Uriah43 After killing her rich husband a woman by the name of "Collier" (Judith Brown) is sentenced to 99 years at hard labor at a women's prison somewhere deep in the Philippine jungle. She is put in a cell with 5 other beautiful women who go by the names of "Alcott" (Roberta Collins), "Bodine" (Pat Woodell), "Grear" (Pam Greer), "Harrad" (Brooke Mills) and "Ferina"(Gina Stuart). While each of them have their own story to tell they all share one particular view which is that the head guard, "Lucian" (Kathryn Loder) is extremely sadistic and the attractive warden "Miss Dietrich"(Christiane Schmidtmer) is either incompetent or ambivalent to the torture and abuse within the prison. Yet although a recently assigned doctor named "Dr. Phillips" (Jack Davis) is trying to correct the problem the inmates decide to take matters into their own hands and attempt to escape. Now, rather than detailing all of the events that transpire and risk spoiling the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was an interesting low-budget "Women-in-Prison" film which covered most of the main aspects associated with movies of this type. It certainly had more than its share of gorgeous women. And while I certainly can't complain about that the fact is that the overall plot was a bit too "by the numbers" and lacked credibility. No doubt fans of this genre will find it enjoyable though and overall I rate it as slightly above average.

ravingbulll I look at the negative reviews of this movie and I have to ask myself: what did these people think they were going to see? "Titanic"?" "Gone With The Wind?" "Driving Miss Daisy?" I judge movies by how much I enjoy them, and - honestly, I can't think of a movie that has more entertainment crammed into it than this movie. It has everything you could possibly think of...and more. At first you enjoy the cheesy aspect of the movie and laugh, but then you start caring about the characters...and you HAVE to see how it ends. Oh and while I'm talking about this picture I want to say something about Roberta Collins: even though most people you talk to won't even recognize her name, she was a talented and underrated actress...a natural comedienne. This film, along with the Jonathan Demme helmed "Caged Heat," show what she was capable of. I highly recommend both of these films if you enjoy movies under the heading of "Exploitation." ROGER CORMAN RULES!!!

lost-in-limbo New meat enters the big house, in the shape of Collier and she learns that it won't be an easy walk in the park. Grear, Alcott, Bodine, Harad and Ferina welcome her to the rough and tumble endurance of prison life and the importance of holding your own to stay alive. Be it, from your inmates or that of their sadistic prison warden named Miss Diestrich. Then there are two peddlers, Harry and Fred who play off the inmates to get what they want. Roger Corman sent out exploitation director Jack Hill to the Banana republic (Philippines) with very little money, but on-hand he had a group of stunning women to work with. Though, to Corman's surprise, the end result was nothing but phenomenal, since it did extremely well with moviegoers. Its been done before, but this old hat Women-In-Prison concept for "Big Doll House" became revolutionary by giving it an ounce of fresh treatment (or maybe it was just great timing) that simply appealed to the drive-in audience to ensure the genre would erupt again. Hill's film is quite watered-down for a WIP exploitation feature (compared to its European cousins), but there are enough nitty, gritty elements involving random drug abuse, sadistic torture, and sexual antics, pumping gunfights and wild cat fights in a very energetic pattern. Production-wise, it's very solid for a meagre budget with it drumming in with a saucy score (and also Pam Grier's tantalisingly, groovy title song) and workman-like camera-work that had a great eye to detail. The bang-up story mainly focuses on a group of well-rounded and strong willed, firebrands who are not easy pushovers. Where they're trying to keep their spirit, pride and dignity in tack. A nice dash of snappy humour is worked into the salty dialogues and fiery language. There are some silly aspects, but it does bust out surprises, spontaneous inventions and comic relief, thanks largely to the minor turn by the charismatic character actor Sid Haig. But it was the memorable Pam Grier's steamily, spruced performance that steals every frame. She was the full package and afterwards would go on to be a true Blaxploitation star. Although, the attractively biting Roberta Collins holds her own quite well and Judy Brown, Pat Woodell and Brooke Mills add to the unique, spicy ensemble. Kathryn Loder performance makes headway too, as the stern and lean prison warden. Director Jack Hill's hardened direction is extremely sturdy and he keeps a quick rapid throughout.An American WIP exploitation flick that keeps it rather tasteful, but still highly entertaining b-grade material with a well-fitted cast.

Infofreak 'The Big Doll House' may not be the first women in prison movie of the 1970s but it was one of the most influential, kicking off the short lived but legendary Made-in-the-Philippines-but-set-in-some-nameless-Banana-republic cycle. The tape I watched was part of "The Pam Grier Collection" but to say Grier is the STAR of this movie is an exaggeration. Judy Brown is the star and Roberta Collins is equally important as Grier. But Brown didn't do all that much after this, and Collins is only remembered by exploitation buffs (for 'Caged Heat', 'Death Race 200' and 'Eaten Alive'), while Grier became a blaxploitation icon. That's cool, but let's not fool ourselves here. As enjoyable as it is watching Pam in this one she really doesn't do all that much. Jack Hill regular Sid Haig ('Spider Baby') has some memorable and amusing schtick with her. He plays a horny guy who brings the female prisoners food and other treats for cash. Grier and Haig obviously made a great team, and Hill would exploit this in his even more enjoyable 'The Big Bird Cage', which isn't a sequel to this movie as many seem to think. 'Bird Cage' is the better movie, but 'Doll House' is still a pretty good movie that any fan of 1970s b-grade movies will get a kick out of.