later bring the world The Silence of the Lambs) the setting is in California’s Mojave Desert. Sure, the locale may seem similarly hostile, but it has not the exotic nature, nor the adventurous charm, of the Philippine jungle. And as a result, try as it might, Demme’s film simply cannot achieve the thrills and fun of its predecessors.

            Then there is the brand of violence these films peddle. It ranges from torturing interrogations to punishments to shoot outs to mud wrestling. All of which might be considered tame by today’s standards (especially when stacked up against the likes of the Saw franchise and The Expendables). But again, the point was not to be shocking. The point was to be entertaining. And entertain it does. So often, the term ‘exploitation’ is associated with the horror genre exclusively. Films like The Big Doll House and The Big Bird Cage certainly prove otherwise.

            And what women-in-prison picture would be complete without, well… women? There is something undeniably attractive about strong female lead characters. Their beauty and their attitudes appeal to male audiences. Their beauty and their attitudes appeal to female audiences (though admittedly, for different reasons…) Still, if it were men on the screen, no one would find these films to be half as entertaining as they are! The fact is that strong, attractive women draw the attention of both genders. If anything, that is a reason for these films to be praised, not vilified as many are tempted to do.  “But they exploit women’s sex appeal!” some have cried. This is most certainly true! These films exploit sex appeal, and feminine strength, and intelligence, and… the list goes on. In the end, there is more to praise about this genre’s treatment of women than there is to criticize. It’s all for the sake of comedy anyway (and pretty good comedy at that… just try not to laugh!) The point is, women plus guns equals entertainment!

            The early 1970’s was a special time in Hollywood. Low budget pictures could make money just as well as big budget ones. The grindhouse circuit was thriving and New York’s famous 42^nd Street was teaming with them! Each small house playing an endless series of double-bills and never closing day or night provided an ample platform for exploitation cinema. Plus, with the MPAA’s new implementation of the ratings system, one could actually make films featuring more adult subject matter and get away with it. This celluloid playground was the perfect situation for Roger Corman’s foray into the Women in Prison genre. It is unfortunate that this period lasted for only about ten to twelve years. With the likes of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas making ‘blockbusters’ (perhaps just a word for exploitation with a bigger budget), the grindhouses began to close. In the present day, the cinematic world is flipped. Now, small theatres show art film, and big ones show large budget thrills, chills, and spills. In the end, it is this nostalgia that helps to make these old grindhouse pictures so enjoyable.

            Whatever the reasons, the truth simply remains that The Big Doll House, and those films that followed it, are exactly what they set out to be: Entertaining. One cannot ask for more than that!

Note: All Roger Corman quotes taken from the liner notes for the ‘Women in Cages Collection’ DVD set released by Shout! Factory, 2011