Themes: Miscarriage of Justice, Fighting the System, Women in Prison
Main Cast: Maria Schell, Mercedes McCambridge, Luciana Paluzzi, Herbert Lom, Maria Rohm
Release Year: 1969
Country: UK/ES/IT/WG
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
Jesus Franco's campy women's prison film, though both stereotypical and rare to find in its original version, is worthwhile for genre devotees primarily due to an outstanding cast. Mercedes McCambridge is unintentionally hilarious as sadistic lesbian warden Thelma Diaz, spitting tacky dialogue with exuberant venom in a performance so overbearing that it verges on classic. The plot is standard for the genre, as three women (Maria Rohm, Elisa Montes, Luciana Paluzzi) are sentenced to an island prison off the Panamanian coast, only to encounter torture, rape, and lesbianism. When sympathetic Warden Caroll (Maria Schell) replaces Diaz, the prisoners assume that conditions will improve, but their agony only worsens until they decide to escape. Rosalba Neri co-stars, and Herbert Lom runs the corrupt men's prison nearby. 99 Mujeres was heavily censored in various prints, with versions running anywhere between 70 and 108 minutes. Edits running 84, 86, and 94 minutes are most commonly available. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Sara (Rosalba Neri) Bay - Zoe; Elisa Montes - Helga; Maria Perschy
Credit
Jesús Franco - Director, Manuel Merino - Editor, Bruno Nicolai - Composer (Music Score), Manuel Merino - Cinematographer, Erwin C. Dietrich - Producer, Harry Alan Towers - Producer, Harry Alan Towers - Screenwriter
