“You know doctor, there are so many things about modern technology that I don’t understand. Things that must be crystal clear to a man of science like yourself. Rockets to the moon… correcting human behavior with drugs and surgery… I don’t know, perhaps I’m just old fashioned.” Warden McQueen (Barbara Steele) in “Caged Heat.”

A robbery gone awry gets Jacqueline Wilson (the beautiful Erica Gavin) sent to a women’s correctional facility. It’s one of the more liberal big houses, where the majority of the convicts get to wear make-up and street clothes. But this curious bonus is overshadowed by the superintendent; a sexually repressed, wheel chair bound ice princess named McQueen (Barbara Steele). McQueen along with the demented prison physician Dr. Randolph (Warren Miller) and the sadistic female guards make life rough for the stylin’ inmates. Wilson shares a cell with the quiet Lavelle (the late Cheryl Rainbeaux Smith) and is hounded by Maggie (Juanita Brown), the prison troublemaker. She befriends lovers Pandora (Ella Reid) and Belle (exploitation legend Roberta Collins) who put on a racy comedy show for the prisoners. The act is cut short by the repressed McQueen, who has a talk with the women in her office about the lewd content. When Pandora speaks out of line to the superintendent, she is quickly sent to solitary.

Maggie picks a fight with Wilson in the showers and the two of them break out into a steamy catfight on the wet cement. The two are later punished for an incident with a sadistic guard and given electroshock from Dr. Randolph. Belle steals food for Pandora and finds a way to sneak it into solitary. While raiding a refrigerator, she’s caught by an older prison employee who ends up having a heart attack. Belle is blamed for the death and sent to the doctor for punishment – where she’s drugged, photographed and raped. During a day of field work, two inmates attempt an escape and are given chase by the guards. Maggie takes the opportunity to make a break herself and Wilson goes along for the ride. The two women escape in a prison truck and make it back into civilization. They meet up with Maggie’s friend Crazy Alice (Lynda Gold) and the three of them plan a bank robbery that doesn’t proceed as planned. Concerned for the safety of her friends left behind at the prison, Wilson devises as plan to break them out. Aided by Crazy and Maggie, the three women attempt to free Lavelle, Pandora and Belle. Will they make it in before Belle is given a lobotomy by Dr. Randolph? Though the narrative is loosely constructed and filled with underwritten characters, it’s a solid success nonetheless.  First time director Jonathan Demme paints a rich canvas of Fellini-esque dream sequences, subtle political satire, refreshing humor and all of the requisite WIP ingredients. Meaning catfights, nudity, rape, misogyny (and a little lesbianism) are all present and accounted for.

This legendary women-in-prison film, both written and directed by Demme, has that elusive, kinetic grindhouse energy missing from the exploitation films of today. It was shot by Tak Fujimoto who was responsible for Demme’s best work including “Silence of the Lambs” and “Something Wild” as well as the drive-in classic “Death Race 2000.” His wonderful composition makes the most of the limited budget and is integral to the success of this film. From the wonderful opening shootout to the tense, over the top finale, his camera is always moving; giving the proceedings an urgency missing from the loose narrative. This was Demme’s first film and his eye for casting is already evident. Looking at the film through new eyes, the big surprise is the striking screen presence of actress Brown. Though she only made a handful of films in the early ‘70’s, including the Pam Grier favorite “Foxy Brown, her acting career seemed to end well before it began. Brown gives a wonderful naturalistic performance as the tough Maggie and holds her own with a great cast of exploitation queens. Steele is fun as the frail, repressed McQueen, though one wishes that her character had more screen time. Collins had a long, prolific career in exploitation films and also has a striking screen presence. She was in one of the first of the Roger Corman WIP films “The Big Doll House” (also with Grier) and made appearances in everything from Tobe Hooper’s “Eaten Alive” to the teen sexploitation hit “Hardbodies.” Also in this impressive line-up was the late, great Smith who had an equally impressive career in drive-in films including “Revenge of the Cheerleaders” and “Lemora.” The only misstep was in the casting of Gavin who is unquestionably beautiful but posses almost no charisma. Gavin was in Russ Meyer’s mega hit “Vixen” and his bizarre follow-up “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.” Her part in “Caged” required someone who could give the paper thin character a compelling turn (something most of the other actresses easily accomplish). Unfortunately, Gavin just isn’t up to the task and ends up virtually disappearing in a film that more or less revolves around her character. The statuesque Reid and the energetic Gold round out the cast of desperate women; neither of whom pursued film work beyond “Caged.” The sole male star Miller, who turns in a genuinely creepy performance as the doctor, would later cameo in several Demme films.

While “Caged Heat” is great fun, and one of the smarter exploitation films to ever come out of New World Pictures, Demme’s screenplay is wildly uneven. The characters are underwritten and their motivations are often vague. There are lots of great sound bites; the dialogue is smart and funny. It’s the characterization of the lead characters that are wanting. We know so little about the women involved it’s a testament to the talented actresses that we care about them at all. Some of the leads get short back stories but we never get a sense of who they were before they entered the prison (or how they relate to each other). Wilson decides to break back into the prison to free her friends, but there was never a sense of camaraderie established to justify her concern. It says quite a bit about the success of this exploitation film that it merits such discussion about the characters in the first place. Ultimately, there is a sense of authenticity that Demme gets from his actors - even if it’s not readily apparent on the page. Whatever inadequacies the script possesses, it does nothing to detract from the powerful end result. “Caged Heat” works for several reasons; the dynamic photography, the naturalistic performances, the solid direction and the self-reflexive comedy. It’s one of the first exploitation films to posses a sense of style and a sense of humor. It’s Fellini by way of Corman.

This DVD release by Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Disney!) is a bit of a disappointment. The film is presented full screen and while there doesn’t appear to be much information missing (and none of that dreaded pan and scan) Fujimoto’s compositions deserve better. The sound has been mixed in Dolby Digital and is merely adequate. The soundtrack to this film has always been problematic. Some of the post-production dubbing is hard to hear and this particular mix simply accentuates that problem. “Caged Heat” has been released under the “Roger Corman Early Films” banner - though Corman had very little to do with the actual film, save for distributing it. He has a short interview with film critic Leonard Maltin who comes across as a disingenuous name-for-hire. Why Maltin? He’s always been contemptuous of low-budget drive-in films. Corman’s remembrances are interesting, but add little insight into the making of the production. There are a few short cast and crew biographies, and a selection of disparate Corman-produced trailers including a great one cut for “Caged.” “Candy Stripe Nurses,” “Big Bad Mama 2,” “Big Doll House” and “Crazy Mama” trailers are also included in full frame presentations. It’s a less-than-stellar package for this undisputed classic of “rape, riot and revenge.”