Review: Caged Heat (C+)

Caged Heat (1974)
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Starring Juanita Brown, Roberta Collins, Donald Heitzer and Erica Gavin
MPAA: R
Grade: C+

Review by Mark Focus

Roger Corman has launched the careers of several top directors, including Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorcese and Jonathan Demme. Demme directed Caged Heat for Corman and while the film has it's fans, I found it a little tiresome. Sure, there are some interesting facets to this "girls behind bars" fable. However in the end, one can't help but wonder if Caged Heat might have been better served if it was a tad more over the top.

Caged Heat tells the story of Maggie, a gal that gets caught in a drug bust and ends up in an all female prison. The prison environment is typical of what you would expect from a Corman film - lesbians, tough gals that want to strike up a battle at the drop of a hat, evil prison wardens and sexy girls that miss the touch of a man. Jonathan Demme keeps the tone of the film serious and gritty, and it's clear in this first effort that Demme has an artistic style right from the start.

The problem with Caged Heat is that it's a film that doesn't have a clear cut path. It obviously flirts with exploitation but it doesn't venture deep enough into those waters to satisfy the expectations set by the movie's racy poster. The acting is decent, but the film doesn't work well enough to be a bona fide dramatic success. Caged Heat is interesting for Demme and Corman fans and it's certainly worthy of a rental on a lazy afternoon.