Video Nasty #28
Women Behind Bars
1975
NTSC Running time: 80:30
Original French Title: Des Diamants Pour L'Enfer
Directed, Edited, and Shot by Jesus Franco
Written by Marius Lesoeur
Music by Daniel White
Starring: Lina Romay, Martine Stedil, Nathalie Chape, Roger Darton, Ronald Weiss, and Jesus Franco
Body Count: 6
Whippings/Beatings/Tortures: 3
Region 0 DVD from Blue Underground
BBFC Status
Why it's a Nasty: Sexualized violence perpetrated against nude women.
What was cut: Nothing.
Current UK Status: Women Behind Bars has never been submitted to the BBFC for certification, and therefore remains banned in the UK...although it would probably get an 18 uncut if submitted today.
Women Behind Bars was seized, but escaped prosecution.
Shirley Fields (Lina Romay) is the mistress of a local crime kingpin (Raymond Hardy, Romay's then-husband) who has just double-crossed his accomplices in a diamond heist. Shirley murders him when he returns with the loot, only to discover the stolen case is empty. She inexplicably calls the police to tell them what she's done. She's sentenced to six years and is then targeted from all sides by vultures who want the diamonds. Milton Weiss (Roger Darton) and his associate, Bill (Jesus Franco), are mob guys who want to bust Shirley out in exchange for the loot. The sleazeball warden (Ronald Weiss) enlists blonde inmate Martine (Martine Stedil) to pry the hiding place out of Shirley with her feminine wiles. And all Shirley wants is to have a smoke and be left alone...
Jesus Franco, who made about a bazillion sleazy movies, lists this as his favourite of his women-in-prison pictures due to the storyline and performances from his female cast (he was disappointed with Weiss, however. Franco had hoped to put Austrian character actor William Berger in the role of the warden). It's an okay movie, not great. It's the first Nasty I've watched since Night Of The Bloody Apes (see Video Nasty #19) that I felt was disappointing. There's a scene of a woman being whipped, another where a woman is tortured with electricity. Other than the fact that they have no clothes on, I don't see where the fuss was.
The best parts of the film are the plot twists (there are a couple) and the performances by Romay and Franco (who had a long-term relationship off screen, Romay dying in 2012, Franco following her less than a year later. Those close to them said Franco died mostly of broken heart). Even though Romay was still married to Hardy at the time, you can see the chemistry between she and Franco when they are on screen together.
I recommend this one for fans of Jess Franco, fans of women-in-prison pictures, and geeks like me who are watching all the Nasties. Everyone else should probably take a pass, it's a minor picture from a director who's made better. Bloody Moon (see Video Nasty #6) was better, we'll see how they stack up against Devil Hunter, Franco's third and final entry on the list.
That's all for now, my friends. And if you're dating a scuzzbag who needs a good killing, you might want to think twice about phoning the fuzz after you do the deed. I think it's better to make tracks. Because my name's Justin. JustinCase.
