“Chain Gang Women” (1971)

Studio: Crown International Pictures
Starring: Michael Stearns, Robert Lott, Barbara Mills
Directed by: Lee Frost
Rated: R
Running Time: 85 min.

Synopsis: Two cons break away from a chain gang and try to make it across the state line.

REVIEW

Chris Woods

Looking at this film’s title, you think that it’s a women in prison movie in the likes of Caged Heat or the many Pam Grier films such as Women in Cages, The Big Bird Cage, and Black Mama, White Mama. You would think that, but when I watched the film it was a big let down, because the film should have been called Chain Gang Men, because that’s what it really was. Another flop from Crown International, that’s pretty much a low-grade action flick.

The movie starts off with a prisoner, Weed, who only has six months left to his sentence for selling, what else, weed, gets transferred to the chain gang prison. This prison has the inmates working outside all day and two prisoners are chained to one another at all times, even when they sleep. When their day is done, they don’t go back to a cell, but instead, all the prisoners are in this huge room with cots all lined up from them to sleep in. Once they get into bed, the guards take a long large chain and run it along the beds through the chains on the inmate’s legs. Then they lock the chain onto the floor. Not only you’re stuck with the person your chained with all day, but pretty much stuck with all of prisoners at night. I wondered, what if they have to piss in the middle of the night? Then I saw the guards put some bowls underneath their cots for them to piss in if they have too.

The beginning of the film is very slow. There’s just scenes of the inmates digging up a field, while a horrible country ballad plays. This goes on for about forty-five minutes until all the prisoners make an escape. Harris, the prisoner that started the escape is chained to Weed. Weed doesn’t want to escape at first, because he knows he has a few months left, but Harris gives him no choice since he’s chained to him. All the inmates get caught or shot, except for Weed and Harris, who escape into town and find refuge at Weed’s girlfriend’s house.

The rest of the film just has them trying to get out of the state. Harris convinces Weed not to turn himself in and instead flea with him. The two end up at a farmer’s house and take hostage the old farmer and his young bride. The latter half of the film is the best part, but still isn’t any good. The story itself is very predictable and the actors are terrible with the exception of Harris who is decent. The scenes of the escape and some car chasing are kind of cool, but that’s pretty much it.

If you come across Chain Gang Women I would pass on it. It’s very boring and the film is not executed well. The film is often found in BCI’s Grindhouse double disc or box sets of Crown International releases and is one of the worst of that collection. I hope I have better luck with other films in that set, but I doubt it.