United States

THE BIG BIRD CAGE is a huge grinding mill built by the sadistic warden of a women’s prison camp in a corrupt banana republic and the site of several bloody accidents in this fast-moving and very entertaining film, shot in the Philippines and described by one reviewer as having 'more than its share of comic moments’. Pam Grier, who has appeared in such films as Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and Greased Lightning, is tough and sexy as a prisoner whose revolutionary boyfriend Sid Haig breaks into the jail in order to rescue her and Anitra Ford gives a good performance as a woman who has been imprisoned for knowing too much about the republic’s government. The film does not pull any punches in its strong action scenes and there is a great deal of humour as Sid Haig is forced to act gay to get friendly with the camp’s homosexual guards. Writer-director Jack Hill handles the mixture of action, mayhem, violence, sex and comedy with skill, the excitement never lets up and there is a power-packed climax as the women prisoners make a desperate bid for freedom.