Frauengefängnis [1975]

Country of Origin: Switzerland
Year of Production: 1975
Running Times: 60 mins 2 sec [UK - video]     74 mins [Australia]     76 mins 37 sec [Netherlands - video]     81 mins 15 sec [USA - video]      81 mins 86 mins [Argentina]     90 mins
Format: colour
Ratio:
Sound:

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Erwin C. Dietrich / Elite Film Produktion
Producer: Erwin C. Dietrich

SCRIPT
Script: Jesus Franco
Dialogue: Christine Lembach

DIRECTION
Director: Jesus Franco
Assistant Director: Gerald Gazal

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: David Khunne (real name: Jesus Franco)
Stills: Paul Grau
Labs: Geyer-Werke, Berlin

EDITING AND POST PRODUCTION
Editors: Peter Baumgartner, Marie Louise Buschke

MUSIC
Music: Daniel J. White, Walter Baumgartner
Music Publisher: Carroussel, Paris, VIP Musikverlag, Zürich

SOUND
Sound: Klaus Kunsemüller, Hubertus Schmandke
Dubbing Director: Peter Baumgartner
Sound Studio: Avco Film, Berlin

MISCELLANEOUS
Script Supervisor: Connie Grau

LOCATIONS
Locations: Honduras
Studio: Elite Film Ateliers, Zürich, Switzerland

CAST
Lina Romay [Shirley Fields]
Paul Müller
Monika Swinn
Roger Darton [Milton Warren]
Ronald Weiss
Martine Stedil
Erik Falk
Peggy Markhoff
Nathalie Mann
Dennis Torre
Ray Hardy
Beni Cardosa
Frieda Altstadt [uncredited]
Madeleine Ammann [uncredited]
Jesus Franco [prison guard - uncredited]
Lilliane Stollberger [uncredited]

A group of women are imprisoned in a remote island prison where they are tortured and humiliated by the brutal and sadistic wardens.

A hilariously awful women in prison film from Jesus Franco. Everything you'd expect and fear, it's shoddily made, almost defiantly unerotic and acted with no conviction whatsoever. It's also undeniably compelling, in the same way as watching a car crash tends to be. Lina Romay looks fantastic, which is some sort of consolation and the "slow motion" fight is a comedy classic.

Australia
Theatrical Distributor: Blake Films

France
Video Distributor: Videocine

Netherlands
Video Distributor: Video For Pleasure

Switzerland
DVD Distributor: VIP [30040AE]

UK
Video Distributor: Vipco

USA
Video Distributor: Imperial

West Germany
Video Distributor: Videophon

Worldwide
Theatrical Distributor: Elite Film AG, Zürich

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Argentina
Rating: 18

Australia
Rating: R

Welcome to prison, Ladies!

Women Behind Bars

Unfolds with a Brutal Fury..!

Prisoners in a barbaric camp of sadistic perversions...

Barbed Wire Dolls – US title
Caged Women – UK title
Femmes en cage – French title
Jailhouse Wardress
Meisjes achter trailies – Dutch title
Penitenziario femminile per reati sessuali – Italian title
Prison de femmes
Punition Cell
Un secondina in un carcere femminile - alternative Italian title

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
Les gardiennes du penitencier [1979]

MAGAZINES

Absurd no.8 [UK]
credits, review

Continental Film Bulletin vol.23 no.11 [September 1976] pp.18-21 [UK]
illustrated review

The Dark Side April 1993 p.32 [UK]
review

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.44 no.519 [April 1977] p.69 [UK]
credits, synopsis, review

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.44 no.520 [May 1977] p.109 [UK]
note

Video Watchdog no.1 p.35
review

BOOKS

Obsession - The Films of Jesus Franco pp.117-118
illustrated credits, review [by Peter Blumenstock]

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

KEYWORDS

electric shocks, humiliation, islands, lesbianism, prisons, rape, sadism, sex, sexual violence, torture, wardens, women in prison

Last Updated: 21 January, 2008