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Women in Cages

Women in Cages is a 1971 film from the USA, directed by Gerardo de León, running 78 minutes. reelscum files it under women in prison.

Poster for Women in Cages
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Year
1971 · 1970s films
Country
USA
Runtime
78 min
Director
Gerardo de León
Updated
29 Oct 2026
Obscurity
cult (54/100)
Also known as
Bamboo Doll House · Women's Penitentiary III

Defined in the glossary: Women in prison

Pam Grier as the sadist for once. Bleaker than its stablemates.

One of the grimmer entries in the Filipino WIP cycle, notable for casting Pam Grier against type as the sadistic prison enforcer rather than the heroine. An innocent woman is framed and thrown into a brutal jungle prison, and the film is nastier and less fun than its stablemates.

Grier's turn as the villain is the main draw, and the film has a bleakness that The Big Doll House and The Big Bird Cage leaven with humour. It is exploitation at its most punishing.

For genre completists and Grier obsessives; a hard watch otherwise.

Something else

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Where to watch

Legal options in USA

Links open in a new tab (↗). Availability data via TMDB and changes constantly, so confirm on the service. Legal options only. Checked 8 Nov 2026. All options ↗

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On these lists

  • Women in prison: the essentials

    Roger Corman worked out you could film the whole genre in the Philippines for nothing, and everyone spent the next decade reshooting his shower scene.

Filed alongside

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1969 · USA · 94m
Obscurity: cult. watchable legally. banned somewhere

The film that invented nazisploitation six years before Ilsa made it a genre.

Poster for The Big Bird Cage

The Big Bird Cage

1972 · USA · 88m
Obscurity: cult. watchable legally

Funnier and better than the first. Sid Haig is having an excellent time.

Poster for House of Whipcord

House of Whipcord

1974 · UK · 102m
Obscurity: obscure. watchable legally

Pete Walker builds a secret prison to punish the censors who wanted one. Sheila Keith is the nightmare.

Poster for Bare Behind Bars

Bare Behind Bars

1980 · Brazil · 87m
Obscurity: obscure

Brazil's Boca do Lixo does women-in-prison with everything the drive-in cut left out.

Poster for Reform School Girls

Reform School Girls

1986 · USA · 94m
Obscurity: cult. watchable legally

The women-in-prison film as its own punchline, fronted by the lead singer of the Plasmatics.

Poster for The Big Doll House

The Big Doll House

1971 · USA · 95m
Obscurity: cult. watchable legally

Jack Hill and Pam Grier invent the modern formula in the Philippines.

Poster for Chained Heat

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1983 · USA/West Germany · 95m
Obscurity: cult. watchable legally

Linda Blair goes to prison. A sleazy 80s update of the formula, with a corrupt warden and a hot tub.

Poster for Barbed Wire Dolls

Barbed Wire Dolls

1976 · Switzerland · 90m
Obscurity: cult

Jess Franco's contribution to the cycle. Cheap, delirious and utterly shameless, even for him.

Poster for Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion

Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion

1972 · Japan · 87m
Obscurity: cult. watchable legally

Sold as a women-in-prison quickie. Shot like an art film. Meiko Kaji barely blinks.

Poster for Black Mama White Mama

Black Mama White Mama

1973 · USA · 87m
Obscurity: cult. watchable legally

The Defiant Ones with Pam Grier, shot in the Philippines by a Filipino who actually knew the terrain.