Henri Pachard made a pile of pornos, some good, some rotten. This is one of his more solid efforts and has a very cruel streak. Yes, it's a women-in-prison (WIP) X-rater with the usual amount of catfighting, rape, appalling inmate treatment, blackmail and lesbian coupling (and tripling). Ginger Lynn, as usual, is superhot as the wrongly imprisoned JoAnn, and she demonstrates real quick why she was the queen of skinflicks in the early to late 80's. She's such a bouncy, energetic, passionate little spitfire, you can't help but love her. Also worth checking out in this flesh-ridden opus is Kristara Barrington, a gorgeous Asian actress who burned like a comet for a couple of years and was finally extinguished by a flood of new talent. The great George Payne, who has played many sickening miscreants, is well cast here as a corrupt prison warden. From memory, the original poster art was very stylish and the film looked terrific up on the big screen at one of Detroit's finest raincoater emporiums.
5 Reviews
Bad Girls Go to Jail
Nodriesrespect21 November 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Although it can't even begin to compare in quality and scope to his landmark four part mini series TABOO American STYLE, this solid sleeper ranks among the late Ron Sullivan's more accomplished efforts for producer Herb Nitke's cost-conscious Nibo Films for whom he had previously made the merely workmanlike PUSSYCAT GALORE and SEX SPA USA alongside the occasional bullseye like MANEATERS or the massively underrated NASTY GIRLS. Making the most out of limited resources, Ron pulled surprisingly few punches in this dark women in prison drama at a time when most similarly themed fare such as Ned Morehead's DESPERATE WOMEN was played almost strictly for laughs. Restricted by the convincingly cavernous set for most of the running time, veteran DoP Ron Dorfman a/k/a "Arthur Ben" still manages a few striking compositions such as the framing of Raven's duplicitous character as Kristara Barrington slips out of cell for an illicit after dark rendezvous with guard Frank Serrone, the incident that fuels the inmates' revolt without which no WIP flick would be complete.
Still in the early stages of her superstar career, Ginger Lynn makes for a compelling wrongfully imprisoned heroine as poor put upon Joanne MacIntyre, working her way through college as a nighttime receptionist at a sleazy no tell motel. Charged with prostitution along with the bona fide hookers, of whom only pom pom twirling Taija Rae is lucky enough to make a clean getaway, she's hauled into the paddy wagon and promptly taken advantage off by creepy guard Joey Silvera whose customary manic intensity makes him all too convincing in the role. Also playing to type, smarmy and suave, but cast very much against - which serves to render the familiar interesting again by presenting it in an unusual context - is Paul Thomas as the iron fist in rubber glove prison warden who calmly informs Joanne the sailing will be much smoother if she learns to play ball, including his pair at some as yet unspecified later date !
Her fellow inmates provide the usual motley gang of stock characters from Raven's self-serving tattle tail Paulette to Barrington's cheerfully upbeat Jane about to get her spirits crushed in solitary by the warden and his tough as nails head guard Chelsea Blake, a memorable sequence both stark and uncompromising, really highlighting Kristara's rarely tapped into acting abilities. Ominously hovering between them is long term incarceree Kelly Nichols whose crimes remain shrouded in mystery but whose moniker ("Killer") does not bode well.
Even though she would go on record as being rather shocked and put off by film's brutality, strictly vanilla by full blown "roughie" standards but potent stuff for a strongly self-regulating sex industry wary of testing legal waters during the film to video crossover era, Lynn's performance vastly improves once she's behind bars and has to fight tooth and nail to retain her dignity. Barely in her twenties, she can be easily forgiven for the silly self-conscious posturing during her early scenes as a wide-eyed Hollywood hopeful posing in front of the mirror as an imaginary camera clicks away.
Nichols suggests way more than the material supplies her with - so what else is new ? - and even Raven's trademark lethargy is put to good use as she listlessly submits to guard Dick Howard (formerly "Tim Madigan" and subsequent Adam Film World editor in chief Jeremy Stone) to alleviate the humdrum day to day boredom. Her obligatory girl/girl bit with Ginger falls a bit flat however as the latter obviously over-emotes to compensate for her partner's distinct lack of enthusiasm.
Tailored to fit the frugal production, narrative comes across lean and mean just as it should with little in the way of flab, unless you count dastardly George Payne more or less repeating Silvera's shtick and humiliating our heroine once more for good measure. There's one absolutely hilarious instance when a god-awful original song plays over one of the sex scenes and hollow tinny sound quality makes it seem like it was warbled live on set by some spectacularly untalented crooner just out of frame !
Still in the early stages of her superstar career, Ginger Lynn makes for a compelling wrongfully imprisoned heroine as poor put upon Joanne MacIntyre, working her way through college as a nighttime receptionist at a sleazy no tell motel. Charged with prostitution along with the bona fide hookers, of whom only pom pom twirling Taija Rae is lucky enough to make a clean getaway, she's hauled into the paddy wagon and promptly taken advantage off by creepy guard Joey Silvera whose customary manic intensity makes him all too convincing in the role. Also playing to type, smarmy and suave, but cast very much against - which serves to render the familiar interesting again by presenting it in an unusual context - is Paul Thomas as the iron fist in rubber glove prison warden who calmly informs Joanne the sailing will be much smoother if she learns to play ball, including his pair at some as yet unspecified later date !
Her fellow inmates provide the usual motley gang of stock characters from Raven's self-serving tattle tail Paulette to Barrington's cheerfully upbeat Jane about to get her spirits crushed in solitary by the warden and his tough as nails head guard Chelsea Blake, a memorable sequence both stark and uncompromising, really highlighting Kristara's rarely tapped into acting abilities. Ominously hovering between them is long term incarceree Kelly Nichols whose crimes remain shrouded in mystery but whose moniker ("Killer") does not bode well.
Even though she would go on record as being rather shocked and put off by film's brutality, strictly vanilla by full blown "roughie" standards but potent stuff for a strongly self-regulating sex industry wary of testing legal waters during the film to video crossover era, Lynn's performance vastly improves once she's behind bars and has to fight tooth and nail to retain her dignity. Barely in her twenties, she can be easily forgiven for the silly self-conscious posturing during her early scenes as a wide-eyed Hollywood hopeful posing in front of the mirror as an imaginary camera clicks away.
Nichols suggests way more than the material supplies her with - so what else is new ? - and even Raven's trademark lethargy is put to good use as she listlessly submits to guard Dick Howard (formerly "Tim Madigan" and subsequent Adam Film World editor in chief Jeremy Stone) to alleviate the humdrum day to day boredom. Her obligatory girl/girl bit with Ginger falls a bit flat however as the latter obviously over-emotes to compensate for her partner's distinct lack of enthusiasm.
Tailored to fit the frugal production, narrative comes across lean and mean just as it should with little in the way of flab, unless you count dastardly George Payne more or less repeating Silvera's shtick and humiliating our heroine once more for good measure. There's one absolutely hilarious instance when a god-awful original song plays over one of the sex scenes and hollow tinny sound quality makes it seem like it was warbled live on set by some spectacularly untalented crooner just out of frame !
Jailhouse Rock.
morrison-dylan-fan27 July 2015
Warning: Spoilers
With a poll coming up on IMDbs Classic Film board for the best movies of 1984,I started looking round online for titles to view from that year.Taking a look at what movies were on a sight from that year,I was surprised to spot a flick which crossed the Women In Prison (WIP) sub-genre with the just past its peak Adult genre,which led to me getting ready to meet these jail-house girls.
The plot:
Working as a motel receptionist to make ends meets for her modelling career,Joanne MacIntyre gets caught up in a police raid,due to the police suspecting that the motel is actually a brothel.Getting caught up in the middle of the raid, MacIntyre (who was completely unaware about the activates taking place) is arrested for working in a brothel.
Sent to an all-women's prison, MacIntyre finds the jail to be run in a less than professional manner,with the male & female staff having sex with the prisoners. Becoming friends with her fellow inmates, MacIntyre begins making plans for their escape.
View on the film:
Filmed on a very low budget,director Henri Pachard & cinematographer Ron Dorfman build a great seedy location (which includes a cheeky nod to Marilyn Chambers Ivory Snow photo) by casting shadows of jail bars across the screen,and cleverly using corner shots to give the prison a small,bleak appearance.Despite being backed by an ill- fitting "ballroom" dance score, Pachard gives the title a strikingly sensual mood,thanks to the steamy sex scenes being filmed in a stylish manner which allows the very sexy actresses (and the OK looking guys!) to stand out against the gritty prison location.
Walking across the movie with a real swagger, the pretty Kelly Nichols gives a terrific performance as the subtly named Killer,who grinds MacIntyre's smile down,and turns the inmates into a rough & tumble gang. Appearing with a wide-smile,the stunning Ginger Lynn gives a charming performance as MacIntyre,thanks to Lynn's joyful enthusiasm in the sex scenes being matched by Lynn giving MacIntyre a real gritty bite,in MacIntyre's desire to escape from a jail that really rocks.
The plot:
Working as a motel receptionist to make ends meets for her modelling career,Joanne MacIntyre gets caught up in a police raid,due to the police suspecting that the motel is actually a brothel.Getting caught up in the middle of the raid, MacIntyre (who was completely unaware about the activates taking place) is arrested for working in a brothel.
Sent to an all-women's prison, MacIntyre finds the jail to be run in a less than professional manner,with the male & female staff having sex with the prisoners. Becoming friends with her fellow inmates, MacIntyre begins making plans for their escape.
View on the film:
Filmed on a very low budget,director Henri Pachard & cinematographer Ron Dorfman build a great seedy location (which includes a cheeky nod to Marilyn Chambers Ivory Snow photo) by casting shadows of jail bars across the screen,and cleverly using corner shots to give the prison a small,bleak appearance.Despite being backed by an ill- fitting "ballroom" dance score, Pachard gives the title a strikingly sensual mood,thanks to the steamy sex scenes being filmed in a stylish manner which allows the very sexy actresses (and the OK looking guys!) to stand out against the gritty prison location.
Walking across the movie with a real swagger, the pretty Kelly Nichols gives a terrific performance as the subtly named Killer,who grinds MacIntyre's smile down,and turns the inmates into a rough & tumble gang. Appearing with a wide-smile,the stunning Ginger Lynn gives a charming performance as MacIntyre,thanks to Lynn's joyful enthusiasm in the sex scenes being matched by Lynn giving MacIntyre a real gritty bite,in MacIntyre's desire to escape from a jail that really rocks.
A Good Old Fashioned Women In Prison Movie!
newnoir10 December 2001
Jailhouse Girls is without a doubt a milestone in exploitation cinema! And rest assured, you will be going straight to hell for feasting your eyes on this twisted debacle of a movie.
Blonde bimbette Ginger Lynn plays a hot young thang who is in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up in the slammer. All the usual staples of chicks in jail flicks await fair Ginger in Sing-Sing. Corrupt wardens, lesbian cellmates, and a steady supply of randy prison guards.
Jailhouse Girls, a smorgasbord of expolitation and a one way ticket to a moral Hades all in one flick! But what a way to go though, Moe!
Blonde bimbette Ginger Lynn plays a hot young thang who is in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up in the slammer. All the usual staples of chicks in jail flicks await fair Ginger in Sing-Sing. Corrupt wardens, lesbian cellmates, and a steady supply of randy prison guards.
Jailhouse Girls, a smorgasbord of expolitation and a one way ticket to a moral Hades all in one flick! But what a way to go though, Moe!
Ginger Lynn gets some penile reform.
BA_Harrison18 December 2014
Naive aspiring model Joanne MacIntyre (Ginger Lynn Allen) earns a living as a receptionist, blissfully unaware that her place of work is actually a knocking shop—at least until the vice squad raid the building and arrest her for prostitution. Despite protesting her innocence, poor Joanne is found guilty and banged up (in more ways than one) in a corrupt women's prison where the warden and his guards use the prisoners to satisfy their own desires.
With the WIP (women in prison) genre having already crossed over into adult territory in several Jess Franco flicks and Oswaldo de Oliveira's Bare Behind Bars, it's not surprising that the US market also got in on the action with Jailhouse Girls. Director Henri Pachard doesn't do a particularly great job, though, with his film lacking the nastiness and sleaze that such material really demands.
If ever there was a film crying out for the 'roughie' treatment, it is this one; all we get, however, is routine mid-80s hardcore action, and weak WIP elements amounting to little more than an unconvincing prison location, a lacklustre de-lousing for the inmates followed by a quick internal exam, some mild abuse, and a predictably pathetic jail-break finale. None of the women look in the slightest bit upset about their supposedly horrific ordeal (most lapping up the attention from the guards) and there's no real violence to speak of (what use is a WIP film without a little sadistic torture?). Hell, there's not even a cat-fight or a shower scene.
If straight-up, no-nonsense porn is all you're after, then I guess the film will do the trick, but trash connoisseurs expecting a really reprehensible piece of exploitative sleaze will most likely come away disappointed.
With the WIP (women in prison) genre having already crossed over into adult territory in several Jess Franco flicks and Oswaldo de Oliveira's Bare Behind Bars, it's not surprising that the US market also got in on the action with Jailhouse Girls. Director Henri Pachard doesn't do a particularly great job, though, with his film lacking the nastiness and sleaze that such material really demands.
If ever there was a film crying out for the 'roughie' treatment, it is this one; all we get, however, is routine mid-80s hardcore action, and weak WIP elements amounting to little more than an unconvincing prison location, a lacklustre de-lousing for the inmates followed by a quick internal exam, some mild abuse, and a predictably pathetic jail-break finale. None of the women look in the slightest bit upset about their supposedly horrific ordeal (most lapping up the attention from the guards) and there's no real violence to speak of (what use is a WIP film without a little sadistic torture?). Hell, there's not even a cat-fight or a shower scene.
If straight-up, no-nonsense porn is all you're after, then I guess the film will do the trick, but trash connoisseurs expecting a really reprehensible piece of exploitative sleaze will most likely come away disappointed.
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