BelSports
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Zlatica
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
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!!!
Woodyanders
The female inmates at a women's prison suffer severe mistreatment at the brutal hands of wicked warden Miss Dietrich (a nicely icy turn by Christiane Schmidtmer) and sadistic head guard Lucian (a gloriously florid and theatrical portrayal by Kathryn Loder). Director Jack Hill, working from a compact script by Don Spencer, relates the fun story at a constant brisk pace, stages the action set pieces with real aplomb, and keeps the tone cheerfully seedy and tongue-in-cheek throughout. Moreover, Hill injects plenty of wickedly funny brash humor which keeps this picture surprisingly breezy and entertaining throughout. The cast have a grand time with the sordid material: Pam Grier as the sassy Grear, Judy Brown as the feisty Collier, Roberta Collins as the hard-boiled Alcott, ravishing redhead Brooke Mills as pathetic strung-out smack addict Harrad (Mills' crazed and sensuous little stoner dance rates as a definite highlight), Pat Woodell as the formidable Bodine, Gina Stuart as slinky minx Ferina, and Jerry Franks as the amiable Fred. The always great Sid Haig almost steals the whole show with his wonderfully robust and engaging performance as happy-go-lucky merchant Harry. Of course, this film covers all the satisfyingly sleazy grindhouse bases: a generous amount of tasty distaff nudity, a group shower scene, a fierce catfight (in the mud, no less!), rape, torture, a messy cafeteria food fight, and an exciting last reel breakout. As an added plus, the divine Ms. Grier heartily belts out the groovy theme song "Long Time Woman." Both Fred Conde's reasonably polished cinematography and the funky syncopated score by Hall Daniels are up to speed. Essential viewing for exploitation cinema aficionados.
bensonmum2
A WIP film with Pam Grier and Sid Haig with Jack Hill directing – what could go wrong? The Big Doll House is not as over-the-top as it might have been. In fact, a lot of what happens is fairly tame for a WIP. The torture scenes aren't as graphic as you might expect. The fight scenes aren't as brutal as you would hope for. And some of the acting is terrible. Pam Grier may be one of my favorite actresses of all time, but it's easy to see that this was one of her first movies. There's a big difference between Pam Grier in The Big Doll House and Pam Grier in Jackie Brown.So why rate it a 6/10 and not lower. Regardless of its problems and shortcomings, it's still an enjoyable movie. There's a lot of really fun 70s cheese on display. And Sid Haig is magnificent. Every scene he's in is a highlight of the movie. Watching Sid run through the woods in his tighty-whitey's had me laughing out loud.
Goredog
Jack Hill has always been a master of turning such a controversial subject (especially at that time) into a fine film. The Big Doll House stars Judy Brown, who is taken to a prison on some remote island where she is accompanied by other jailbirds: Pam Grier, Brooke Mills, and Roberta Collins. Grier and Collins are driving forces throughout the film and seem to double-handedly run the entire joint. While Mills plays everybody's favorite psycho junkie, making an art out of hallucinating. Sid Haig is the dominating warden who uses poisonous local snakes to torture the prisoners. The movie ends with Grier, Mills, and Collins dying and Brown being captured and taken back to prison. Definitely an acquired taste and compulsory for fans of old skool "Women Torture and Revenge Tales!"
